'No collusion at Friction' ruling

Dynamex Friction took over from Friction Dynamics in Caernarfon

An employment tribunal has ruled there was no collusion between the owner of a factory which went into administration and the company which took it over.

A workers' dispute with Friction Dynamics in Caernarfon led to picket lines for two-and-a-half years.

A total of 86 former workers still want compensation from owner Craig Smith.

The tribunal said he did not collude with ex-employee Mark Jones, who set up new firm Dynamex Friction. The T&G will study the ruling before commenting.

The 86 workers were sacked by Mr Smith in May 2001 after they took industrial action.

It led to one of the UK's longest-running industrial disputes.

They won their case for unfair dismissal but they did not get any compensation from the company because Friction Dynamics went into administration in August 2003.

A fortnight later, a new company Dynamex Friction, began production on the same site just outside Caernarfon.

Several months later Mr Smith bought 60 per cent of the new company's shares, making him the majority shareholder.

Union representatives had told the tribunal that Mr Smith "got the administrators into Friction Dynamics, having made arrangement for the business to continue under a new name in order to free himself of various liabilities to former employees".

But the tribunal has ruled that the company's workers on 7 August 2003 were dismissed by the administrator because there were no assets to pay them at that stage.

The tribunal said it was not until 15 August 2003 that the new company took over the running of the firm.

The T&G said it would look at the ruling in detail before responding.