Sacked staff launch go-kart track

Workers picketed the Friction Dynamics site for three years

Work has started on a go-kart track set up by three men who lost their jobs during one of Wales' longest running industrial disputes.

John Davis, Richard Lawson and James Clarke have been given an £80,000 Welsh Assembly Government grant to help build the track at Cibyn, Caernarfon.

In all, 86 workers from the Friction Dynamics factory at Caernarfon spent nearly three years on strike from 2001.

Union officials said most former workers had found lesser-paid jobs.

The men behind Eryri Leisure Ltd said they hoped it would give the area an economic boost by attracting visitors and creating jobs.

I still have the legacy of what I did before and I don't feel settled, although I can't put a finger on why that is Gerald Parry, former Friction Dynamics union official

"We saw a business opportunity and have sited it in an area in which we have a stake, an area that needs an economic boost and job opportunities," said Mr Davis.

"We are determined to make the venture succeed because our livelihoods depend upon it, and because we intend that it should bring benefits to the local community."

Welsh Enterprise Minister Andrew Davies said it would create several jobs and provide a boost to local tourism.

"I wish these gentlemen all the success their efforts deserve and hope that they might prove to be an example to other potential entrepreneurs," he added.

The three men behind the project share an interest in motor sport

Gerald Parry, who chaired the Transport and General Workers' Union at the works during the dispute, said it had been difficult for employees to move on.

"Many have retired because they were in their 50s at the time of the dispute, some are ill as a result of stress, and some have died.

"Of those who wanted to find work, most have found employment but the salary is not as good, with many finding part-time or seasonal work."

Mr Parry wished the three men well in their new venture.

"Many of us had been there for a quarter of a century," he said.

"My feeling - and I've spoken to others who feel the same - is that I've found it very difficult to change my ways.

"I now work as a warden at a local college, a job I enjoy, but I still have the legacy of what I did before and I don't feel settled, although I can't put a finger on why that is."