Traffic staff sacked over walkout

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Traffic staff sacked over walkout
Parking attendant ticket machine

Twenty six traffic attendants who who went on an unofficial strike in Belfast two weeks ago have been sacked.

The attendants had been suspended after walking out in protest about conditions, including sickness pay and rota changes.

Their employer, NCP, said it was reluctant to sack them but that the attendants had taken illegal action.

The attendants union, NIPSA, said the sackings were "grossly unfair" and it would contest them.

Tim Cowen, Director of Communications for NCP, said: "We have a moral and contractual obligation to deliver a public service for the people of Belfast and we cannot allow that to be disrupted by unlawful strike action."

Ilegal action

He added that the affected workers took the action "without proper process."

"We have a very good relationship with trades unions in Northern Ireland and will continue to work with unions representing their members - but we cannot support illegal action of this kind.

However the attendants union, NIPSA, described the sacking as "grossly unfair and unjustified."

NIPSA's General Secretary John Corey said:"Traffic attendants have served this community in Northern Ireland as public servants through the most difficult times. They do not deserve to be arbitrarily dismissed by this Company using anti trade union legislation.

"In the last two weeks NIPSA has done everything possible, including representations to the Department for Regional Development, to resolve all issues and restore normal traffic attendants' services.

"Regrettably rather than address these genuine grievances and restore normal services urgently as we requested, the company has dismissed the staff.

"NIPSA will do all in its power to overturn these dismissals."

The company has a total of 180 staff on street deployment across Northern Ireland.


I'm sure RM managers are looking at this and thinking to themselves that they can get away with sacking staff who take unofficial IA.

[k979aaa]

Interesting may be put too the test soon in an office near you all but they cannot sack all of us.

[BELIAL]

Poor old Mr Gosling is probably having sleepless nights over these folks losing their incomes. Lying there fretting on his luxury yacht somewhere off the coast of Bermuda. If anyone fancies a short break ,I think you can hire said yacht when he has to go to work for about £250,000 per week I think Betty might have had a cheap hol on board