Northern Ireland

Two rallies to be held in Ballymena as former Wrightbus staff call for action

Wrightbus staff t-shirts hanging from a fence surrounding Green Pastures Church yesterday. Picture by Ann McManus.
Wrightbus staff t-shirts hanging from a fence surrounding Green Pastures Church yesterday. Picture by Ann McManus. Wrightbus staff t-shirts hanging from a fence surrounding Green Pastures Church yesterday. Picture by Ann McManus.

TWO rallies are to be held in Ballymena this week as former Wrightbus staff call for action to help save jobs.

The Unite union last night said it was "determined to secure a future for our members in Wrightbus and for Ballymena".

The Co Antrim firm went into administration last week with the loss of more than 1,200 jobs.

The first rally will be held at the Ballymena Showgrounds tomorrow at 4pm, with the second expected to take place outside the main Wrightbus gates on Friday.

Campaigners are set to march from Unite Ballymena offices to the factory entrance at midday.

Unite Regional Secretary Jackie Pollock said they would be "ferocious in our campaign to save these jobs".

"Instead of hand-wringing and honeyed-words, we need to see action now from government and the Wright family," he said.

"They must hand back the land to the people of Ballymena and remove any obstacle to the gates of the site reopening and our members getting back to work."

It comes as hundreds of ex-employees yesterday attended a redundancy clinic in Ballymena following the firm's collapse. Former workers queued to fill in claim forms almost a week after the bus manufacturer crashed into administration.

The Wright family, who founded the bus-making company in 1946, said the collapse of the business was due to a big fall in demand for buses in the UK market.

Meanwhile, a debate in Westminster yesterday heard calls for bus operators to be encouraged with "economic assistance" to buy British.

DUP MP Ian Paisley pushed for the commitment after seeking assurances that potential investors in Wrightbus know what British government support looks like, in terms of research and development, soft loans or grants.

Asking an urgent question in the Commons, Mr Paisley asked Northern Ireland secretary Julian Smith: "Could he recognise that the arm's-length bodies, such as Translink and First Group and other bus buyers, need to be encouraged directly with economic assistance to buy more British-made buses?

"Could he ensure in future all bus orders go through British companies therefore supporting British jobs and British investment?"

Mr Smith said the government is making any potential Wrightbus bidders aware of what support could be available, adding: "This is a commercial process.

"It's been managed by an administrator and many of the actions are required to take place at a devolved level.

"But we will continue, and I do continue, to speak actively to all stakeholders in this issue and I am conducting meetings in the course of this week."