Congress Assistant General Secretary Owen Reidy joined a rally to support workers at Harland and Wolff Shipyard in Belfast today. He urged British Prime Minister Boris Johnston to visit the yard on his forthcoming trip to Northern Ireland and listen to the concerns of around 130 workers whose jobs are under imminent threat.
He said it is important that Mr.Johnston sees that there are "real people, with real lives" who could lose their jobs in the coming days.
Owen Reidy also told workers at a rally at the main gate in Dee Street that now is the time to nationalise the shipyard and he urged the new Secretary of State for NI, Julian Smith to engage with the unions.
Harland and Wolf is one of Northern Ireland's best-known businesses but the Norwegian parent company has put the yard up for sale. Workers at Harland and Wolf specialise in energy and marine engineering projects.
Unite Regional Secretary Jackie Pollock, said "As Boris Johnson prepares to visit Belfast for the first time as Prime Minister, workers at Harland and Wolff have extended an invitation to him to make the shipyard his first port of call. It should not be forgotten that only three years ago Harland and Wolff supported approximately 2,500 jobs directly, and thousands more indirectly.
"Neither local management, nor the yard's owners, nor the British Government has so far been prepared to take control of the situation and ensure that Harland and Wolff do not end up liquidated and sold off, bit by bit, to the highest bidder.
