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City Link staff hold protest outside Scottish depot | City Link staff hold protest outside Scottish depot |
(about 3 hours later) | |
Workers facing redundancy at the collapsed parcel delivery firm City Link have staged a demonstration outside a depot in North Lanarkshire. | Workers facing redundancy at the collapsed parcel delivery firm City Link have staged a demonstration outside a depot in North Lanarkshire. |
Staff learned the firm, which employs 165 people in Scotland, had gone into administration on Christmas day. | |
Workers gathered in Motherwell on Monday morning to protest against the prospect of redundancy. | Workers gathered in Motherwell on Monday morning to protest against the prospect of redundancy. |
Coventry-based City Link employs 2,727 people in the UK. The RMT union expects more than 2,000 to be made redundant. | |
The job losses are expected on New Year's Eve, with the remaining posts being retained to wind down the company. | |
Political action | |
Staff have been told they will be paid until 31 December. | |
More than 100 contractors work for the company in Scotland. They will be treated as creditors by administrators. | |
Those taking part in the protest in Motherwell were demanding political efforts to save the operation as a going concern - or for as many jobs as possible to be saved. | |
Gordon Martin, regional organiser in Scotland for the RMT union, said some staff were joined at the demonstration by their partners and children. | |
Speaking at the scene, he said: "It's a demonstration organised by the workers, for the workers, about their right to work. | |
"Basically this is a right-to-work argument. These guys deserve and demand the right to work." | |
He claimed a recent meeting with the administrators failed to give staff answers to their questions. | |
"They've walked out of the meeting more disillusioned than when they walked into it, which is saying something considering the situation," he said. | |
Mr Martin said the protesters were aiming to put political pressure on UK and Scottish politicians to intervene to save jobs. | |
'Substantial redundancies' | |
He urged MSPs and Scottish ministers to "intervene with any means possible and through any actions to try and keep this as a going concern - and if that's not possible to save as many jobs as possible". | |
Administrators Ernst & Young have said "substantial redundancies" are expected in the coming days and that it was "cautious" about the prospects of finding a buyer for the business. | |
City Link, which was founded in 1969, was acquired by restructuring specialist Better Capital in April 2013. | City Link, which was founded in 1969, was acquired by restructuring specialist Better Capital in April 2013. |
It invested £40m, but the administrators said City Link had incurred substantial losses over several years and the money could not help it turn the firm around. | It invested £40m, but the administrators said City Link had incurred substantial losses over several years and the money could not help it turn the firm around. |
The company has Scottish bases in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Glenrothes and Motherwell. | The company has Scottish bases in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Glenrothes and Motherwell. |