31/07/2003

Shorts pay negotiations to begin next week

Negotiations are to begin next week in the current pay dispute between staff and management at Bombardier Shorts in Belfast.

It followed talks yesterday between both sides into resolving the current impasse.

Shorts management described the talks as "constructive" and confirmed that negotiations would commence next Tuesday.

Around 1,000 jobs have been under threat at the company's Belfast base after the employees rejected a proposed four-year pay agreement.

This was on top of a further 580 redundancies in response to what the company called "very challenging market conditions".

Union representatives have expressed anger at management after staff continued to "meet deadlines, schedules and targets even though the threat of redundancies had been hanging over people's heads".

(MB)

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