Talks fail, protests continue at Vivergo Fuels

TALKS AIMED AT ENDING the industrial dispute at Saltend have failed and protests at the Vivergo Fuels site are set to continue.

Trade union members involved in the dispute met last week and rejected the latest proposals on the table offered via the arbitration process. The deal involved the workers being offered a payout to cover unpaid wages since the dispute began - according to the Yorkshire Post Redhall Engineering Solutions, who originally 'employed' the men through a national industry agreement, deny any liability but agreed to contribute £1.2m towards such a deal.

The latest statement from the GMB union says that the dispute is about jobs, maintaining national agreements and not just about money. Paul Kenny, GMB General Secretary says:

"The decision by the workforce to continue to protest about their unlawful treatment shows their determination for both justice and to show Vivergo and BP that their jobs and rights cannot be bought for a few measly pounds."

National Shop stewards are meeting on Wednesday April 27th to discuss further action in support of the workers and have raised concerns that if the deal had been accepted it would have led to employers been able to cherry-pick who worked at the site with fears that union activists may have been intimidated or blacklisted.

Vivergo Fuels - which is a consortium of BP, Du Point and British Sugar - made calls last week, via a letter leaked to the Hull Daily Mail, for the deal to be put to a secret ballot of the men involved.

Meanwhile, the dispute - and ongoing traffic hold-ups for local residents heading into Hull during each protest - is set to continue from this morning.