Second redundancy clinic to be held in Ballymena for Wrightbus workers

By Q Radio News

A second redundancy clinic is being held in Ballymena today following last week's bombshell announcement at Wrightbus.

1,200 people were made redundant at the County Antrim firm last Wednesday.

Pressure is mounting on politicians here to restore devolution and implement a manufacturing strategy to protect jobs in the sector.

Just 50 posts will be retained at the firm the last UK-owned bus manufacturer.

George Brash from Unite the Union says a clinic is being held at the Adair Arms between 10 and 4pm today:

The local council has already called for the Prime Minister, Secretary of State, Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, Head of the Civil Service, and Invest NI to come together to provide an urgent response to this economic crisis.

Council says it continues to work to encourage government to use all their powers to facilitate finding a buyer for Wrightbus.

During the last few months Cllr Gregg McKeen and Cllr Timothy Gaston have been working with the Council Chief Executive, Anne Donaghy, in her role as Chair of the Manufacturing Taskforce in order to ensure all steps are taken to provide the appropriate support, information and response.

Cllr Gaston said: “We continue to push forward and to secure a buyer for Wrightbus.The highly skilled, dedicated and loyal workforce at Wrightbus deserve this future, and we will not leave any stone unturned in our continued fight.”

Chair of the Council's Borough Growth Committee, Cllr McKeen, said: "We are working through the Manufacturing Taskforce and to date we have identified around 250 vacant jobs across the Borough that may be suitable to some of the staff.