SHIPYARD Cammell Laird’s threat to replace a quarter of its workforce with casual labour is “totally unacceptable” and will be resisted, the Unite union has pledged.

The Birkenhead-based company sparked anger on Friday when it announced that 178 of its 700 workers would be axed as part of a company “restructure.”

The union said it was not consulted about the move or the business case behind it and insisted that the existing furlough scheme should be used to cover a temporary downturn in work while the company seeks new orders.

Unite regional officer Ross Quinn blasted the company for “attacking the workers who put themselves at risk and carried on working throughout the pandemic.”

He said: “It is alarming that Cammell Laird is planning to operate with a high degree of agency labour. This will result in workers being paid less, having fewer rights for undertaking highly skilled work and will drive them towards the pain of casualisation.”
 
Demanding an urgent meeting with bosses, he said the union would consider “all avenues open to it, including industrial action and political pressure, to prevent these job losses happening.”
 
Cammell Laird chief executive David McGinley said: “A full review of our business has revealed that we have an enduring downturn of workload and we are employing too many people.”