Rolls-Royce Workers Strike to Support Union Official Fired by the Company

LONDON August 23, 2005; The AP reported that almost 100 workers at a factory of airplane engine maker Rolls-Royce PLC joined a strike Tuesday to support a union official fired by the company.

The Amicus union said the strike by engineers will continue indefinitely and it is preparing a vote for around 800 other workers at the plant in Bristol in southwest England to determine whether to call for a wider walkout.

Rolls-Royce claims the worker at the center of the dispute, Jerry Hicks, was dismissed for organizing unlawful industrial action earlier in the summer and attempting to undermine disciplinary procedures. Amicus instead argues that Hicks was targeted because he was a trade union activist.

"We have a great business in Bristol and would urge employees considering strike action to think carefully whether supporting the unlawful actions of one individual is in their best interests, or those of our customers," the company said in a statement.

Rolls-Royce employs around 3,600 people at the Bristol site where it produces engines mainly for military aircraft.