WORKERS at Vauxhall's Ellesmere Port plant will this morning be urged by their unions to reject the redundancy package offered by the motoring giant until their future is secured.

The call followed yesterday's devastating confirmation by parent company GM that 900 jobs would go with the cutting of one of the plant's three shifts at the end of August.

While the company hopes to avoid compulsory redundancies, it remains to be seen whether the voluntary deal on the table will be embraced by sufficient workers to avoid it.

Birkenhead MP Frank Field fears the decision could represent the beginning of the end for the 42-year-old factory which currently employs 3,300 people.

"It raises the question of how serious General Motors are in maintaining the Ellesmere Port plant," he warned.

He urged Prime Minister Tony Blair, who wants a swift meeting with GM management, to seek such an undertaking as "the first priority".

Mr Blair yesterday hailed the Vauxhall employees as "a magnificent workforce" and told MPs the job cuts were "deeply disappointing".

"The key campaign is to get the new Astra model built at Ellesmere Port," he said.

"I will personally seek an early opportunity to talk to GM's chief Rick Wagoner to put the case for Ellesmere Port and to offer any UK government assistance that is appropriate.

"I know they would be well worthy of securing the Astra model and I very much hope they do so."

Tony Woodley, former Ellesmere Port worker and now general secretary of the T&GWU, which represents 60% of plant workers, said manufacturing in the UK was being "massacred" and there was no justification for the job losses.

He said: "One reason is because our weak labour laws do not protect our people and we are quick and easy to sack.

"Our position is very clear. If there is any threat to the long-term future of the plant, our intention is to affect their market share in this country."

But he said he was still hopeful for the future of car making in Ellesmere Port.

He said: "It's not irretrievable in our view. There will still be 2,300 people who will be wanting to work here. It's a productive, efficient and profitable car plant."

The grim news was given to workers yesterday morning just after Chancellor Gordon Brown and Trade and Industry

Secretary Alistair Darling arrived at the plant to meet senior managers.

It was Mr Darling who offered the biggest glimmer of hope of the day, with a strong hint that the Government will look kindly on a major grant application to help win the

contract for the new Astra. Mr Darling said: "We are extremely disappointed to learn about the company's decision to cut one of Ellesmere Port's three shifts.

"We are pleased that the company has made clear that the change announced today will help the plant's prospects of securing its long-term future by winning production of the next generation Astra.

"Much more needs to be done to deliver that prize, but we will continue to work very closely with Ellesmere Port to support its bid.

"In particular, we have received an application for grant aid to support the investment for the New Astra. We cannot make a formal decision on that today, as we have go through the proper procedure.

"But it is fair to say that when Vauxhall and unions have come to us with world-class projects in the past, we have responded positively as we would hope to do in the future. Over the last 10 years, we have invested £25m in Ellesmere Port, backing the investment of GM and the efforts of the workforce."

Chancellor Gordon Brown, who arrived in a Vauxhall Vectra, pledged £2m to help re-train those affected by the decision and said the Government would work with the company to secure the site's future.

He said: "We want to do everything we can as a government to put this company and the workforce in a position to win a new model and secure £100m plus of investment to guarantee work for 20 years ahead in this area."

Leaders of the T&GWU and Amicus said they would be advising their workers not to take the redundancy package on offer from GM.

Convenor John Fetherstone said: "We want everyone to stay in a job and GM to have a rethink, and we want guarantees about the new Astra, the Delta, coming to Ellesmere Port.

"We will be saying to people stand fast, don't take what's on the table.

"And if not everyone takes the voluntary package then we would say to Vauxhall you had better find work for these people or offer them terms like they get in Germany.

"If there were the threat of compulsory redundancies, we would certainly be in a dispute situation."

The unions claimed the 900 workers in Ellesmere Port were "cheaper, easier and quicker" to fire than their European counterparts.

As GM made the announcement everyone expected but still dreaded hearing, the head of Amicus, Derek Simpson, said they would call for a boycott of Vauxhall if GM closed the plant.

Vauxhall maintained the cuts would give the Merseyside plant a greater chance of being selected to build the next generation of Astra.

Chairman Jon Browning said: "Quality and productivity have shown significant improvements, but the issue of long-term competitiveness remains.

"We need to address this. This move will have positive effects on the cost structure of the plant. With more than 100 years of history behind it, Vauxhall is a very important brand for our company.

"We remain convinced that a manufacturing presence in the UK is desirable. We remain committed to working with the trade unions, government and all other partners to enable Ellesmere Port to have a strong and vibrant future."

According to a rating scale by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, UK employment laws are some of the weakest in Europe. According to this scale the UK has a rating of 1.1, compared to 2.3 for the Netherlands, 2.5 for Germany and 2. 9 for France.

According to the union Amicus, on average in France it costs £100,000 to

make a French worker redundant, whereas in Britain the maximum allowed for statutory redundancy is £50,000 for 20 years' service.

Steve Hart, chairman of the union's joint negotiating committee, said: "Vauxhall want to get rid of this shift by August - they couldn't have done this in Germany or Belgium so quickly. It just wouldn't be feasible.

"Production costs are 26.4 euros per hour in Ellesmere Port, compared to 31 euros in Antwerp and 33.5 euros in Bochum. In Bochum, there were 1,000 redundancies last year with another 450 still to go because they have not found the training for them.

"In the UK, it's easier, quicker and cheaper to get rid of workers."

iammurphy@dailypost.co.uk

We've worked our guts out to meet their targets > > >

We've worked our guts out to meet their targets

WORKERS leaving after the morning shift yesterday described themselves as "absolutely gutted" and "devastated", saying they felt let down.

Dave Beech, from Birkenhead, said he had been at Vauxhall for 13 years.

"It stinks. This place is going to shut soon, even though we've been working our guts out to meet their targets."

Andy McKeown, from Connah's Quay, a Vauxhall worker for 10 years, said there had been rumours of the shift being cut for months. He said: "It's very gloomy."

And Neil Simes, from Birkenhead, added: "I've been here for eight years and this is probably the factory's lowest point ever. It just shows we're easy to get rid of."

Phil Allman, Amicus convenor at the site, said the decision to cut jobs at Ellesmere Port had been "callous", adding, "this decision was made in America where they have no feeling for this area. There are no guarantees."

Tracey O'Connor, from Bromborough, had seen numerous changes in the shifts in her seven years there.

She said: "It's not exactly a shock - there have been rumours in the pipeline for a few weeks.

"But when they make it definite you sort of panic a bit and wonder what the future holds."

Keith Brownbill, from Buckley, in North Wales, said he was not surprised by the news of job losses,

but was considering taking the redundancy package. He said: "I don't know what the package is yet. But we don't know what the conditions are going to be like because they are trying to be competitive with places like Poland. It looks like we're going to lose a lot of our shift allowances."

Why did GM choose to act now? > > >

Why did GM choose to act now? Business Editor BILL GLEESON gives his analysis of yesterday's events

GENERAL Motors is a company under pressure. Last year it lost $10bn.

The poor financial performance was due to rising raw material prices and stiff competition from rivals in all markets around the world.

One big issue blighting the company's prospects is its obligation to fund medical care for tens of thousands of its retired workers in the US. With people living longer and the price of medical treatments rising, the cost to the company's profit and loss account has escalated sharply. Some commentators have even suggested that it's not impossible the carmaker could go bust.

Shareholders have become frustrated by the losses and are demanding urgent action to restore profitability.

As a result, management are looking for ways of reducing costs and that includes firing workers. So much so, that it isn't just Ellesmere Port which has received bad news this week. The carmaker said on Monday it is also getting rid of 960 workers from its plant in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Shifting production to central and eastern Europe is another way it can cut costs. Workers in Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland are paid one-third of the wages received by UK workers. The Astra is already made in Poland.

Professor Karel Williams, a motor industry researcher at the University of Manchester, said: "The European car industry is very difficult indeed.

"People are making margins of 2%. The ones in the middle of the market are really getting hammered. Ford, Vauxhall, Volkswagen and Renault. There is a lot of over-capacity."

Professor Williams believes the big problem that causes carmakers to close UK factories, rather than sister plants in Europe, is not the difference in employment protection, as has been vigorously argued by the unions, but geography.

"The more important factor is that Britain is on the edge of the European motor industry. The main market is continental Europe, the currency is the euro and most suppliers are in continental Europe.

"So when they are looking for one to close the answer is the one on the periphery."

Professor Williams said he believes Ellesmere Port's days are numbered. That's because European car makers are going to have to become even more efficient if they are to have a long-term future because of the rapid growth in car production in China.

"Ellesmere Port may be lucky with the next Astra, but I would be very surprised if it was lucky after that."

Plants in the same group must also compete with each other. Management has become skilled at playing one off against another to win concessions from workers. Those making the biggest concessions get the job.

Yet, when it comes to comparisons between plants, these latest job cuts at Ellesmere Port might result in an unexpected twist to the tale. It could be that a reduced staff will make the plant appear more efficient and therefore able to make a stronger case for the Astra replacement.