Michelin today reassured workers that agency staff are not taking posts at the factory that could be filled by regular employees.
The Tele was contacted by a concerned worker who feared the tyrefitters had hired agency staff to the detriment of permanent employees.
He said: “Michelin management are bringing in agency workers to keep the factory operating.
“Workers were told the factory would close early if it could not operate and remaining employees would be paid up until June 2020 regardless.
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“However, management are keen to keep the factory running to as close as possible to that date.”
The worker’s concerns came in the same week that one former Michelin employee revealed he had been forced to turn to foodbanks after being made redundant.
A spokesman for Michelin said agency workers had always been employed when required.
It is understood that further temporary staff have been taken on to help the company fulfil orders and contracts.
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Michelin maintains that its first priority is to support permanent staff secure new permanent posts when the factory closes down for good in 2020.
The company is keen to stress that it is not taking on agency staff at the expense of employees or former employees.
Factory manager John Reid said: “This is all about allowing our employees to leave when it is most advantageous to them.
“If they find a good job that they want to go to immediately, that’s great news and we will absolutely not stand in their way.
“That means that on occasion we need people with specific skills to step in as we manage the ramp-down of the plant, and we use a very small number of agency staff to help with that.”
Bob McGregor, of Unite the union, said the organisation was aware that the company was employing agency staff to help fulfil its obligations to customers.
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He said: “The union has no issue with this. We continue to work with Michelin workers to find future employment.”
The Michelin factory closure was announced in November, with 845 jobs facing the axe.
Hundreds of staff have already managed to find alternative employment in the months since the news emerged.
