Otis and ICL

LIFT WORKERS employed by Otis, Britain's biggest lift manufacturer, began an national overtime ban last week over pay.

The 1,100 workers, members of the Amicus union, voted for action including a strike after bosses imposed a pay deal in October that the workers had rejected by two to one.

WORKERS AT ICL in West Gorton in Manchester were set to hold a protest against compulsory redundancies on Tuesday of this week.

ICL plans to sack over 1,000 workers, including 200 at the West Gorton site. The workers, members of Amicus, are furious. One worker said, 'I've worked at ICL for nearly 29 years. For 13 years I have been commuting from Stoke-on-Trent after ICL moved my job up to Manchester. I still have two children at school and a mortgage. I am deeply concerned about our future. At the age of 53 it will not be easy to find a decent job.'