HUNDREDS of workers at a Vauxhall car plant staged an unofficial walkout yesterday in a dispute over temporary staff, halting production of the Astra.
Workers at Ellesmere Port took part in the strike in protest at the ending of contracts for 46 temporary employees.
Vauxhall said it was extremely disappointed at the walkout and said the contracts were due to run out yesterday.
A spokesman said: "It is extremely important that everyone at Ellesmere Port works together to ensure we can meet demand for the new Astra."
The company said parent General Motors could not afford to lose any production of the car.
Members of the Transport and General Workers' Union at the plant will vote next week for industrial action.
Since the temporary workers involved had been at the factory for two-and-a-half years, the union said they had been made compulsorarily redundancy.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article