MORE than 160 former shipyard workers have won £800,000 compensation from shipbuilder Cammell Laird, the GMB union said last night.
The former employees battled for the compensation for 21 months after being laid off following the closure of the company's South Tyneside shipyard.
The 167 workers are each in line for payments of between £4,000 and £8,000 after successfully proving at an employment tribunal in Newcastle that they were not given their 90 days' statutory notice.
Kevin Rowan of the GMB said: ''Where we see that our members have been unfairly treated at work we will pursue it as far as it takes to get our members what they are entitled to. 'This is another case where we have had to pursue it through the legal action. We will do that, but really it should have been settled in the workplace.''
Nobody from Cammell Laird was available to comment on the award, which was announced yesterday
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