Long strike ends, another stepped up

The strike at Friction Dynamex finally ended last month after two years nine months.

The 87 workers, members of the T&G general union, were sacked in 2001 after taking strike action. They won an employment tribunal case for unfair dismissal, but have not received any compensation.

The company, in Caernarfon, North Wales, was put into liquidation in August 2003 to avoid paying the compensation.

Another long-running strike, at William Cook in Sheffield, was set to go to final appeal on 29 January. The 37 sacked foundry workers won an employment tribunal order for reinstatement after two years nine months on strike but the company lodged an appeal. The dispute began in April 2001 when the company cut wages by £80 to £120 per week and, when the workforce took a one-day strike, they were sacked.

And finally, in another long-running dispute, Scotland's nursery nurses will ballot for all-out indefinite strike action in February if their two-year old pay claim is not settled.

UNISON, which represents the 4,000 nursery nurses, has called a further three days of strikes in advance of any indefinite strike.