A PROTEST was held outside a Warrington warehouse on Thursday over links to a company that is accused of having unfairly 'sacked' four workers.

Unite The Union held the protest outside of Plastic Omnium, in Omega Boulevard, in solidarity with the ‘Murphy Four’.

A group of four fitters and welders who worked for Murphy International, now known as the ‘Murphy Four’, were fired from their jobs according to Unite.

However the Irish-based company refutes the claims saying the 'misleading claims' are 'factually untrue'. A spokesman added that the matter was subject to legal proceedings in Ireland.

Felicie Burelle, Managing Director of Plastic Omnium, has links to Murphy International through her role as an independent director at Bouygues, which led Unite to protest outside the Plastic Omnium site.

Warrington Guardian:

Speaking at the protest, Phil Potter, 57, a Unite Organiser and part of the Unite organiser and leverage team said: “We are asking Felicie Burelle to talk to the Murphy company, John Murphy in particular the owner, to get him to resolve the situation, reinstate the four workers who we believe were unlawfully sacked.

“This is the start of a leverage campaign, we are going to be starting to visit anyone with a connection to Murphy. If you have links to the Murphy group, you can expect to see us.

“Our stewards are here today showing their support, they understand collectivism is what the union is all about – if you attack one of us you attack all of us.”

The ‘Murphy Four’ were fired after organising a meeting of 14 workers at Murphy’s Rusal Alumina plant where they worke, says the union.

Warrington Guardian:

Unite claim this was due to Murphy refusing to honour agreements on payment they are entitled to by law. A supervisor took the names of those as the meeting and all 14 were suspended.

The four who organised this meeting were investigated and sacked for ‘unofficial strike action’.

According to the Unite group, in meetings with the Murphy group, the four were told they were in part sacked for not showing “remorse”.

These claims, however, are strongly refuted by Murphy International.

A spokesperson for Murphy said: “We categorically refute Unite’s misleading claims concerning the nature of this case.  The claims regarding the reason for the dismissals and allegations of union busting are factually incorrect. 

“Murphy International Limited acted in response to unballoted, unnotified, and therefore unlawful strike action taken by a small minority of workers at our Aughinish site in Limerick, Ireland.

“Murphy has had a presence on site for over 40 years, enjoying good industrial relations on the site.  

“All its employees who work on the site are members of trade unions. The company has always indicated that it is open to resolving this matter amicably and sensibly. 

“We remain committed to maintaining an open dialogue with all parties around this issue to try to draw a line under this matter. 

“This matter is currently subject to legal proceedings in Ireland.”

Plastic Omnium declined to comment after numerous attempts at contact.