Holiday firm staff demand answers
EX-THOMAS COOK EMPLOYEES GATHER AT PARTY CONFERENCE TO DEMAND ANSWERS
FORMER Thomas Cook employees who were left without jobs when the company collapsed last week are calling for answers about how it could have been allowed to happen.
Workers and their supporters joined a Unite the union peaceful protest outside the Conservative Party conference in Manchester city centre yesterday.
They are calling for answers as to why the company went under, with the loss of thousands of jobs, despite making a profit.
Those who attended also asked for answers as to why some of the company’s subsidiaries in Europe were given bailouts by their own governments, but the UK was not.
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham was among the politicians to attend the demonstration, which was held outside Central Library.
Addressing the crowd, he said: “People have got bills to pay, children to feed, mortgages, we need prompt action to ensure statutory redundancy pay for unpaid wages is delivered quickly, so people are not left in a difficult position where they are left worrying how they will keep everything together.
“We need help with re-training. We want the government to support the jobs fair Greater Manchester has organised this Thursday, let’s get public organisations there, let’s maximise the number of jobs we put before people to help them get back as quickly as possible.
“They need something else as well, these proud staff need answers from the government they need answers as to why an airline, which I’ve been told was very profitable, and where this year all the sales targets have been hit by staff – why has a profitable airline, employing thousands of people at Manchester Airport, why was it allowed to go to the wall?
“Why in other countries like Germany, do the authorities step in and secure the future of the airline and all the jobs related to it – why don’t we do the same?
“What’s wrong with our culture that we just think it’s okay to let a company with all this history in the north west of England and at Manchester Airport just to go to the wall?
“We need better answers about how we get a corporate culture in this country that works for everybody.”
On Sunday, Thomas Cook boss Peter Fankhauser insisted he tried ‘his absolute best’ to save the company.
The government has launched an inquiry into the collapse of Thomas Cook and its management.
Cabin crew managers Colin and Louise Griffiths were among former Thomas Cook workers who attended the demonstration.
Colin, who worked for the company for 22 years, says he cannot understand how a profit-making company was allowed to fold.
He said: “The true facts need to come out, the airline we worked for made a £100m profit last year alone, I just can’t get my head around why someone would let such a profitmaking company just go down without a fight.
“We’ve had some bad management decisions, things need to be looked at.
“Why were other countries prepared to raise money to help us out?
“This is going to have a massive impact on their economies, Spain, Greece, Turkey all put offers on the table to help us out, we just needed a little bit more from the British government to at least tide us over and get some facts out and assess the situation.
“Right now we have got thousands of employees out of work.
“Not only that, it is having a massive rippling effect, it’s not just the airline itself but at the airport we have our baggage handlers, our caterers, our cleaners, refuellers, check in staff, all of these now are being faced with redundancy and there is going to be a massive void.
“We were such a big airline at Manchester alone and now we have to sit back and watch other airlines fight like vultures for all of our profitable routes, all our amazing slots.
“That says to me that we were doing it right, we just needed that help away from some of the bad management decisions that were made.
“We believe a deal had been made and we were all quite confident that there would be some changes but we were prepared to do that.
“We knew we were making a big profit in our heads there was no way this could happen to us, we were such a big company and we were making such a profit, that’s why it was like being hit by a brick when it happened.
“If anything it’s taught me a life lesson, no one is safe.
“Where I work for next, you are never safe, don’t take it for granted you work for a big company it’s the future for you and you will retire from that company, no matter how long you have been there, you are never safe, it has really knocked my confidence.”
Colin, who has four-year-old twins with his wife, says the couple are staying strong for their children, but says finding himself without a wage for the first time has felt degrading.
He added: “Unfortunately all our eggs are in one basket, so it’s had a massive impact.
“We should have been paid today, all of our bills and mortgage are going out tomorrow and at the moment not a penny has gone into my bank account.
“It’s been a devastating week but we have had to stay strong for the children, still be parents, but my priority has just been to try to sort out funds, it’s been very degrading for me to find myself in this position I’ve never found myself in before, begging for a bit of help.”