12 March, 2014An interim tribunal said sacked Ineos worker and trade unionist Mark Lyon is ‘likely’ to get his job back when the case reaches the full hearing later on in the year. Petrochemical giant Ineos was also ordered to pay Mark Lyon full wages since February until the hearing.
Mark Lyon, a trade union convenor for IndustriALL Global Union affiliate Unite the Union, was sacked on sham charges in February this year. After 25 years of service at Ineos petrochemical plant at Grangemouth, Mark was tried in his absence by Ineos managers for not stopping the union commenting on media reports about fears of job losses at the plant. He was subsequently dismissed.
Believing that Ineos was determined to rush through a disciplinary process against Mr Lyon, denying his legal representatives the appropriate time to prepare his defence, Unite appealed the company’s decision and issued an employment tribunal claim for unfair dismissal and victimisation for trade union reasons.
On 7 March, in a blow to the petro-chemical company, the tribunal ruled that it was ‘likely’ that Mr Lyon will win his case for unfair dismissal when it goes to a full tribunal and ordered Ineos to pay his wages until the full hearing in a number of months.
Commenting, Unite legal director Howard Beckett says:
“We welcome this interim finding which gives Mr Lyon some financial security until the full tribunal where all the evidence will be heard.
“Ineos needs to drop its hostility to the workforce and ensure there is no victimisation of workplace representatives before the brain drain of skills at the site becomes a flood that threatens the site’s survival.
Jyrki Raina, IndustriALL general secretary, says:
“It is totally unacceptable to victimize trade union officials. The interim hearing says as much and we hope that Ineos pays heed.”