Yesterday, Stephen Metcalfe,
local MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock, made his voice heard at a 200
strong protest outside Parliament by Visteon pensioners.
The local MP, who is chair of
the All Party Parliamentary Group for Visteon Pensioners, took to the megaphone
and rallied protestors with a rousing speech expressing his ongoing support for
their fight.
The rally marked the 4th
anniversary of the collapse of Visteon UK after it was spun off from Ford Motor
Company in 2000. Many employees were left with drastically reduced pensions and
claim that Ford set Visteon up to save costs and that it was always doomed to
fail.
Mr Metcalfe commented: “As I
said at the protest yesterday, we will continue to fight for the Visteon
Pensioners until Ford fulfil their moral obligation to their ex employees.”
“I have been joined in this
campaign by colleagues from across the political spectrum and from across the
country and we have worked tirelessly to seek justice for our constituents.”
The protest came just days
after Mr Metcalfe wrote a letter to Ford CEO, Alan
Mulally, asking him to reconsider
his position on compensating the ex Ford employees.
Mr Metcalfe added: “Both the
letter and the protest send out a clear message to Ford that we are united in
our support for the Visteon workers and that this is not an issue that can
simply be brushed under the carpet. We all want to see the pensioners receive
the money they are rightly entitled to and we will continue to draw attention
to this issue until this happens.”
