Former foundry workers win £186k payout over lack of consultation
Former workers at an historic foundry that closed down have won a £186,000 payout over the lack of consultation with staff before it shut with the loss of around 100 jobs.
A total of 93 ex-employees at the Incanite Foundries Ltd Smethwick have been awarded around £2,000 each following the closure of the site in May following cash flow problems.
Following major investment at the base, including a £1.4 million new aluminium foundry, it was hit by falling turnover and the loss of a number of customers late last year.
It called in administrators in the new year.
The metal castings business created in 1920 supplied goods to a variety of industries.
Unite, the union, said it had now secured the money for 93 employees following a hearing at Birmingham Tribunal held earlier this week.
The union's regional industrial officer Caroline Crolley said: "The foundry closed without warning in May. We then took them to tribunal this week for the award due to the lack of consultation with Unite and we were successful in that.
"As a result of the closure 93 employees were made redundant. Our award is for 90 days compensation or eight weeks pay. This equates to about £2,000 per person.
"We are delighted with the result. Just 13 of the 93 staff affected were Unite members. We will be contacting our members to inform them of the decision and to explain what they need to do next."
Incanite appointed Birmingham based administrators Baker Tilly in January.
A spokesman for Baker Tilly said: "Since the site closed we have auctioned off a number of the assets. The majority of those have been realised, but we have not yet reached the point where we are in a position to distribute proceeds to creditors. The process is ongoing."
In 2012 Incanite, formerly part of the Wellmann Group, announced plans to create an aluminium foundry as part of a major investment project. At the time bosses said 45 new staff would be recruited.
The plans included refurbishment of the premises which covered several acres.
The firm had secured a contract to make 11,000 posts for an airport in Dubai by January 2013.
It had attracted orders from a variety of sectors including the oil and gas industry, aerospace, marine, agriculture and military.
