The shirts say it all: Goodyear becomes Badyear for tyre workers facing the axe
Goodyear workers facing redundancy have switched their uniform for customised shirts with 'Badyear' printed across their chests.
Showing they still have humour in the face of adversity, the three retread workers wore the shirts to work at the Wolverhampton plant in Bushbury Lane, which is set to close with the loss of more than 300 jobs.
On the back of the shirts are the words 'Today, Tomorrow, Redundant' - a play on company slogan 'Today, Tomorrow, Together."
Wayne Devaney, who has worked at the tyre plant for 28 years, posted the picture on social media yesterday and said the shirts had lifted the mood among staff.
He said: "I was quite shocked because they had said nothing to me about it.
"It has really put a smile on a lot of faces. The way talks have gone and with the government not getting involved everyone is feeling a bit down.
"There is still some optimism here and people want to carry on the fight. There is a lot of anger, that is the main thing."
Meanwhile, trade union representatives from Goodyear plants across the world met in Birmingham yesterday to show their support for their counterparts in Wolverhampton.
Gerard Coyne, West Midlands regional secretary of Unite, opened the two-day conference by telling delegates about what he believes was a 'sham consultation' ahead of the closure announcement in October.
Kemal Özkan, assistant general secretary at IndustriALL Global Union, said: "We know this may happen in our own countries and this is why it is our struggle too.
"We will continue to make efforts to reverse the decision to close the plant."
