We, the undersigned, support the sacked Belfast airport shop stewards in their struggle for justice from their former employer, ICTS, and from their union, Unite.

We recognise that the shop stewards won an important legal victory for all trade unionists with last year’s Industrial Tribunal ruling that their sacking was political discrimination on grounds of their trade union opinions and socialist beliefs.

We call on the leadership of Unite to fulfil the commitments they made to the shop stewards in September 2007.

These were: that Unite would pay the legal costs of the Industrial Tribunal; that it would cover the legal costs of defending the appeal by ICTS against the Tribunal ruling; and that it would compensate the shop stewards for the hardship caused to themselves and their families by the union’s role in co-operating with ICTS to have them sacked.

We believe Unite should do this is in the interest of building strong trade unions that are able to defend members and prevent employers from victimising activists.