Basque workers fight closure with 'Full Monty'

Employees at a technology plant in Biscay, currently faced with closure, will do whatever it takes to fight potential redundancy... even if it means bearing all.

The ABB Group is planning to lay-off a total of 280 of its staff, of which 180 are currently employed at its Trapagarán plant in the Basque Country.

After countless protests and demonstrations, employees at Trapagarán have taken the bull by the horns, so to speak, and released a home-made video of themselves lip-synching to the Village People''s ''YMCA'' - completely naked.

The Biscayan take on The Full Monty comes with the slogan "cierre... por pelotas". Roughly translated it means "closure at whatever cost" in reference to the fact they will do whatever it takes to stop ABB shutting down the plant.

The ABB Group operates in more than 200 countries and has 24 plants in the Spanish state, including 2 in the Basque Country. As a consequence of the recent recession, the Group is applying to the Government for permission to dismiss a number of its staff via a workforce adjustment plan known as ERE (Expediente de regulación de empleo).

On Wednesday, 200 staff from the plant in Trapagarán travelled in a bus to Zaragoza, where they Group''s application for ERE is to be negotiated.