A BELFAST hunger striker whose public battle against his trade union nearly cost him his life this week will bring his story to Liverpool later this month.

Sacked airport shop steward Gordon McNeill went without food for 15 days and then ramped up his protest by refusing water for five days this week in Belfast.

His fight for the basic rights to hold trade union membership and to make peaceful protest has gone on for years.

He won a landmark employment tribunal judgment in Belfast last year on the grounds he had suffered discrimination for being in a trade union.

The legal landmark means trade union status is protected by the same equality laws that look after minority groups.

But despite the victory for unionism, his own group, Unite, refused to pay all legal fees. This left him thousands of pounds out of pocket and unable to pay his solicitors.

As a result, his legal team threatened to withdraw meaning his former employers would win at appeal by default.

Mr McNeill, speaking exclusively to the Daily Post from his Belfast home, said: “I’m not a militant man. I’m moderate.”

And so he staged a hunger strike on the side of Unite’s Transport House alongside Protestant and Hindu shop stewards.

The protest was dramatically escalated after the union, where Merseysider Tony Woodley is general secretary, won an injunction to remove him from their premises, thus quashing his protests.

Mr McNeill said: “The trade union members are used to employers serving injunctions to stop pickets and other protests. But to have our union using the law to try to take away our right to protest was unbelievable.”

His stand won widespread support. Liverpool’s Ricky Tomlinson and Jimmy McGovern were among the people to send messages of support.

Mr McGovern said: “The way in which Unite has treated the Belfast Airport workers is a disgrace.”

On Wednesday night, Mr McNeill’s life hung in the balance. It was decided to force feed him fluids to keep him alive. It was at this point he received a call from Merseyside TUC leader Alec McFadden.

He said: “I rang him and said he should take his story to the country and not die for it.”

Shortly afterwards, Mr McNeill was taken down.

As a result of Mr McFadden’s call, on June 11 he will bring his story to Liverpool’s Casa dockers’ club. It will be his first public engagement since the end of his hunger strike. He will appear with Ricky Tomlinson and sacked Liverpool dockers who fought their own battle.

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