An employment tribunal has awarded assistant supervisor Billy Kelly 'interim relief' after hearing that the RMT rep was 'retired' on his 65th birthday despite the company's normal practice of allowing staff to work on until the age of 68.

The Croydon trubunal ordered that Billy should be re-instated pending a full hearing in September.

"The tribunal has provisionally agreed that Billy Kelly was forced to retire for no other reason that he was an effective and active union shop steward who was instrumental in winning recognition," RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today.

"The company argued that retirement at 65 was expressed in Billy's contract of employment, but not only had they never invoked the clause before, they had even taken on workers who were aged over 65.

"When Chubb took over the Eurostar security contract they told the union that it would never be recognised and it was largely thanks to Billy that the company has been forced to negotiate with us and that the vast majority of the workforce are members.

"Even after the Central Arbitration Committee ordered Chubb Security Personnel to recognise us, the company refused to co-operate and it took them six months to get around to talking to us.

"Billy had already suffered victimisation when the company demoted him and cut his pay after last year's successful pay strike, in which Billy also played a leading role.

"But their transparent bid to rid themselves of someone they considered to be a troublesome activist has cut no ice with the tribunal, and Chubb should understand that RMT will always stand by members who are victimised in this way," Bob Crow said.

"This company simply cannot be allowed to get away with victimising trade union representatives," said Richard Arthur of union solicitors Thompsons. "RMT has won the first round and we are confident of securing full re-instatement for Mr Kelly at the tribunal in September."