Whole factory of Hartlepool workers dig into their pay packets to help war-torn Ukraine
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All 23 workers at the Phoenix Steel plant in town decided to donate an hour’s pay because staff felt they ‘wanted to do something to help’.
Phoenix processes steel plate for fabricators at its Hartlepool plant.
The company has another factory in Jarrow which is also doing its bit to support workers in Ukraine, especially as Phoenix has links with a company inside the war-torn country that it works with.
The Phoenix Hartlepool plant’s general manager, Tony Larkin, said: “A long serving employee approached me with the idea, stating that he was feeling as though he needed to help with fundraising. He asked if employees would be interested in donating one hours salary.”
Mr Larkin added: “I am very proud to say that all 23 employees agreed and it will be donated at the earliest opportunity.”
Meanwhile, Phoenix has also set up a JustGiving link so that staff and customers can make their own donations, with more than £1,100 already donated.
Phoenix is a company with close ties with a Ukrainian supplier which is located in one of the worst-affected regions of the war-torn country.
Its fundraising page said: “We know first-hand of the pain and suffering their staff face as some have desperately tried to escape and others have stayed to try to protect the business whilst losing everything themselves.”
In South Tyneside, sales director Vince Conroy told how the Jarrow plant would be supporting the cause.
“We thought we wanted to do something as a company to try and show our support for our colleagues in the industry who have had a hard time.
"We are going to make a sizeable donation and there is the JustGiving page for our customers and suppliers to support our colleagues in Ukraine.”
The South Tyneside firm employs around 30 people and is a stockist of steel products.
The JustGiving page added: “We feel duty-bound to support our Ukrainian colleagues during this devastating crisis and we want to show our allegiance to them by raising funds to assist them in any way possible so that one day soon they can return to the life they had before and continue to work with us.”
The page can be found at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/phoenixsteel
