Production at beleaguered Belfast-based aerospace firm Shorts ground to a near halt today as a bitter pay dispute intensified.
With workers 48 hours away from an all-out and potentially lengthy strike, members of the two main unions downed tools in a row over conditions.
Management estimated only 100 out of 3,500 staff were continuing to operate a shop-floor production tracking system at the Queen's Island plant.
Members of Amicus and the Transport and General Workers' union were ordered home under threat of instant dismissal due to their unofficial action.
"There's no work being done. If you see a manager you bang your rivet gun but that's it," said one.
"But the whole factory is out from Wednesday, with picket lines and all.
"We're prepared for a long haul because we suspect the company has a couple of complete orders up their sleeves and know they can hold out for a while.
"We don't expect this to be resolved until the New Year."
Shorts, which is Northern Ireland's largest manufacturing employer, has been locked in a long-running dispute with the unions.
The firm's Canadian-based parent company, Bombardier, has made it clear it needs to cut the workforce in Belfast to boost competitiveness.
But a four-year pay deal, involving a salary freeze over the first 12 months, has yet to be accepted.
Workers were warned that if they did not take it there could be another 1,000 redundancies on top of the job losses already announced.
So far 600 staff have been paid off this year, with another 100 expected to go.
A spokesman for Shorts confirmed workers were given two warnings and then told they were off the pay roll amid concerns over health and safety.
Fears of other staff facing possible intimidation had also forced management to get them off the premises.
"This is unofficial industrial action and if they return it could mean they are subject to dismissal," the spokesman warned.
He added: "At a time when the aviation industry is in its worst crisis for decades and hundreds of thousands of jobs have been lost, we find it extraordinary that the unions are taking such action and putting jobs at risk.
"It will have a big impact on our reputation and the unions say they are concerned about redundancies, but this does not help."
PA