WORKERS at the BT depot in Newport are fighting to keep their jobs in the city after the company announced a move to Bristol.

BT has operated out of its transport depot in Corporation Road for many years but the lease is due to expire in October 2004.

"Unfortunately the company has announced to its workforce they cannot find a suitable site that would meet their operational requirements within the required timescales," revealed a union representative.

"Apparently there is nothing available close to the M4, in and around Wales's newest city. It has been decided therefore that BT is going to move to Bristol."

The spokesman for the Communications Workers Union said those facing an uncertain future were not prepared to sit back and watch the jobs disappear.

"They are determined to campaign and they call upon the people of Newport to put pressure on the company to reverse the decision.

"They also ask their elected representatives to investigate why is it, with regard to BT, the city of Newport cannot compete for inward investment against the likes of Bristol."

He added the workers had written a joint letter to company chairman Sir Christopher Bland asking him to intervene on their behalf or explain the rationale behind the move.

BT is proposing a small, transport outstation in an existing location in Cardiff, but the vast majority of the workforce of drivers, loaders, security guards and supervisors, could move to Filton.

The union spokesman said once again good jobs were to be exported out of Wales. "How disappointing it is that large companies such as BT are not encouraged to stay in Wales and provide employment for loyal and dedicated workers close to their homes."

He understood the company, which wants to vacate the site by September 2004, had not approached Newport city council about a new site. Jason Mann, a BT spokesman, said: "There is no question of any compulsory redundancies for BT people.

"There are sufficient alternative jobs available either at our transport warehouse in Cardiff which is one possibility, or at the new depot we plan to establish in Bristol.

"We have carried out a thorough review in terms of seeing if we could find alternative sites in the Newport area which offered the facilities we need, but we were unable to find anything suitable."