AN agreement has been reached to end the bitter 10 week dispute at the Belfast car components firm Montupet. The settlement, which was brokered by the Labour Relations Agency and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, includes financial packages for the 18 sacked workers at the centre of the row, and for those wishing to leave the company voluntarily.

A spokesman for the company said that the sacked men would each receive £4,500,10 be administered in the form of a trust fund. This will be managed jointly by the company and a representative of the sacked men, and disbursed over a number of months.

However, he said that the sacked men would have to adhere strictly to the settlement agreement.