Union members at the Runcorn plant have also vowed to oppose the sale at a specially-convened meeting on Wednesday.

The sale, announced a fortnight ago, will affect 181 workers, 40 of whom are to be retained by ICI. It has provoked 'considerable anger' among staff, according to a union official.

Glyn Thornton, regional organiser for the GMB, said: "The workforce has given long and loyal service to ICI and now feel bitterly let down by the company."

Workers at ICI decided to hold a strike ballot over the sell-off, as well as seeking legal advice on ICI's proposal.

And Mr Thornton labelled the process whereby all workers are brought into direct competition for the 40 jobs within ICI, "premature, unfair and divisive."

In calling on ICI to suspend its exercise to pick the men to be kept on, Mr Thornton said: "Until we know what the eventual outcome will be it is fundamentally wrong to identify which employees ICI are saying will be safe."

An ICI spokesperson said the company was "disappointed' by the union's stance.

She said: "We are disappointed that the unions have decided to oppose plans to sell part of ICI's maintenance organisation."

The decision was taken with the future of the maintenance division in mind, she said, and ICI was hopeful of a buyer being announced before Christmas.

"We shall continue to consult with our employee and their union representatives throughout the process. We have agreed to meet the full-time official to discuss their concerns further."

She added that the company had already had a number of applications for the 40 posts to be transferred to within ICI.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.