THERE is a strong feeling of resentment smouldering among tobacco workers across the country.

Resentment towards the European Union for attempting to implement laws they see as a real threat to their jobs.

Perhaps more importantly, there is resentment towards their elected representatives in the British Parliament for what they see as a failure to listen to their concerns.

The problems facing the wider manufacturing sector in the North-East are well documented, but mention the tobacco industry and it is normally greeted with a deadly hush.

Gone are the days when a cigarette hanging from your lips was the epitome of sophistication.

The manufacture of cigarettes is something we all know goes on. However, it seems the less we hear about it the better.

But silence is no longer an option, according to the tobacco workers, who say they are tired of being treated like the black sheep of industry.

About 100 workers travelled south from the North-East yesterday to join their colleagues in a lobby of Parliament to highlight their worries.

Some had just completed a night shift before boarding the 6am bus at the Rothmans plant in Darlington, County Durham, so determined were they to back the day of action.

Ray Raper, from Darlington, a Rothmans worker for 22 years, had just completed an eight-hour shift.

He said: "It is important to be here because people need to know that this is not a health issue - it is all about jobs."

"Whatever happens, these cigarettes will still be manufactured, only it won't be here in Darlington, it will be somewhere else."

Despite a four-and-a-half hour journey turning into a seven-hour trip, by the time the workers arrived in Whitehall they were upbeat as they met up with colleagues from around the country.

The overwhelming mood remained defiant, despite what they see as a lack of interest from both MPs and MEPs about their plight.

An indifference to the European Union directive threatening the export production of low-tar cigarettes was summed up by Brenda Warrington, president of the MSF union and chairman of the Tobacco Workers' Alliance (TWA).

"To say we have been ignored is certainly an understatement. There has certainly been some sympathy from some MPs, but we've simply heard the same argument again and again," she said.

"The health issue appears to be a red herring, and what matters to the TWA is that people's jobs are at risk.