October
11 Unite members at printers Wyndeham
Impact in Basingstoke protested last Friday outside the closed factory to
continue their fight for their jobs, unpaid wages, holiday pay, sick pay and
against the previous sacking of two printers.
They were joined by
supporters from the area, including National Shop Stewards Network (NSSN)
secretary Rob Williams.
The sacking of 60
printers by Wyndeham Impact shows the ruthless outlook of the bosses in their
goal to feed their profit driven business.
Skilled workers who have
given decades of work have been treated like dirt. It is a stark warning to
working people and the trade
unions of what to expect as employers attempt to squeeze every ounce of
profit out of workers.
Longer hours and lower pay is
their gospel unless the unions take the necessary steps to fight back.
Once again, like workers
in the public sector such as those at Southampton City Council, legally binding
contracts are shown to be worthless bits of paper, as the bosses tear up
agreements.
Unite trade union
members have mounted a determined and courageous campaign for what was
rightfully theirs.
Over 24 weeks of
industrial action, including weekly strikes, they have stood together on the
picket line, the only means left to force the employers to adhere to the
agreements that had been signed.
On Friday 30 September
the 30 day consultation period ended, and workers were shocked at the news that
Wyndeham Impact was closing.
Nothing had been said to
the union either to officials or to reps at Impact. Management phoned workers
telling them not to come in, the company was shutting and they would get their
notice in writing.
One worker in the
factory on Friday was notified by his wife, who phoned him after getting a
message from the company on their answerphone at home.
Wyndeham bosses have
torn up every agreement with the union, sending them down the road with
statutory redundancy to be paid over twelve months. Unite says
this is illegal and will take Impact to court.
On the one-year pay cut
of 13% from 2009, workers lost thousands of pounds which went into the pockets
of Impact.
The workers were forced
to work bank holidays, then were given final written warnings for working to
their contracts.
They had to take the
company to court to claim sick pay, only to be paid up the day before the
hearing.
The onslaught on workers
across the public and private sector needs to be met with the full force of the
trade unions. The 30th November public sector strike will be a step towards
this.
Readers can send
messages of support to the strikers by speaking to Steve Adams on 07884430305
