| |
Sparks defy courts for
massive day of strike action across the country
07 December
What a day! The biggest of the 'Dirty 7' big contractors Balfour
Beatty (BBES) may have outlawed the strike by their electricians but today
December 7th saw protests, stoppages and walkouts all over the country.
Unite's strike was won by a 81% margin yet the bosses can run to the courts
and use the Tory anti-union laws to stop a just and legitimate strike.
Yet
its perfectly legal for them to impose new BESNA contracts on electricians
which will result in them losing up to 35% in pay. As usual, one law for the
rich and none for the poor. But sparks today have shown everyone, the
bosses, the government and the police that if the cause is right, laws
should be challenged and defeated. Unite are re-balloting, and we hope that
the new vote is an even bigger one and across the all the companies but
today showed that we can't and won't wait to jump through the legal hoops.
Let's set the date for the next stoppage - official or unofficial - and
spread the word. Next time let's shut down the whole construction industry
to defend the JIB.
Today also
saw many public sector workers and young people join the protests. This is
crucial as the Government and the Tory press try to split private sector
workers from those in the public sector who went on strike on N30 to defend
their pensions. Later this week, workers in Unilever will be striking to
defend their pensions from their employers attacks. The Socialist party and
the National Shop Stewards network is calling on the TUC to name the date
for the next public sector general strike as a follow-up to N30. We support
Unison in Scotland's motion from last Saturday which urges Unison and the
TUC to call the next strike on January 25th. This can reach out to workers
in the private sector and all those facing the brutal cuts that were caused
by the bankers' greed. Workers in all sectors united to defend our jobs,
incomes and pensions from the attacks of the government and their friends,
the greedy bosses and bankers.
LONDON
Police brought dogs to
the construction workers’ picket line outside Balfour Beatty’s site at
Blackfriars train station in London and forced workers into the passing traffic.
Protests have been going on since construction companies announced they would
withdraw from the Joint Industry Board (JIB) national agreement. After a massive
scrum, the pickets then occupied the road.
"Snarler", the not-so-friendly police dog
Chair of the National
Shop Stewards Network, Rob Williams, addressing the pickets, called on the HR
manager to come out and explain to pickets why electricians’ pay is being cut by
35%.
Bob Crow and Alex Gordon,
General Secretary and President of the railway and transport workers union RMT,
came down to offer solidarity against this brutal attack on living standards.
Bob Crow addressed the pickets and offered full support to today's and future
actions by sparks in defence of the JIB. A number of Unite Executive members,
down for their quarterly meeting in London, and officers also joined the picket
lines. Clare Laker-Mansfield from Youth Fight for Jobs brought solidarity. One
of the sparks at Blackfriars said, to huge cheers, that not one spark has gone
into work.
Once it became clear the strike of
electricians had been 100% observed on site it was decided to march on Balfour
Beatty's head quarters on Wilton Road, near Victoria Tube station. The march was
closely shadowed by police from the Met and City of London, a sign of how
seriously the bosses were taking today's strike.
A picket was formed at Balfour Beatty head
quarters just in time for a postman to arrive. In the finest traditions of the
CWU the postie refused to cross the picket line so there was no post for Balfour
Beatty today!
Picket outside Balfour Beatty HQ
The protests then moved off to a Gratte
Brothers site on Howick Place. Coincidentally, just as the pickets arrived, a
fire alarm went off inside. The whole site had to be evacuated and work was
stopped for over two hours.
Picket outside Gratte Brothers site off
victoria
Pickets took a well earned rest at noon but
vowed to resume at 5:30 PM back at Blackfriars when the night shift begins at
6PM.
NORTH WEST
On the Wirral, the St
Catherine’s hospital site in Birkenhead has seen its first protest, with a very
sympathetic response from the lads on the site. At Manchester town hall the
protest has got three of the four gates locked shut and stopped delivery vans
for 20 minutes. Pickets told the police they should “form a proper trade union
and strike with us!”
WALES
40 electricians and other
construction workers (including workers from other sites) protested outside
Llandough Hospital near Cardiff this morning. The electricians were not balloted
as it is not a Balfour Beatty site. This represented the first action of
construction electricians in Wales and there was a definite mood for more
action. Weekly rank and file meetings will take place and workers will be back
protesting outside the hospital next Wednesday. Cardiff Trades Council backed
the protest.
A meeting will be taking
place next Tuesday at 7 pm at the Cardiff Bus Sports and Social club with an
organiser of the electricians speaking. All welcome.
GLASGOW
The worker's united will never be defeated" rang
out on the cold December morning outside the BBES HQ in Glasgow as 150
electricians made clear they will not stop their action until the bosses
plans to cut wages and de-skill the industry are halted.
Sparks protest outside Balfour Beatty HQ in Glasgow
If the BBES management thought that their legal challenge to the workers
massive vote for strike action would cow the sparks - they were proved
wrong today.
In a very important development construction electricians from a number
of sites across Scotland, including at Grangemouth oil refinery, took
unofficial strike action today against Balfour Beatty.
After refusing to go on the job, 40 sparks from Grangemouth traveled
through to Glasgow to join 150 electricians in a national protest
outside the BBES HQ.
A Grangemouth electrician told us - "There's 40 of us come through from
Grangemouth to the protest today. Every spark walked off the job this
morning - there are no electricians on site at grangemouth oil refinery
today"
These walkouts mark an important new stage in the action, hitting the
bosses where it hurts - in their pockets.
BBES senior management were savaged by the sparks who took the
opportunity to vent their justified rage at the profit hungry bosses
slash and burn policies.
Socialist Party members received a very enthusiastic response to our
leaflets called for a national campaign of strike action across the
industry.
Further protests are planned again in the coming days.
IMMINGHAM
200 striking
electricians picketed the Conoco Philips oil refinery in
Immingham, which is situated next to Lindsey Oil Refinery
where the construction industry strikes began in 2009. About
150 sparks came from West Burton power station where the
night shift will strike as well, about 30 from Vivergo at BP
Saltend, Hull (where Redhall's workers where locked out
earlier this year) and a dozen working for a small
electrical contractor at Easington, East Yorkshire.
What the protest
lacked in organisation was made up for by improvisation as
pickets blocked one entrance to the site leading to massive
tail-backs down the industrial estate. Protesters leafleted
the Conoco workers (who come under the NAECI 'Blue Book')
arguing that if the employers can tear up the JIB terms,
then the NAECI would be next. Some of their electricians
joined the picket lines.
Paul
Tattersfield (Unite electrician) said that the BESNA that
the Big 7 want to impose is not just about pay-cuts but also
an attack on trade union rights, including not recognising
shop stewards if they haven't worked for the same company
for 2 years, something that is the exception in the
construction industry.
Electricians
will be back at Conoco next Wednesday 14 December along with
other engineering construction workers who are taking a
second day of national strike action against the NAECI pay
freeze.
HULL
30-40 striking
electricians picketed at the Kelvin Hall school construction
site in Hull where electricians working for Balfour Beatty
joined the protest. This follows a similar protest there a
couple of weeks ago and an 80-strong demonstration outside
Hull City Council last Friday which is pressuring the
authority not to contract Big 7 companies if they break the
JIB agreement.
Jarrow marcher
Matt Whale approached young apprentices on the Kelvin job
about joining the union which was appreciated by the Unite
strikers present. Mick Whale (NUT branch secretary) offered
to advise the sparks about other school construction
projects that Balfour's have got under the Building Schools
for the Future programme, reinforcing links made in Hull
over this year between public sector and private sector
workers.
HARTLEPOOL
At 6.30am around 200 sparks where met by
police at the Vic Dock entrance of Heerema in Hartlepool.
Initially the police presence was fairly low key and when
the protesters marched the mile or so to the Greenland Road
entrance the police stood by.
At this entrance the police began filming protesting sparks,
who in turn began taking photos of the cops!
After all the office staff had went into work it was decided
to march back to Vic Dock. As one of the sparks commented
later on facebook: “Plenty of plod, who almost caused a riot
by trying to block a road when there was no need.” Certainly
everything had been very peaceful until the police suddenly
skidded their van in front of the march, attempting to block
our way. One of the sparks was grabbed and manhandled by 2
or 3 cops. However, there were enough protesters around who
went to his rescue and he was released.
The police where clearly outnumbered, and were unable to
stem the flow as sparks just ignored the blockade. Once the
police lost control the march resumed peacefully – result!
Join the demonstration: 10am on 17 December at the Abbey
Street entrance to Heerema
MANCHESTER
Sparks protest presses Manchester council
over Besna and blacklisting by Baileys
By Steve Acheson, with Hugh Caffrey
Following our weekly Wednesday protest this morning,
Manchester Labour councillors sat up and took notice of what
we’ve been saying.
Work on the £100million contract to refurbish the town hall
annexe and central library is being done by companies
including the pay-cutting deskilling blacklisting outfit NG
Baileys.
Manchester city council were holding their full meeting as
our protest was drawing to an end, and the lead councillor
Geoff Smith came out to speak to us. I said to him, “If this
can happen at the headquarters of a Labour-dominated
council, what chance have we got anywhere else?!”
I explained about Baileys blacklisting and trying to impose
the new Besna contract, and emphasised that as this is a
Labour council, we expect something to be done about it!
It’s not like we’re appealing to a Tory council, we want the
council to intervene and force the contractors to commit to
no pay cuts, no deskilling (which Baileys has a track record
of, such as the Whiston hospital site), and a stop to be put
to blacklisting. Cllr Smith promised to get back to us.
We’re committed to protest here as long as it takes, a
long-term sustained protest until our demands are met. We’ll
be putting in written questions to the council in advance of
their next full meeting on Weds 1st February 2012, by when
we expect this to be resolved. That meeting will be at 10am
in the town hall.
Next Wednesday (14th December), we’ll be doing two hours on
the front of the site from 7-9pm at the site gates on Peter
Street, and then taking our banners round to the town hall
main entrance on Albert Square. We urge all supporters to
join us for both parts of the protest.
|
|
|
