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No to GSK Compulsory Redundancies
The
GlaxoSmithKline Ware manufacturing site staff number has been more
than halved since 2007 from 1,900 to around 900 employees, with these
losses up to now mostly being met by voluntary redundancy.
During the course of 2010, GSK has introduced lean manufacturing
systems that have further reduced production-staffing levels and was
widely seen that it would lead to another round of redundancies.
On 8th September 2010 another redundancy announcement was given by the
site director to cut the staff number by a further 200 staff.
As a Unite trade union steward put it to a staff meeting on the
following day:
�This Company makes over �8Bn profit, that's �80k from each GSK
employee - but still this is not enough. We�re continually told about
the cost of labour and materials on site, but never told the selling
price of our product and where the difference goes. So where is the
work going for the 206 jobs being made redundant - we already know the
answer; the remaining 709 employees will be expected to work 25%
harder. In the last 2 years we have accepted permanent staff made
compulsorily redundant, while contract staff are kept on; accepted no
pay-rise; accepted increased workload and staff are expected to work
longer hours. If that is not enough. Well it's about time someone
said, and so I will -
Enough is Enough!�
While most of the job losses have again been met by voluntary
redundancy, in the coming week�s around than 80 staff will be served
with compulsory redundancy notices.
GSK are blatantly using this further redundancy to push through
unpalatable changes to staff working conditions in an attempt to get a
compliant workforce. The Ware management are also using this
restructuring and reorganisation to remove active Unite union reps,
those with legitimate sickness leave or those who are seen to be a
nuisance just because they are a challenge to site changes.
The National Shop Stewards Network offers support to GSK Ware workers
and to the workplace Unite union, supporting the calls for:
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No to
compulsory redundancies;
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No to
unfair methods and criteria for staff selection;
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No to
victimisation of trade union representatives or discrimination with
job applications
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