Saltend Update -

The Struggle Continues

20 April

At a mass meeting of the locked-out workers today, Vivergo's offer of cash was rejected and it was agreed to re-start the protest in the morning. If the deal had been agreed, it would have entailed the two unions GMB and UNITE signing a COT3 collective bargaining agreement preventing any worker taking further action either legally at a tribunal or taking part in protesting outside the BP / Vivergo site or anywhere else for that matter.

Workers are adamant that this dispute is about defending the NAECI agreement; and fighting to get back their jobs & implementing their TUPE rights. Agreeing the deal would have meant whoever took on the Redhall's contract would have been able to cherry pick employees intimidating these workers further via the selection process in the hope of creating a weakened subservient workforce.

The hard won demand of first in last out during a redundancy situation secured some weeks ago after taking strike action would have been jettisoned. The mood was positive and a determination to escalate the dispute resounded around the room. While it was positive that the GMB officer argued against the deal, shamefully, Unite advised the men to sign up. The men rebuked the Unite officer and ordered him to approach the Electricians and Scaffolders who had been allowed to go onto the Vivergo site while talks with the employers had ensued. 

The Unite Officer was told to ask these workers to re-join the protest outside the site as had originally been agreed if talks with the employers came to nothing. The meeting also agreed that the national NAECI combine stewards committee that was unilaterally cancelled by Unite on Monday be reconvened to discuss how to win this dispute.