Re: [Marxism] British Wildcat Strike Wave?

["S. Artesian" <sartesian@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Found this on the libcom.org website:

>From a member of the LOR strike committee

Quote:

  'What's really behind the Lindsey Oil Refinery strike
  Keith Gibson, Personal Capacity, G.M.B. - elected onto unofficial LOR 
Strike Committee.
  Note: At the time of writing there are plans to lobby Alstom Head
  Offices on 5th February in London.

  A ninety day redundancy notice had been issued around mid November 2008 at 
Lindsey Oil Refinery (LOR) for Shaws' workforce.

  This meant that by February 17th 2009 a number of Shaws' construction 
workers (LOR) would be made redundant.

  The day before the Christmas holiday Shaws' shop-stewards reported to the 
men that a part of the contract on LOR's HDS3 plant had been awarded to 
IREM, an Italian company.

  The Stewards explained that Shaws had lost a third of the job to IREM who 
would be employing their own core Portuguese and Italian workforce numbering 
200-300.

  Stewards and Union Officials asked to meet with IREM a.s.a.p. after 
Christmas to clarify the proposal i.e. would IREM employ British labour? 
Shaws' workforce were told that the IREM workforce would be housed in 
floating barges in Grimsby docks for the duration of the job, they would be 
bussed to work in the morning, bussed to and from the barge for lunch.

  IREM workers would work from 7.30am - 11.30am and 13.00 - 1700. On 
Saturdays they would work 4 hours to make up a working week of 44 hours. The 
normal working week is 44 hours divided by 5 days, from 7.30 -1600 finishing 
at 1400 on Fridays (most workers work overtime).

  Normal breaks include 10 minutes in a morning and a 30 minute dinner 
break. Stewards were told that IREM workers would be paid the national rate 
for the job; to date this has not been confirmed.

  After Christmas the nominated Shop Stewards entered into negotiations with 
IREM. Meanwhile, a National Shop Stewards Forum for the construction 
Industry held a meeting in London to discuss Staythorpe Power Station where 
the company Alstom were refusing to hire British labour relying on non-union 
Polish and Spanish workers instead.

  It was decided that all Blue Book sites covered by the National Agreement 
for the Engineering and Construction Industry (NAECI) should send 
delegations down to Staythorpe to protest against Alstoms' actions.

  The workforce on the LOR site sent delegations. Then, on Wednesday 28th 
January 2009 Shaws' workforce were told by the Stewards that IREM had stated 
they would not be employing British labour.

  The entire LOR workforce, from all subcontracting companies, met and voted 
unanimously to take immediate unofficial strike action.

  The following day over a thousand construction workers from LOR, Conoco 
and Easington sites descended outside LOR's gate to picket and protest.

  This was the spark that ignited the spontaneous unofficial walk outs of 
our brother construction workers across the length and breadth of Britain.

  This worker solidarity is against the 'conscious blacking' of British 
construction workers by company bosses who refuse to recruit skilled British 
labour in the U.K.

  The workers of LOR, Conoco and Easington did not take strike action 
against immigrant workers. Our action is rightly aimed against company 
bosses who attempt to play off one nationality of worker against the other 
and undermine the NAECI agreement.

  THE B.N.P. SHOULD TAKE HEED, U.K. CONTRUCTION WORKERS WILL NOT TOLERATE 
'ANOTHER RACIST ATTEMPT' TO SEVER FRATERNAL RELATIONS WITH WORKERS FROM 
OTHER NATIONS

  Demands for Construction Industry:

  * No victimisation of workers taking solidarity action.
  * All workers in UK to be covered by NAECI Agreement
  * Union controlled registering of unemployed and locally skilled
  union members
  * Government and employer investment in proper training /
  apprenticeships for new generation of construction workers
  * All Immigrant labour to be unionised.
  * Trade Union assistance for immigrant workers - via interpreters
  - to give right of access to Trade Union advice - to promote active
  integrated Trade Union Members'

http://hammer-and-sickle.blogspot.com/2009/02/lindsey-oil-refinery-strike-confusion.html


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