We share the revulsion of the hundreds of Belfast workers who
demonstrated on the Lisburn Road against these racist attacks in
Belgravia Avenue and Wellesley Avenue over the last week. We applaud
the efforts of those workers who gathered together and offered their
moral and practical support to the Roma people who were forced from
their homes by the fascist thugs using the name of Combat 18 – the
British fascist terror group.
REPORT: Striking
construction workers at Scottish Power’s Longannet Power Sation in Fife
decided at a mass meeting this morning to restart work to-day.
FRIDAY LATEST:If the reports being posted in the national press websites are to be
believed, it looks like the striking Lindsey workers have won a great
victory.
The economic
crash following the so-called ‘credit crunch’ has caused property prices to
nose dive since their peak in 2007. This has led to property developers and
house builders to “retard” their construction projects. The colossal drop in
land prices has served to further irritate this problem because house builders,
who bought land during the peak, have chosen not to build on them yet until,
when they hope, property prices rise again. Also they do not wish to sell the
land due to the massive reduction in its value.
An attempt by Unite members to present the case of Justice for Cleaners
activists who were sacked by the company Mitie after successfully
campaigning for the living wage was ruled “out of order” at a meeting
of 80 plus trade unionists in London on Thursday 18 June.
Here are some photos from Tuesday’s solidarity action at Lindsey where workers are protesting at the sacking of nearly 650. Pictures show both sacked workers marching and burning their dismisal letters and the show of solidarity from other workers.
Workers at the Lindsey Oil refinery site have been demonstrating
over redundancies and sackings made by Total, the multinational company that
owns Lindsey, and contractor Shaws. Nearly 650 workers were given their cards
by a management determined to break the union. In a show of equal
determination, workers on other sites around the country have been coming out
in solidarity.
MONDAY UPDATE: Workers have been coming out today in support of the sacked Lindsey
workers – 900 of who received their cards last week after continuing to
stand up to the management.
Almost 3 months
after the mistaken decision of the Irish trade union leaders to call off the March 30th
strike action, the discussions around a recovery plan are still floundering.
The trade union leaders will have to show some progress at the ICTU conference
next month, so they need something concrete to report on. But, given the severe
economic crisis that the state is experiencing it seems unlikely that anything
substantial will emerge. However there is the possibility that some sort of
deal will be done. But, as we explained recently, it’s likely to have more
holes in it than a Swiss cheese.
SATURDAY 20th JUNE: As reports are coming in about clashes between protesters and police
in Tehran, it is clear that the movement against the fraud has reached
a critical point. Khamenei’s speech yesterday threw down the gauntlet
to the movement and threatened repercussions for continued protests but
the organised working class are now joining the struggle against the
regime.
Talks
between the GMB and Unite unions and the Engineering Construction Industry
Association have broken down as a rash of unofficial strikes have broken out
over major construction sites all over the country. There has been action at
South Hook liquefied natural gas terminal near Milford Haven, at Lindsey oil
refinery in Lincolnshire
and at Stanlow refinery on Merseyside.
These strikes are completely illegal under the anti-union laws.
For the past week contract workers have been on unofficial
strike at the Lindsey Total oil refinery in Lincolnshire. The workers are working on the
desulphurisation plant there. Solidarity action had been building up all over the
country with more than 2,000 workers staging stoppages at 10 other sites.
Now Total has escalated the confrontation by sacking 900
workers, resorting to the worst traditions of the boss class.