28
workers including a UNITE steward and safety rep have been dismissed
from the Crossrail project because of they are members of a trade union.
The unionised workers employed by E.I.S. Electrical were searched and removed from site last Friday at the instruction of Bam Ferrovial Kier (BFK), the consortium of contractors building Crossrail.
Video
of Day 3 Crossrail dispute - action spreads from Paddington to
Tottenham Court Road construction sites. Supermodels were delayed from
attending London Fashion Week catwalk shows
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qp_j9OIaawU
This
entire dispute is about Crossrail not wanting a specific UNITE steward
working on the project – it is blatant blacklisting. See below for
background info:
SACKED FOR JOINING A UNION
28
workers including a UNITE steward and safety rep have been dismissed
from the Crossrail project because of they are members of a trade union.
The unionised workers employed by E.I.S. Electrical were searched and removed from site last Friday at the instruction of Bam Ferrovial Kier (BFK), the consortium of contractors building Crossrail.
Crossrail
is going to be one of the largest infrastructure jobs in the whole of
Western Europe – if it is unionised, the workforce will earn good wages
and the job will be safe. This is a deliberate attempt by
BFK to intimidate workers and keep the union off the project, so they
can keep wages down and force through rushed production targets.
Whatever
nonsense BFK come up with to justify the dismissals, everyone knows
there are 3-4 years work left on the project for these sparks alone. But
as soon as the union appeared on the job, the steward was banned from
the tunnel and forced to sit in the site offices at Westbourne Park for
weeks on end. The Safety Rep was suspended and left to sit at home for
the past 13 weeks. Eventually BFK threw EIS off the job just to get rid
of the union.
The
Managing Director of E.I.S. has given the union a witness statement and
states that the only reason the workers and the reps have been removed
from the job is because of the union presence.
This is a dispute about safety and money. Even
the EIS electrical engineer was sacked after he took a photograph of
unsafe high voltage electrical cables. BFK are making money by playing
with our lives.
BFK want to save money on Crossrail
We want to save lives on Crossrail
blacklisting conspiracy exposed in 2009. There is documentary evidence
that their senior managers and Directors have illegally victimised union
members. We know exactly what they’ve been up to – We’re not going to
stand for it on Crossrail. The sparks won their fight against BESNA pay
cuts – The rank & file will win the fight for Crossrail.
· END THE BLACKLIST
· UNIONISE CROSSRAIL – ELECT YOUR OWN REPS
· FOR BETTER MONEY & BETTER SAFETY
Site Worker
Here is a Reelnews video of the protests on the 17th.
http://reelnews.co.uk/sparks-mass-picket-at-crossrail-video/