Gearing up for Action

By New Worker correspondent

In Greenwich around 120 housing repair workers at are taking strike action for two days later this month after bosses reneged on a settlement over a new pay structure.

In October, Unite called off industrial action after a deal was hammered out with the Royal Borough for the carpenters, electricians and plumbers working from the Birchmere depot.

On Tuesday the union accused the council’s management of “backsliding” in failing to implement the new pay structure. Last autumn’s deal promised that the instances when Unite members’ pay can drop will be minimised. There will also be “pay protection” and, most importantly, no imposition of any changes unilaterally.

Unite regional officer Onay Kasab said: “Unite negotiated a settlement in good faith last October, but the management have been foot dragging and backsliding ever since.

“We thought we had a deal, but apparently that has turned out to be a mirage. As a result, we are calling two 24-hour strikes later this month which will severely disrupt repairs and renovations to the council’s properties.”

  Meanwhile in the Wirral on Merseyside, 180 binmen are voting for strike action against their employer Biffa Waste Services, which pays one of its directors £1 million per year.

The dispute is over a pay claim and over attempting to move the workforce on to monthly pay, without meaningful consultation or agreement on safeguards being put in place to ensure that members are paid correctly when pay day arrives.

Unite the union says that talks to resolve the dispute, involving conciliation service ACAS, have failed to find a resolution.

Unite regional officer Steve Gerrard said: “Biffa’s failure to meet the pay claim, and its high-handed manner in trying to force through monthly pay, has left workers with no option but to ballot for strike action.

“If strikes go ahead it will cause considerable disruption and rubbish will quickly start to pile up on the streets of the Wirral.

“Biffa claims it can’t afford to meet the pay claim of our members, despite paying a director a telephone number salary. Wirral residents need to ask if Biffa has got its priorities right.”

Across the country, Wilko, one of the discount chain store which has replaced Woolworths, is planning to slash the sick pay of its tens of thousands of staff in both its stores and distribution centres. The GMB union says there will be no company sick pay after the first occasion of sickness and that those with less than a year of service will have no rights whatsoever. The present dispute comes hard on the heels of drastic changes to the weekend working rota.

Gary Carter, the union’s national officer for the retail sector, said: “GMB members are furious that Wilko would turn on its dedicated workforce and slash company sick pay. What has Wilko become? Picking a fight with your workforce by imposing draconian cuts to sick pay is no way for a modern employer to act” he said optimistically – but capitalism is all about increasing profits for the shareholders.

He went on to say: “This will have a negative impact on the business, while hard-working employees will be pushed into poverty because they won’t be able to pay their bills if they are sick.

“Other workers will be forced to come into stores when sick because Wilko has taken away their sick pay.

“GMB members are rightly going to fight this and their union will support them.”

Let’s hope so.