Strike While The Iron Is Hot - Socialist Party leaflet written by workers in the refineries dispute

Iceland, Greece, France, Latvia ….. all across Europe workers are taking to the streets in protest against governments that have let the fat-cats get rich while our jobs, wages and pensions are being attacked.

Now at last, workers in Britain are saying “Enough is Enough!” Our strike spread like wild-fire last week with solidarity action all across the UK with around 20 sites out by Friday. Thousands of workers taking militant action completely disregarding the anti-trade union laws.

We’ve got the government rattled. We must strike while the iron is hot. We must spread the strike to force the employers and government to concede our demands.

GORDON BROWN – YOUR GOVERNMENT IS “IN-DEFENSIBLE”

Gordon Brown says our wildcat strike is “in-defensible”. No Gordon, it is your government and ten years of pro-Big Business policies that are indefensible. New Labour have encouraged employers to exploit workers in Britain through de-regulation, cheap labour and anti-union policies.

Peter Mandelson says British workers can go and work in the EU. Sounds like Norman Tebbitt telling the unemployed in the 1980s to get on their bikes! Why the hell should we have to leave our homes and families to work when companies like Alstom and IREM won’t let us work here?

FIGHT FOR JOBS – STOP THE RACE TO THE BOTTOM!

The bosses, the bankers and the government have got us in this economic mess. Now they want us to pay the price with our jobs, wages and conditions. NO WAY!

This strike is to stop this race to the bottom. We are striking against the employers like Alstom and IREM who refuse to hire local labour. We are striking against the EU pro-business laws and court rulings that make it legal for employers to exploit cheap labour to maximise profits.
This strike is to stop employers undermining our national NAECI agreement and trying to break our trade union strength.

Rather than saying British jobs for British workers we should say:
TRADE UNION JOBS & CONDITIONS FOR ALL WORKERS

WHAT DO WE WANT?

Socialist Party thinks that the trade unions should fight for:

· 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, with nominating rights as work becomes available

· Government and employer investment in proper training / apprenticeships for new generation of construction workers – fight for a future for young people

· All Immigrant labour to be unionised.

· Trade Union assistance for immigrant workers - including interpreters - and access to Trade Union advice - to promote active integrated Trade Union Members. Build links with construction trade unions on the continent.

The story so far ……………..

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.

UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL. UNITY IS OUR STRENGTH

The RACIST ORGANISATION - the BNP - are attempting to intervene in this strike.
How dare they?
The BNP is an anti-trade union organisation that supported Thatcher against the miners in the 1980s.
They opposed the Firefighters’ strike claiming ‘they should not even have the right to strike’.
They have set up their own ‘segregated’ union that will split and divide workers.
BNP policies are like the policies of company bosses who attempt to play off one nationality of worker against another thus undermining the national agreements that protect the hard won rights of workers like the NAECI Agreement in the Construction Industry.

WORKERS NEED A NEW PARTY

The Labour Party is no longer for the working class.

Blair then Brown under a misleading banner of ‘New Labour’ insists on a ‘Pro-Capitalist Agenda’.
The bankers and bosses whose greed for profit has decimated the global economy are rewarded with billions of tax payer’s money. Our money! Daily, without any consultation, it is announced that WE will pay for their greed and incompetence! Trade unions like Unite and GMB should stop paying the trade union levy to ‘New Labour’ because workers know that a NEW party of LABOUR is needed to fight for the interests of workers and their families.

The trade unions should initiate a new workers party, TO REPRESENT THE MILLIONS NOT THE MILLIONAIRES! Join the Campaign for a New Workers Party. Look on www.cnwp.org.uk

CAPITALISM ISN’T WORKING – TIME FOR SOCIALISM

This recession highlights a fact - capitalism does not work. Around the world millions of ordinary people are being thrown into unemployment and poverty while bankers and bosses grow exceedingly rich.

Socialists know that there is enough wealth and resources in the world for everybody to have a decent standard of living but it will never happen under this crazy system of greed that puts profit before the human needs of people, the environment and our planet. We stand for a ‘Democratic Socialist Society’ where the main industries and services will be publicly owned and democratically run by the working class for the benefit of the majority in society.

A well planned society will eradicate capitalist competition that accumulates vast profits for a few at the expense of: mass unemployment, poverty, disease, wars and environmental destruction.

If you agree and would like to know more - then contact us on www.socialistparty.org.uk