TGWU
Strike action hits new Heathrow terminal 5 site
Nearly 1,000 workers building a £4. 2bn terminal at Heathrow airport went on a 24-hour strike today.
Nearly 1,000 workers building a £4. 2bn terminal at Heathrow airport went on a 24-hour strike today (16 Dec ). Picket lines were set up at Terminal 5 (T5) from before dawn as workers from three unions took action over bonus payments.
“More than 900 people have stopped work today,” said Steve Kelly, construction branch secretary of the GMB union, who was on a picket line.
Laing workers to strike at Terminal 5
Hundreds of workers employed by Laing O'Rourke at Terminal 5 will stage a two-week overtime ban and strike several times in December and January.
The first strike days have been confirmed as starting at 6.45am on Friday 16th and ending 6.45am on Tuesday 20th December, an overtime ban will start at the same time, and further strikes are planned between the 20th and 23rd of January. The dispute is primarily over a £1/hour increase on bonuses which other contractors on site have agreed to.
Possible strikes at Luton, Birmingham and Heathrow
Fire and security staff at Birmingham airport have voted for 2-1 in favour of strike action in December over the sacking of two union organisers.
There is also likely to be a ballot on strike action at Luton airport after the Transport and General Workers' Union discovered Polish agency workers were being paid substantially less than British workers at Big Orange Handling - the luggage handlers for Easy Jet.
A view from inside the Gate Gourmet dispute
Corporate Watch presents an interview with Mrs Kaur, one of the striking workers at airline catering company Gate Gourmet. Mrs Kaur has worked at Gate Gourmet for over six and a half years.
Have conditions changed over the past few years?
First Bus drivers' sixth strike
First Bus drivers in north Staffordshire and south Cheshire are on their sixth one-day strike, part of an ongoing pay dispute.
First drivers are demanding to be paid the same amount as their colleagues around the country.
The company has offered to raise the current £6.60 hourly rate. But the offer has so far been dependent on other conditions being imposed.
The Transport and General Workers' Union said strikes have also been planned for 7, 19 and 21 November.
BA acts against three workers for Gate Gourmet solidarity
British Airways has started disciplinary proceedings against three shop stewards following August's unofficial strike at Heathrow Airport.
At the time, baggage handlers walked out for two days in sympathy with sacked workers at the airline's in-flight caterer Gate Gourmet.
British Airways said two of the shop stewards have been suspended on full pay while the third continues to work.
All three are members of the Transport & General Workers' Union (T&G).
Solidarity with the Gate Gourmet workers
Resources and links with information on background and how you can support the 620 sacked Gate Gourmet workers.
Read information about the strike here:
http://libcom.org/tags/gate-gourmet
By far the best strike support website to check out is http://sackedbygategourmet.org.uk. Make sure you visit the support page for info on solidarity protests, support gigs, mailing list and more!
1995-1997: Mersey Docks Dispute
Dave Graham's detailed and fascinating history of the eventually unsuccessful Liverpool dockers strike.
MERSEY DOCKS DISPUTE (UK)
For two years in the middle of the 1990s, 500 dockworkers were locked out by the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company of Liverpool.
In the course of those long months, their inspiring fight against the casualisation of working conditions has raised a wide range of questions about the changing balance of forces between workers and capital, the nature of unionism, and the practical meaning of internationalism.
Dave Graham was active in Liverpool supporting the dockers throughout their dispute. More than this, he has provided a blow-by-blow assessment of both the conflict itself, and its broader significance.
Wildcat action brewing over the Laing O'Rourke 'contrick'
Workers employed by construction giant Laing O'Rourke are refusing the company's new pay and conditions deal.
Under the new contract or 'contrick' as it has been renamed by workers, pay will be halved, bonuses will be decided by management, a day off must be planned 40 days in advance and holiday pay could be cut by £20 per day for each worker. Management has told workers they will be sacked if they do not sign.
