Update and discussion thread about the UK-wide demonstrations and mostly wildcat strikes of electricians (nicknamed "sparks") against deskilling and pay cuts of up to 35% across much of the industry.
From North East Shop Stewards Network:
"In a virtual declaration of war, Balfour Beaty Engineering Services has today issued 90 day Notices of termination to 890 of their workforce"...
"This morning [wed 14th sept] Civil disobedience took centre stage. Co-ordinated unofficial industrial action kicked off at major construction projects across the country. Electricians and Pipe-fitters working for Balfour Beatty Engineering Services at Grangemouth in Scotland walked off the job. In London, police were forced to intervene after 150 electricians blocked the main entrance to the Olympics site causing rush hour travel chaos with vehicles backing up around the A12 Bow Flyover. Further action also took place at Balfour Beatty’s Papermill site in Manchester.
Yesterday the major electrical employers sent new contracts (with a 35% pay cut) to their staff with an ultimatum that anyone who did not sign them by 7th December would be sacked.
The dispute has been sparked after eight major electrical contractors announced their intention to withdraw from the Joint Industry Board (JIB) national industry agreement. They are Bailey Building Services, Balfour Beatty Engineering Services, Tommy Clarke, Crown House Technologies, Gratte Brothers, MJN Colston, SES and SPIE Matthew Hall.
The employers propose 3 new grades for electicians: metalworker £10.50 per hour, Wiring £12, Terminating £14. The current electricains JIB rate is £16.25p per hour across the board. For the worst hit this amounts to a 35% pay cut.
Meanwhile, the chief executive of Balfour Beatty, one of the contractors, had given himself an 8% pay rise last year"...
"Contact: [email protected]"
I think theres a demo in newcastle/the north east this wednesday morning but not sure exactly when or where.
Comments
Quote: I think theres a demo
6.30am, (or poss. earlier), on Wednesday. Tyne Tunnel, (presumably the site entrance). Some of us will be there. More info on our riseup email list, but I'll pm you when I know more details later tonight. ;)
The London one is this
The London one is this Wednesday, Farringdon at 6:30 am. Last one at the Olympic site was pretty good, blocked the road for a while.
Quote: Unite Construction
If you can't get to one of
If you can't get to one of the demonstrations you might want to do a flying picket of your nearest blue book (national agreement) site. Make films of the actions, get them on the internet and send a link to Reel News. The rank and file need to keep control now the officials are getting involved. It needs to be by industry rather than just the more skilled trades.
Quote: The sparks at BP
The Newcastle demo
The Newcastle demo unfortunately didn't blockade anything this time.
The Newcastle demo
The Newcastle demo unfortunately didn't blockade anything this time.
site was occupied on token
site was occupied on token basis for about ten minutes, me and one solfed member were the only libertarians there as far as I could see. Next picket/demo is coming wednesday at 6.30 am at kings Cross. i think libertarians in london should make more of an effort to attend these.
yeah, ramona's comments in
yeah, ramona's comments in news are very welcome and i agree with most of what she said re relating to other workers
Quote: Protests Edinburgh:
http://jerryhicks.wordpress.com/
Went to protest at Edinburgh
Went to protest at Edinburgh City Chambers. 20 odd workers, some from further afield, Glasgow and Fife. A couple of workers complaining of a "well you tell me how it went" attitude from colleagues. Bit of embarassment at the turnout in comparison to whats going on elsewhere. Those there seemed pretty determined in that there's "no choice but to fight against this".
Went to protest at Edinburgh
Went to protest at Edinburgh City Chambers. 20 odd workers, some from further afield, Glasgow and Fife. A couple of workers complaining of a "well you tell me how it went" attitude from colleagues. Bit of embarassment at the turnout in comparison to whats going on elsewhere. Those there seemed pretty determined in that there's "no choice but to fight against this".
The Newcastle demo caused the
The Newcastle demo caused the Tyne Tunnel site to close till 10 with the workers on full pay!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEvtZKPMl2o
http://www.neanarchists.com/sparkies%2021-9-11.html
Next London protest isn't
Next London protest isn't Friday, it's Wednesday, at Kings Cross.
From
From shopstewards.net:
September 26 construction industry electricians have taken unofficial strike action at Saltend and West Burton today over threats to cut JIB rates. These workers then took part in a 400 strong protest outside Lindsey Oil Refinery and Conoco Phillips on the Humber.
Anyone know more about this?
Latest from Siteworker: One
Latest from Siteworker:
One of the 'Big eight' construction companies has already broken ranks:
Lindsey Conoco, Humberside:
Rank & File action:
Pressure on Unite:
Actions:
Rank & File meetings:
Tactics:
New blog: http://www.jibelectrician.blogspot.com/
Video from Kings Cross on
Video from Kings Cross on Monday; please spread & help break the mainstream media blackout!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pcz0atgIfmk
It was a Wednesday, by the
It was a Wednesday, by the way. Yeah spread this and come down next Wednesday in London -Park House , by Oxford Street from 6.30 am
Just to say, I've tidied this
Just to say, I've tidied this thread up as it'd been spammed to madness.. sorry if you wanted to buy ugg boots or whatever but it had to go.. :)
Another interesting video -
Another interesting video - this time from outside the Shard
Quote: ATTEMPTS were under
the next action in London is
the next action in London is on Wednesay at 6.30 a.m at the Tate Modern. A call has gone out from the electricians for as many people as possible to reinforce the action.
Quote: Ratcliffe Power
Quote: PRESS RELEASE:
Sparks Protest Newcastle
Sparks Protest Newcastle 12/10/11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxPXgk4Zk9k
national demo in london on
national demo in london on the 9th of november apparently.
alibi wrote: national demo in
alibi
Same day as the students? Things could get interesting...
indeed! a taxi gridlock
indeed! a taxi gridlock protest at Trafalgar Sq over private hires same day too.
everyone should be giving the 9th a push, it could really kick start things nicely before the 30th.
Siteworker flyer for Nov 9th;
Siteworker flyer for Nov 9th; unite the resistance!
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=131184856985776&set=o.264935423529258&type=1&theater
Good action at Ashington this
Good action at Ashington this morning; numbers were boosted by lads walking from the site and we ended up with 50/60. The main contractor on the site is Kier and it was a bonus that their top brass turned up for a site inspection while we were there and were given lectures on their pernicious sub-contractor, ie Balfours :lol: Lots of the lads who walked were wanting to go to London on Nov9. We also had an interesting leaflet to give out; you can find the full text here:
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2011/10/487485.html
Shall I put my tin hat on, or
Shall I put my tin hat on, or it is just some technical problem why I can't access the fb page?
@soc, dunno; maybe you have
@soc, dunno; maybe you have to be FB friends with the original poster of the...err...poster to access that page. Here's an alternative jpeg:
http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h330/neapictures/bishopsgate.jpg
Latest news on sparks' action
Latest news on sparks' action in the north-east here:
http://neanarchists.com/sparksoct.html
On the N9 protest thread
On the N9 protest thread there was a discussion, amongst other things, about the lack of support on the day from other building workers to the protest of the electricians and, as I pointed out on there, plumbers, H&V engineers, pipefitters and others covered by the mechanical side of the agreement.
There's better news from the Corus Redcar plant yesterday where a hundred electricians walked out and no contractor for Balfour Beatty went in. Socialist Worker reports that more construction worker walkouts are planned for tomorrow at other sites including, Runcorn, Stanlow, Grangemouth, Ratcliffe, Sellafield and others.
Electricians at Redcar Corus (which has an appalling safety record - an electrician was killed there earlier this year - see Hazards magazine) blocked the road outside the plant yesterday. The local Evening Gazette reports: "Tesside industrial workers joined a a protest sparked (!) by the electricians".
This movement is by no means finished yet.
Though the numbers were
Though the numbers were smaller, todays protest at Farringdon saw activity at the site severly restricted and a number of electricians refused to go into work. According to the NationalShopStewardsNetwork "a number of Polish workers refused to go into work" which caused a great cheer among the protesters.
Apparantly workers at Ratcliffe also walked out yesterday but I can't find any more details on that.
A good protest at Redcar this
A good protest at Redcar this morning - a couple of hundred people in all at two gates. The road to one of the gates was blocked for a bit (despite the plod threatening to "take photos of you all on cctv and then identify and track us down at a later date for us to recieve the consequences" - for quietly standing on an access road). And there are definately some sparks (and scaffys!!) around that are up for it.
Support the striking
Support the striking electricians
Saturday 19th November
Glasgow Demo /March /Rally meet at John Smith House (145 West Regent Street) 10 am and march to City Chambers in George Square via 1 possibly 2 Balfour jobs to let public know whats happening / stop sat traffic (media attention) all welcome all needed.
Sounded like a great action.
Sounded like a great action. Here's the facebook event page for anyone interested: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=195673837181243
Great stuff in London! At
Great stuff in London!
At Conoco on Teesside we were outmanoeuvred - bosses had told everyone to be in by six or get sacked, but sparks still walked there & at Corus & Ratcliffe.
Tyneside Anti-Cuts Network planning meeting for Nov30 tonight will have sparks' rep. attending & there's a rank & file meeting in Hartlepool tomorrow for same purpose. Everything still to play for!
From a participant:
From a participant:
Result of official Unite
Result of official Unite strike ballot of Balfour Beatty operatives:
81.6% in favour of strike; starts Dec7.
Turnout?
Turnout?
Quote: Unite ballot result
According to someone who
According to someone who works there, not one electrician went in at Blackfriars this morning. Walkout at Grangemouth in Scotland, one of the Grattes sites had the fire alarm set off and another site walked (Mathew Hall? Maybe?)
They are asking for a mass picket for the night shift, starting at 5:30 pm.
Could we put posts on this thread rather than the new one? So that people who don't know can look back and see what's happened up to now?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-16065150 BBC article (FINALLY!)
Oh yeah forgot about this,
Oh yeah forgot about this, from Twitter:
Postie refuses to cross picket at London BBES HQ. No mail 4 Balfour Beatty today!
Whose roundabout? Our
Whose roundabout? Our Roundabout!
Text of report to appear on NEA website shortly:
And this from one of the rank
And this from one of the rank & file 'leadership':
Is anyone thinking of
Is anyone thinking of organising a meeting about the latest developments in the electricians' strike at Tent City uni or the occupied UBS building? Solfed, AF, Commune, IWW, CWO (for example)?
The response to the union 'sell out' seems very significant.
Are they cracking? Quote: I
Are they cracking?
For info of comrades who are
For info of comrades who are working on this; (quotes from sparks' FB page as usual & BESNA is the new wage-cutting, de-skilling agreement):
Well the sparks already have
Well the sparks already have fairly decent contact with the occupy lot and have been to meetings there. At the moment we're trying to prioritise putting them in touch with other groups of workers rather than occupy types.
I know that the sparks have good contacts with the Occupy people, and I certainly agree on the need for the sparks to link with other groups of workers.. My first thought on hearing about the wildcats was that this might be an opportunity for different revolutionaries to get together as well as with militant sparks in order to discuss where the struggle is going. I suggested Occupy more because it is a very open and centrally located resource.
Just got a message saying
Just got a message saying HVCA have called for talks, it's going to ACAS on Thursday 10am.
Wednesday's picket is Kings X, near platform 10, 6.45 am
Really good report on
Really good report on Electricians against the World, with a good video
http://jibelectrician.blogspot.com/2011/12/biggest-unoffical-walkout-for-years.html#more
Looks like a crucial moment, please everyone get down on Wed who can.
There was a demonstration
There was a demonstration outside Kings Cross station this morning. About 200 people, but the initial impression was that there were more leftists than electricians, although more of the sparks appeared later on. There were also people from Occupy London, and the electricians specifically thanked them for the support they have been giving.The protest gathered outside the building site area. Some of the building workers inside or going in looked on interested but none joined in - this was more of a protest than what happened last week at Blackfriars, which had become a genuine mass picket. A good short speech by a guy who has recently joined the rank and file committee, saying that last week's action proved that we don't need ballots to go on strike, we can just walk out. They said it was the biggest unofficial strike action in the country for decades.
It was also pointed out that the attack on the electricians is an issue of deskilling and safety as well as wages, because the bosses' aim is to replace skilled sparks with unskilled people. Such practices had caused disasters on the railways in the past, and Network Rail is going to be one of the main 'beneficiaries' of the Balfour Beattie wage cut. Thus it had been decided to march to their HQ in Euston where a second rally was held.
There was less of a feel of an 'open mic' session than a previous one I had attended, rather the speeches seemed prearranged and followed a certain ideological approach. The speakers made some good points about the need for soldarity across private and public sectors, but there was a heavy dose of leftist and radical trade unionist stuff. It didn't seem a fruitful moment to try and speak.
The electricans have been doing these weekly actions since August and while I don't think they are demoralised they feel the need for a break. So Friday night there will be a 6pm gathering at the same place in Kings Cross, followed by a visit to the pub to which all were invited. After that there is due to be some kind of national action on January 9th.
There were lots of leftist papers and leaflets to 'compete' with. Although our leaflet/article is rather long and not agitational, I think it was suitable for a moment when the sparks need time to reflect on where the struggle is going. You got the impression that those who took the leaflet would actually be reading it later on.
http://en.internationalism.org/files/en/6.sparks_dec.pdf
Support the Sparks – protest
Support the Sparks – protest against the lack of media coverage – BBC Scotland, Pacific Quay, Glasgow, Saturday 17th December, 10am-1pm
Facebook Event Pages for the same event. The second has a link to photos of a Sparks picket of Longannnet Power Station on Tuesday:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/events/190256237733285/
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/events/262332960486958/
i am an electrical contractor
i am an electrical contractor in glasgow we dont have protests up here atm.
admin: possible spam link deleted
Yes you
Yes you do:
http://union-news.co.uk/2011/12/update-sparks-occupy-bbc-building-protest-over-media-coverage/
Hadn't seen this: Sparks
Hadn't seen this:
Sparks twist fuse into industrial powder keg
UnionNews reports on mass walk-outs across the UK in protest at the decision by the construction giant Balfour Beatty to initiate a legal challenge to last month's strike ballot conducted by Unite which returned an 81% majority in favour of industrial action against threatened "sign or be sacked" contracts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWz0O5JzGbU&feature=youtu.be
Further protests are expected next week. The rank and file national committee is organising a second UK-wide day of action for 9th of January.
Next protest is this
Next protest is this Wednesday, a Grattes site, nr Victoria, round the back of House of Fraser, 6.45 am. The next one is Monday 9th, which is a big day of action, possibly involving walkouts, so would be good if people can come down. Don't know where yet.
Electricians return their new
Electricians return their new contracts Hillington on Friday, Glasgow
From Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/groups/264935423529258/
Sparks Against de-skilling and 35% Pay Cuts
Public Event for Sparks Against de-skilling and 35% Pay Cuts
Friday
10:00 until 13:00
Baflour Beatty Office, Lumina Building, 40 Ainslie Road, Hillington
Park, Glasgow G52 4RU
FRIDAY 6TH JANUARY - 10AM
SCOTTISH BASED BALFOUR BEATTY M&E WORKERS ARE RETURNING THEIR BESNA
CONTRACTS UNSIGNED STRAIGHT TO THE OFFICE
Pass this on and let's give them as much support as possible!
ALL M&E workers in the area should attend to show their support and to
pass on the message to BBES that we will not stand for this attack
Balfour Beatty,
Lumina Building,
40 Ainslie Road,
Hillington Park,
Glasgow
G52 4RU
www.jibelectrician.blogspot.com
Ok, next London action isn't
Ok, next London action isn't Monday now, it's Wednesday, Blackfriars station, 6:45 am and they've asked for a mass turnout.
[b]Some impressions of the
Some impressions of the sparks’ protest at Blackfriars this morning.
There were a lot less people here than on previous protests, and in contrast to previous occasions, no action like a march, blockade or call-out of other building workers was proposed. There were a few speeches and a short open mic session, then after an hour and a half or so everyone dispersed. The main speakers pushed the SWPish line that pressure from the rank and file is beginning to make the leadership stand up and fight – that a combination of rank and file action and official backing can win this struggle They referred to a recent meeting where the Rank and File Group was present along with Mcluskey and other Unite national officials. The latter assured the sparks that they supported them and would be re-balloting for national action.
There were some questions posed about where the officials were this morning, since none could be seen, but perhaps more to the point, where were the other workers? With one or two exceptions the speeches were relentlessly upbeat – the movement is gaining strength, it’s spreading throughout the country, and so on. It is perhaps too early to tell but experience tells us that it is very difficult to sustain a struggle over a long period, even when the actions are spaced out on a weekly basis. It looked more like a struggle that is stagnating and maybe even declining.
When the mic got passed around I took the opportunity to speak. I said that the effectiveness of this struggle had been based on the actions from below and that there had to be a very serious discussion about this whole idea of making the officials fight. Normally when they gave their ‘support’ it was the kiss of death. I cited the example of the 9 November demonstration, when the arrival of the officials silenced discussion and when there was a clear split between the officials who wanted to go to lobby MPs and the workers who wanted to join up with the students and broke away, only to get kettled. It was symbolic that the officials were going one way and the workers the other. This immediately prompted a couple of replies from the organisers. One reiterated the argument that unofficial actions can indeed be strengthened when the national apparatus backs it up and widens the struggle. Another said it’s OK to criticise your own union leaders, but you shouldn’t criticise leaders of other unions (I think).
I didn’t follow any of the speakers that came after that because I was too absorbed with the smaller discussions I got involved in: several people came up to me and said that they agreed with me and were glad I had raised the issue. One was an American living in Glasgow who said he was part of the ‘Republican Communist’ group (which has or had links with the Commune I think). He was a friend of Loren Goldner and we found ourselves in agreement on some points, especially the criticism of the Trotskyists, although I don’t know whether he was representative of the group (he didn’t seem to take seriously their argument about why they call themselves ‘Republicans’, for example). But others I spoke to were building workers or former building workers who had been involved in the sparks’ struggle for a long time, had been kettled on the 9 November, and did not share the current enthusiasm for pressurising the union leaders. I had a long discussion with one of them about the problem of workplace organisation.
Comrades from AF, Solfed and the Commune were also present and it seemed normal that we stood together discussing, since whatever disagreements we might have, we share the same distrust of the leftist approach that appears to be dominant in the ‘rank and file’ leadership.
National Rank & File meeting
National Rank & File meeting in Brum this Saturday: https://www.facebook.com/events/290417531005806/
Quote: At Hartlepool power
Next London protest, tomorrow
Next London protest, tomorrow 6.45 am, Kings Cross platform 10
High Court have just refused
High Court have just refused Balfour Beattie's application for an injunction against the Unite official strike. All systems go eh?
Plus, Ken Livingstone was guest speaker at a construction industry dinner in Park Lane last night which was 'lobbied' by sparks & supporters. Apparently good ole Ken stated publicly that none of the seven BESNA companies will be awarded a contract if he's elected mayor. Not everyone is convinced by this though; most liked comment on the sparks' FB page on this is:
That's fantastic!
That's fantastic!
Needs its own news story
Needs its own news story this!
Edit: Have done a quick
Edit: Have done a quick update piece here - mods could you update it please as I've done a couple of changes to the ordering and put in a pic?
Unite have just given
Unite have just given official notice of their intention to hold a strike ballot to NG Baileys & SPIE, (two of the remaining six BESNA construction companies).
Meanwhile, a one line report from Bradford this morning:
And some detailed suggestions as to what should be up for negotiation in the forthcoming Unite/Balfour Beattie talks:
This is from the latest Siteworker newsletter; red & black innit: :)
That's a hell of a demand
That's a hell of a demand list, good on em!
So, not be a sectarian prick, but I read recently from a (pretty official) IWW source the IWW members are one the "front line" of the Sparks dispute. I have some close comrades who've been really involved and as far as I know this isn't the case in London (which, to be fair, does seem to be the epicentre of the struggle), can anyone confirm if this is the case elsewhere?
Naughty. In the north-east
Naughty.
In the north-east there have been individual wobs out with the sparks, but no organised IWW presence. To be fair though, there hasn't been a SolFed presence in the north-east either - just a bunch of anarchists doing stuff. :)
Even in London, that's been
Even in London, that's been the case. We've had two members in NLSF who've been really active in supporting the workers during the dispute (neither of them is me, btw).
The Sparks are aware, I think, that they're anarchists and members of SF. We've certainly come to pickets and protests with SF flags and banners. However it's been individual SF members who've been doing the solidarity with the support of the local. If that makes sense...
Twitter wrote: BREAKING: NG
Twitter
I don't think anybody was
I don't think anybody was competing Jim. I certainly wasn't trying to as my discussion of SF was merely describing how SF organisationally wasn't involved. In fact, I was trying to draw the distinction between individual and organisationally support and involvement.
Chilli Sauce wrote: That's a
Chilli Sauce
In London there were a good handful of wobs there most demos.
Your post is frankly just nonsense on all levels.
I wouldn't say London was the
I wouldn't say London was the epicentre either, I think the walkouts at the power stations in the north were very important, and there was a lot of activity in the north east.
fingers malone wrote: I
fingers malone
yeah pretty much agree, wouldn't say it was the epicentre either, politically London was still fairly important mind but thats often the case
Anyways London wise theres still probly gonna be a callout for next wednesday to keep the pressure on, though theres a chance they might have to cancel it dependent on things. . Deatils to follow.
Hasn't there been a call out
Hasn't there been a call out for tomorrow?
cantdocartwheels
cantdocartwheels
Would you care to expand on that?
I mean there were probably a handful of SP and SWP at each demo, would we say that the Trots were on the front line of the Sparks struggle? Likewise, if the Wobs have Sparks in their ranks who've been organising this, I'd be really keen to hear about.
Yeah cut the dickwaving guys,
Yeah cut the dickwaving guys, noone needs to prove themselves. And either way, there were more trots on most of the actiosn I went on than Wobs, SF and other anarchos combined. The EAN especially mobilised a lot of studenty types...
(No subject)
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