Workers fight introduction of cheap labour

Irish Ferries:

Workers fight introduction of cheap labour

A DISPUTE over the replacement of British and Irish crews with cheap
Eastern European labour, mostly from Latvia, by Irish Ferries has led to
an escalation of action between the unions and the company over the past
few days.

Alec Thraves, Socialist Party Wales

The Isle of Inishmore, which runs between Pembroke Dock in West Wales
to Rosslare, and the Ulysses which runs between Holyhead in North Wales
to Dublin, have remained in the two Welsh ports after attempts by Irish
Ferries to crew the ships with coachloads of East European workers.

In Pembroke some of the crew barricaded themselves in the engine room
after security guards came on board in an attempt to replace them with
cheap labour.

In Holyhead, the crew of the Ulysses, the world’s largest car ferry,
have refused to operate the ship bound for Dublin for similar reasons.

Another Irish ferry is also stranded by workers in Dublin.

Irish Ferries want to cut the wage bill in half, with hundreds of
workers being thrown out after many years service.

Members of SIPTU and the Seaman’s Union of Ireland are confronting a
vicious employer determined to cut back wages and conditions and
ruthlessly exploit cheaper Eastern European labour.

Trade unionists in England and Wales should fully support the Irish
trade unions by giving full backing and solidarity to the crews of Irish
Ferries.

On 27 November, port workers at Rosslare, members of SIPTU, refused
to handle a ferry from Cherbourg.

Passengers eventually disembarked in Dublin.

Socialist Party TD (MP) Joe Higgins said that SIPTU president’s call
for a national day of protest should be: "A national one-day work
stoppage by the entire trade union movement – while maintaining
essential services.

"This would be a clear signal to the employers’ body IBEC that the
abuse of migrant labour to undercut trade union rates of pay and working
conditions for any worker irrespective of national origins will not be
tolerated.

"There is a widespread and deeply felt anger among working people in
this State over what Irish Ferries is doing.

"A national stoppage would harness this feeling into a powerful
movement to protect all workers from exploitation."


Battle for safety on London Underground

MEMBERS OF rail unions RMT and ASLEF and the Fire Brigades Union (FBU)
joined forces on 26 November to fight plans to water down safety
measures on London Underground. The demonstration took place on the
anniversary of the terrible Kings Cross fire in 1987.

It was after this disaster that the ‘Section 12’ legislation was
introduced which set out requirements for fire alarms, suppression
systems and minimum staffing levels. The government now want to abolish
this legislation and replace it with more ‘flexible’ guidelines.

London Underground want to cut staffing levels, even though the
recent 35-hour week deal included assurances that this would not happen.
Amongst other things, they want to remove the requirement for ticket
barriers to be staffed – saying that CCTV is a safe replacement. But
most locations for watching the cameras do not have a facility to open
the gates in an emergency.

Meanwhile Metronet and Tubelines – the companies running privatised
maintenance of the tube network – are making £2 million profit a week.

At the rally outside Kings Cross station, RMT general secretary Bob
Crow declared that the trade unions should not send another penny to New
Labour, who are putting the safety of workers and passengers at risk.
"One reduction in safety will spark the biggest ballot for action you’ve
ever seen," he said.