The Socialist 7 March 2012

28 March: Strike back against the Con-Dems

On 28 March: Strike back against the Con-Dems

Trade unions must build mass party

NHS: Axe Lansley's bill!

International Women's Day 2012

Socialist Party International Women's Day schools

Workfare

No cuts, No fees, Bring back EMA

NUS elections - Vote Socialist Students for a fighting student leadership

Kirklees marches to save child centres

Leeds Tenants Federation opposes Welfare Reform Bill

Become Coventry deputy mayor? Thanks, but no thanks!

Attack on pay defeated at Manchester's NHS Trust

Stop prison guards housing asylum seekers - stop G4S!

Party/campaigns news in brief

MMP workers step up action

Unison: Delegates gagged

Anti-blacklisting battle continues on building sites

London election candidate named in employers' blacklist

Workplace news in brief

Quebec: Students engage in 'indefinite' general strike action

Spain: Thousands in student protests against education cuts

Revolution through Arab eyes - the Factory

A4e - The inside story

Cops and big business robbers




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MMP workers step up action

Harry Smith

Locked out Mayr-Melnhof Packaging (MMP) workers in Merseyside have voted decisively for continued action in their dispute. 139 papers were issued in a secret ballot, following a meeting of the workforce in a nearby hotel, and 138 voted in favour of rejecting the management offer.

An agreement had been reached only weeks ago between Unite and MMP bosses to reduce the number of redundancies the firm had at first wanted - from 49 [out of a total of 149 workers] down to 37. To save the 12 jobs workers had made concessions - losing pay over the next year to the tune of between £1,000 to possibly £2,000.

The MMP 'offer' was a reversion, to not only their original demand for 49 jobs to go, but now, more to go "voluntarily" on top of those.

On the picket line workers pointed out that the loss of such numbers put a question mark over the overall viability of the plant to operate.

MMP insisted that it would not meet the previously agreed redundancy terms. This and the redundancy selection process started the dispute on 10 February. To add further insult to injury MMP managers now claim that they want to discipline up to 15 workers whom managers claim undertook 'provocative' actions around the early part of the dispute.

In anticipation of a hardening of the dispute the stewards have drawn up rotas for a 24-hour picket of the factory.

Please send donations to the hardship fund made payable to 'Sogat Progress Fund' to: Phil Morgan, Unite the Union, 2 Chantry Court, Forge Street, Crewe, Cheshire CW1 2DL tel: 01270 500 240

In this issue

Fighting the government's attacks

On 28 March: Strike back against the Con-Dems