Nick Chaffey, Southampton Socialist Party
Aerospace workers at Eaton in Fareham, Hampshire took two days of strike action in a campaign to reject the three-year offer tabled by the company.
In the first strike at Eaton for 12 years, there was a large turnout on the picket line on 29 August and determination that the pay cuts suffered in the last three-year deal, during the sharp rise in inflation, would not be repeated. Unite members expressed their anger at the company’s attitude. While profits have risen, pay has fallen significantly behind the industry average. If management doesn’t respond then further strikes are planned through September.
This strike shows, like others, that the cost-of-living crisis has not gone away even though inflation has fallen for now. As one striker summed it up: “Prices aren’t going down!” Unite reported that, while Eaton management say the money’s not there for any further rise, in 2023 Eaton Corporation made €3.5 billion profit and paid their directors close to €60 million.
This sums up the huge inequality that has grown globally in recent decades and the vital role of strong and determined trade unions to fight to reverse that trend.
Delegates from Southampton trades council and the National Shop Stewards Network visited the picket line to give solidarity.
