Join us today!
Printable version
Link to this page: https://www.socialistparty.org.uk/articles/26751
Posted on 17 January 2018 at 16:14 GMT
Ferrybridge: Workers down tools over unpaid wages
Ferrybridge power station protest 29.3.17, photo A Tice (Click to enlarge)
Yorkshire Socialist Party
Construction workers on the Ferrybridge multi-fuel project in West Yorkshire stopped work on 12 January because workers' reported that wages had not been paid into their bank accounts.
The firm which holds part of the contract on the job - Mostostal Zabrze - is a Polish company and the workforce is made up of around 50% British workers and 50% Polish workers.
Since before Christmas the main topic of conversation on the job every Thursday has been "are we getting paid".
On 12 January Polish and British workers stayed in the cabin when they were told that the Polish workers had not been paid their monthly wages and were now into their sixth week without pay.
Keith Gibson, GMB union rep, proposed that all workers sit in the cabin until wages are paid.
At the same time as Carillion has gone into liquidation, at Ferrybridge there is now this dispute.
After the meeting many of the Polish workers who had not joined the union were queuing up to join.
This version of this article was first posted on the Socialist Party website on 17 January 2018 and may vary slightly from the version subsequently printed in The Socialist.
Donate to the Socialist Party
Finance appeal
The coronavirus crisis has laid bare the class character of society in numerous ways. It is making clear to many that it is the working class that keeps society running, not the CEOs of major corporations.
The results of austerity have been graphically demonstrated as public services strain to cope with the crisis.
The government has now ripped up its 'austerity' mantra and turned to policies that not long ago were denounced as socialist. But after the corona crisis, it will try to make the working class pay for it, by trying to claw back what has been given.
- The Socialist Party's material is more vital than ever, so we can continue to report from workers who are fighting for better health and safety measures, against layoffs, for adequate staffing levels, etc.
- When the health crisis subsides, we must be ready for the stormy events ahead and the need to arm workers' movements with a socialist programme - one which puts the health and needs of humanity before the profits of a few.
2020