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Construction workers picketing Fiddlers Ferry power station, photo Bunke / Ford |
The 70 construction workers picketing Fiddlers Ferry power station, Widnes, were clear about the reasons for the action. European directives on ‘posted workers’ allow sub-contractors to pay below the union and national rates for the job, driving down pay and conditions in the race to the bottom.
They said: “This dispute is not racist. It is to do with big companies ripping up agreements. They sign them and rip them up. Every industry has had its contracts ripped up, and new ones imposed – always to the workers’ detriment. The workers have had enough. It has to stop, no more rhetoric. And the union leaders should lead, and lead by example!”
There can be no ‘level playing field’ while companies pay workers working abroad the (lower) wage rates of their home country. It’s not about discriminating against migrant workers, they need to be unionised and on the union rate for the job. Steps the unions have taken in this direction need to go further.
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Construction workers picketing Fiddlers Ferry power station, photo Bunke / Ford |
The lone BNP-er at the picket was politely but completely ignored by everyone else. Six copies of The Socialist were sold, every picket took our leaflet, and we will continue to support the workers in this and the related disputes arising from the construction companies’ onslaught on jobs, pay and conditions.
