Industrial news in brief

Submitted by Matthew on 23 March, 2011 - 2:14

The Rail, Maritime and Transport workers’ union (RMT) is moving towards escalation in a dispute against victimisations on London Underground.

Two drivers, Eamonn Lynch and Arwyn Thomas, have been sacked on trumped-up charges and have not been reinstated despite both workers winning their Interim Relief Appeals. Following strike action involving workers on their own lines (Bakerloo and Northern respectively), the union will now move to a ballot of all its driver members at all depots across the LU network. It will also be urging ASLEF members to sign RMT membership forms for the day so they can legally participate in any strike. RMT Executive member Janine Booth said “these sackings are not attacks on individuals but on our trade union, on every trade union and on trade unionism in general. If we don’t get Eamonn and Arwyn back to work, we could all be in the firing line.”

Lock-out

A dispute with Redhall Engineering Solutions at a BP plant near Hull is continuing, with 430 workers currently locked-out.

The workers are employed by engineering construction contractors to carry out building work on a refinery owned by Vivergo, a consortium involving BP, British Sugar and Du Point. Redhall’s contract was terminated by Aker-Process, the managing contractor, but instead of finding alternative work at the site for its employees it told them to turn up for work as usual, whereupon they found themselves locked out.

Workers at the site had previously staved off a raft of sackings by taking wildcat strike action. Unions including Unite and GMB are now investigating legal challenges.

Isle of Man

Post office workers on the Isle of Man will take action after a ballot returned an 84% majority for strikes.

Workers have suffered a pay freeze since 2009, despite an increase in profits for the Isle of Man Post Office and a 5% increase in the amount it pays to Manx local government coffers. It has also increased pay for managerial staff.

The ballot was the first in IMPO history in a dispute over pay.

This website uses cookies, you can find out more and set your preferences here.
By continuing to use this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.