New oil refinery walkouts

[K.Bullstreet]

Taken from BBC website -


Refinery jobs walkout continues


http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45903000/jpg/_45903417_lindseyoilrefinery2.jpg The strike has entered its second day but the plant is "not affected"

Hundreds of workers have walked out for a second day of unofficial industrial action over job losses at an oil refinery in North Lincolnshire. A GMB union official said there were fears Lindsey Oil Refinery staff were being "victimised" for taking part in other walkouts earlier this year.
Protesters have blocked the road outside the plant, police said.
The GMB union said it was supporting efforts to hold talks. Refinery owner Total said the plant was not affected.
The walkout is in protest at a sub-contractor shedding 51 jobs at the same time as another employer on the site was hiring workers.
The site employs 550 staff and has up to 1,000 contract workers at any time.
The staff who walked out were contract workers on a new unit at the site, which has been at the centre of a bitter row over the recruitment of non-UK workers over the past few months.
On Thursday Paul Kenny, general secretary of the GMB union, said: "There are concerns that these workers may be being victimised for earlier industrial action and that these redundancies are in breach of the agreement that brought industrial peace to the site some months ago."
In a statement Total said: "We would like to make it very clear that there has never been any discrimination against any worker at the Lindsey Oil Refinery.
"This redundancy process is normal on any contract as and when different phases of the project are completed. "

[REDSOX]

Seems like these strikes are spreading across the country!!!!!!!!

[spiney norman]

Indeed they are. Unfortunately the BNP are all over it. I can't post links but would urge people (if you can stomach it) to have a look at the article entitled "BNP MEPs ENDORSE WILDCAT STRIKES"

We need to get people down to the picket lines to chase off the fascists and ensure that they don't manipulate a perfectly valid strike about redundancies and victimisation of union workers into so kind of "nationalist" issue. They'll use it to spread their disgusting propaganda and try to recruit people to their scab union.

[K.Bullstreet]

The oil refinery wildcat strike over redundancies has escalated as workers from several power stations and oil terminals across the UK took unofficial industrial action.



The dispute flared a week ago at the Lindsey oil refinery in Lincolnshire when a contractor laid off 51 workers while another employer on the site was hiring staff.
Around 1,200 contract workers at the terminal, which is owned by Total, have been taking unofficial action all week as efforts were made to convene talks.
Sources said today that workers at several other sites across the country joined the industrial action, hitting power stations at Drax and Eggborough in Yorkshire, Ratcliffe and West Burton in Nottinghamshire, Fiddlers Ferry in Cheshire and Aberthaw in South Wales.
Contractors at a BP refinery near Hull also joined the strike action.
Paul Kenny, general secretary of the GMB union, said he had been in touch with the conciliation service Acas and was seeking an urgent meeting with the head of Total to try to break the deadlock.
The Lindsey refinery was hit by strikes earlier this year in what was largely seen as a row over the recruitment of non-UK workers but in reality was over the termination of workers' contracts and their replacement by other workers.

http://libcom.org/news/energy-wildcat-strikes-spread-across-uk-18062009

Yes, I also heard something about BNP supporting the strikes (well their 'Solidarity' scab union, not the MEP's), but I will look for that article. I also think that people from the Left have been there supporting them as well, and last time the BNP role was exaggerated. Obviously if you're in one of the area's affected then get yourself there, and show some support!:)

[rednordman]

The strike has allegedlly lost 900 people their jobs according to the BBC. The power of trade unions nowadays:rolleyes:.

[spiney norman]

The article's from the BNP website, they're saying that Griffin and Brons will be speaking up for them and have offered the BNP website for publicity. They're saying tha it's a "nationalist" strike and that the workers should do this independant of the unions (that'd be becuase of all those marxist zionist conspirators in the unions). I reckon they'll try to play it out so that they can attract workers to the scab "solidarity" union.

Here it is:

"The two recently elected British National Party Members of the European Parliament have officially endorsed the latest set of wildcat strikers against foreign workers taking British jobs. In a statement to BNP News, Messrs Nick Griffin MEP and Andrew Brons MEP both declared their unreserved support for the strikes - which have spread out to at least ten sites across Britain, including the Total oil refinery at Lindsey, the power stations at Drax and Eggborough in Yorkshire, the power station at Ratcliffe in Nottinghamshire, BP’s Saltend refinery near Hull, the BOC oxygen plant at S****horpe, the power station at Fiddlers Ferry in Cheshire and the power station at Aberthaw in South Wales.
Mr Griffin urged the strikers to organise on a local level, and not to let senior trade union bosses take control. “If the trade union bosses take control, they can pull the plug on the whole movement when they are bought off, as they were earlier this year when the first wave of wildcat strikes collapsed,” Mr Griffin said.
“Because the workers trusted the organisation of the strike to a few unionists who were already in the pockets of the Government, they were able to defuse the strikes without any of the real demands having been met,” Mr Griffin said.
“This time, it would be better for workers to organise amongst themselves, by using telephone tree contact systems, and non-official telephones and contact systems to make it more difficult for the unions and their bosses to predict when and where the next action will take place,” he said.
“Personal contact and anonymous internet sites and blogs are the way to communicate. Remember that last time the union bosses sold you out, but that this time you have two very senior elected politicians who are prepared to speak out on the matter who will not be cowed by government or media pressure on the topic,” Mr Griffin said.
“Furthermore, if the strikers want publicity, they can send their news to us and we will publish it on our website,” he said.
At least 1,400 workers are involved after employers started cutting back on jobs and promises to employ local workers over foreign workers. These numbers are likely to grow as time goes on.
“We must emphasise that this is not a BNP strike,” Mr Griffin continued. “This is a British nationalist strike, and we do not want people to think that only BNP supporters are supporting this action.
“This is an issue which cuts to the very heart of the rights of British workers to be protected against the EU and globalism. It should have the support of every sane person, no matter what their political party choice might be,” he said.
He added that the strikes were about British people keeping their jobs, and nothing else. “Settled ethnic minorities who are hard-working taxpaying people are just as much under threat as indigenous British people, and we support their right to object to the foreign workers issue as well,” he said."


Says one of them's in eggborough - I doubt Griffin will want to go there!

[REDSOX]

Looks like 900 workers at the East lindsay refinery have been sacked. Let's see if the strikes explode now or implode

[K.Bullstreet]

To be honest, I think (and hope), that the BNP's involvement will be next to nothing, much like last time. We shouldn't exaggerate it, instead we should concentrate on supporting the striking workers.

Anyway, here's an article on the Beeb this morning. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/humber/8108434.stm

[PRC-UTE]

To be honest, I think (and hope), that the BNP's involvement will be next to nothing, much like last time. We shouldn't exaggerate it, instead we should concentrate on supporting the striking workers.

Anyway, here's an article on the Beeb this morning. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/humber/8108434.stm

Yet the KPD was criticised for doing the same thing in the '30's...

Anyway, good luck to the workers. This crisis is definitely exposing the uselessness of most unions, and the need for workers councils.

[spiney norman]

We (SWP) were at the sites where strikes have not yet been called handing out leaflets to workers as they went in this morning, in an attempt to encourage solidarity. The response was excellent at the plant we went to.
Thanks and Kudos must also go to the SP, who beat us to it by going yesterday! If we can make sure that socialist arguments in general are heard we will make it much harder for the bosses and their friends in the BNP.

I think you're right about the BNP; we shouldn't make too big a deal of their potential involvment. But I do think we need to keep an eye on them. They tried to get into the first round of strikes, enouraged by the rediculous "British Jobs For British Workers" slogan and they are clearly going to try again. What worries me most is their scab solidarity union, especially as it is not obvious to those not in the know who they really are and, given that large sections of the workforce in these plants are not represented, they WILL be trying to recruit from this. But then again, I am a bit of a pessimist at times and I'm maybe overanalysing. We'll see.

[cyu]

Looks like 900 workers at the East lindsay refinery have been sacked. Let's see if the strikes explode now or implode

It would depend on how much communication there is between the employees of the company. If the only messages they get are from union "leaders" that tell them to lie down and take it in the balls, then it won't be long before they're all holding their groin.

On the other hand, if there were an actual forum / assembly where all the employees could have their say, then I wouldn't be surprised if they decided to assume democratic control of the company.