High Court denies Omagh Meat workers the right to strike

Written by Paddy Meehan Tuesday, 16 November 2010 16:25

The democratic right of workers in the North to take strike action was dealt a real blow in October after the High Court granted an injunction against workers at Omagh Meats from going on strike. The injunction was issued against the Unite union after the owners of Omagh Meats, Foyle Food Group (FFG) submitted a request at 8pm the night before the strike was due to begin.

Unofficial action forces Translink to retreat

Written by Pat Lawlor Saturday, 16 October 2010 09:00

“Anger is at boiling point”. This comment made by one of the workers at the Falls Road bus depot over the 70 job cuts proposed by Translink clearly sums up the feelings of many bus workers across Belfast.
Workers at the depot have been told there will be 28 job cuts from the engineering section by the 1st October. This is a cut of over 10% in one of the biggest employers in West Belfast.

Open letter to Conor Murphy, Minister for Regional Development

Unite general secretary election: support Len McCluskey

Written by Kevin Parslow, Branch Secretary LE/1228 (personal capacity) Friday, 30 July 2010 10:58

The general secretary election in Unite will take place between 25 October and 19 November this year.

Nomination papers have now been sent to branch secretaries and shop stewards can order forms for workplace nominations, all of which have to be in by 6 September.

Socialist Party members in Unite are supporting Len McCluskey, the candidate of the left organisation, United Left.

Linamar announces closure in Swansea: Union prepares challenge

Written by Alec Thraves, Swansea Socialist Party Friday, 09 July 2010 16:34

208 workers at the Linamar plant in Swansea, and their families, face the dole as the Canadian car parts company announced the closure of the Swansea plant by the end of this year on Wednesday 7 July.

The company had told the union that it would come to the talks with an 'option A' - confirmed product sourcing and a future, or 'option B' - a closure.

Mistaken occupation of British Airways talks

Written by Socialist Party England & Wales Tuesday, 25 May 2010 08:35

The defeat of Willie Walsh and the brutish British Airways (BA) management is the most important aspect to this dispute.

It is therefore unfortunate that the reported decision of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) members at the end of the Right to Work Conference to invade talks between British Airways management and Unite has partially obscured this issue.

BA strike - An industrial dictatorship

Written by airSTRIKE blog Thursday, 20 May 2010 13:10

“The strictest law often causes the most serious wrong.”
Cicero

Earlier this evening British Airways was granted an injunction against a proposed 20 day strike by cabin crew. The decision was based on a technicality regarding the method UNITE used to inform cabin crew of the result of the ballot. This judgement has enormous implications for the whole of the trade union movement. For all practical purpose effective strike action that seriously damages the financial interests of the employer is now illegal. It was Tony Blair who once boasted that Britain had the most restrictive anti-trade union laws in the Western World. This judgement now relegates Britain below many neo-colonial countries in terms of trade union rights.

Visit airSTRIKE for up to date reports of the strike