"No alternative but to take this drastic action"
Two shop stewards, who recently won a groundbreaking Industrial Tribunal case against security company, ICTS, are holding a hunger strike on the rooftop of Transport House, the headquarters of T&GWU/Unite union, in Belfast. The workers started the protest at 5pm on 11th October.
In 2002, twenty two workers at Belfast Airport were unlawfully sacked after taking official industrial action for a pay claim of £6 an hour. The decision of the T&GWU to communicate to ICTS that they repudiated the strike led directly to the strikers getting sacked. Since then, the workers have been forced to campaign for justice, including winning two Industrial Tribunal cases, accumulating over £200,000 in legal costs alone.
Their demands are that the T&GWU/Unite fully compensate the workers for legal costs, including costs of an appeal, and compensation for the considerable personal costs the shop stewards have suffered.
Gordon McNeill, spokesperson for the shop stewards stated: "We feel we are left with no alternative but to take this drastic action and are saddened that we have had to fight tooth and nail to force our own union to back us. We face our homes being re-possessed as a result of losing our jobs and taking out loans to finance our fight for justice. We have had enough of empty promises from our union leaders and officials. We are determined to go all the way to secure what we are entitled to and believe it is in the interests of all workers that we win."
Solidarity with the Sacked Belfast Airport Workers
Send messages of protests supporting the demands of the workers to T&GWU : tgwu@tgwu.org.uk; jimmykelly@tgwu.org.uk; emcglone@tgwu.org.uk; agribben@tgwu.org.uk; almills@tgwu.org.uk; dmcmurray@tgwu.org.uk; mcunningham@tgwu.org.uk; ssmyth@tgwu.org.uk; rbrowne@tgwu.org.uk
Fax: 020 7611 2555
Tel: 020 7611 2500
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