HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK -------------------------------- Original Message -----
From: Eric Hayes Patkowski <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <Ireland_List: ;>
Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2002 5:27 PM
Subject: BBC, 15 Jan 02: Post halted over death threats
BBC
Tuesday, 15 January, 2002, 21:07 GMT
(Poster's note: McMorris of the CBI is a disgusting pig, saying while
employers wouldn't mind a couple minutes of silence, a half-day work
stoppage probably wouldn't be supported by the bosses -- profits before
solidarity indeed!)
Post halted over death threats
Postal workers paid a silent tribue to their colleague
Postal staff in Northern Ireland have voted to stay away from work
indefinitely until a loyalist death threat against Catholic workers is
lifted.
The decision was taken at a meeting of postal workers unions on Tuesday in
the aftermath of the murder of a Catholic postman by loyalist
paramilitaries.
Daniel McColgan, 20, was shot dead by the Ulster Defence Association as he
arrived for work at the Rathcoole sorting office, north of Belfast, early
on Saturday morning.
After the murder, the Red Hand Defenders issued a statement saying that it
considered all postal workers to be "legitimate targets."
The RHD is a cover name used in the past by both the UDA and Loyalist
Volunteer Force. But the UDA has said it distanced itself from the threat.
On Tuesday evening, senior staff from Consignia, the firm which owns Royal
Mail, held a meeting with Security Minister Jane Kennedy and Assistant
Chief Constable Alan McQuillan to discuss the threats.
Sir John Semple, the director of Northern Ireland Affairs for Consignia,
said the company understood how staff felt but did not want to see the
public inconvenienced.
In a statement, Royal Mail said it understood the anxiety of its employees
"both as a result of Danny's murder and in light of the threat issued
against them".
"There can be no doubt these are extremely difficult circumstances and the
business is working hard to help and reassure all employees," it added.
The Communication Workers Union will meet Mr McQuillan on Wednesday to hear
his assessment of the threat.
General stoppage
The threat to postal workers followed a similar threat made to teachers and
workers at Catholic schools in north Belfast last Friday.
Postal services across Northern Ireland were disrupted on Tuesday as many
workers attended the funeral of Mr McColgan in Newtownabbey.
Many workers across the province observed a two-minute silence at midday as
the funeral was held at Star of the Sea church in Whitehouse.
The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) said the silence was also in
memory of all workers murdered during the past 30 years.
Many schools in north Belfast also observed the silence.
Meanwhile, Marks & Spencers said it had received a call from republican
paramilitaries threatening its Protestant staff.
A delivery depot at Mallusk in Newtownabbey received the threat from the
Irish National Liberation Army in a recorded telephone message on Monday
evening.
Marks & Spencer said it was currently reviewing its own security procedures
at the centre and the police said they were increasing the number of
patrols in the area.
The Lord Mayor of Belfast, Jim Rodgers, has called for the threats against
Protestant and Catholic workers to be withdrawn.
"The intimidation of citizens because of their religion is absolutely
disgraceful and must be condemned by all right thinking people," he said.
"The worsening security situation deeply concerns me and it will get worse
if paramilitary groups do not pull back from the brink".
Postal and fire service workers are among thousands expected to take part
in a half-day stoppage on Friday in protest at the murder and continuing
attacks on workers.
Rallies have been organised around the province, with the largest planned
outside Belfast City Hall.
The ICTU has called for all pubs, restaurants as well as civil servants and
businesses to take part in the stoppage.
Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid met the ICTU on Tuesday afternoon to
discuss the threats.
Afterwards, trade union leaders said they had been overwhelmed by support
from the government and the private sector for their demonstrations later
this week against sectarianism.
Peter Bunting, assistant general secretary of the ICTU said Dr Reid was
fully behind what the unions were doing.
The Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance union has also called on its
members to stop work on Friday afternoon.
'Abhorrence'
Jim Barbour of the Fire Brigade's Union said fire service workers would
attend the protest rallies in Belfast, Londonderry and Enniskillen on
Friday.
But he assured the public that 999 emergency services would be maintained.
"We are on the verge of a sectarian abyss and it is incumbent on all
workers to follow the lead set by the ICTU," he said.
However, the chairman of the employers organisation, the CBI, Ian McMorris,
said that while he believed most companies would facilitate the two-minute
silence, many would be reluctant to see a half-day closure of their
business.
"I think we can attend rallies during lunchtime when they are planned, but
return to work to make sure our customers overseas, and wherever, are not
let down in the delivery of our goods."
---
Eric Hayes Patkowski [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://irsm.org/ (Pairtí Poblachtach Sóisialach na h-Éireann)
http://www14.pair.com/jcs/ (James Connolly Society)
http://www.marxists.org/archive/connolly/ (James Connolly Archive)
http://irsm.org/turkey/ (Solidarity with Turkish Hunger Strikers)
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