------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~-->
Help tsunami villages rebuild at GlobalGiving. The real work starts now.
http://us.click.yahoo.com/njNroD/KbOLAA/cosFAA/e0EolB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~->
STATEMENT FROM GATE GOURMET WOMEN WORKERS
WE DEMAND JUSTICE AND RESPECT AS WOMEN AND AS
WORKERS!
We, the women workers sacked by Gate Gourmet, urge you to
publicise our experiences at the hands of the brutal
management of this multinational corporation and their utter
disregard for our basic rights and dignity. We would also
like to remind you that our struggle continues, and we need
your support.
Gate Gourmet is the world's largest supplier of in-flight
meals and operates in over 29 countries. Internationally, the
company has been making profits of £1.05bn and has assets of
£15 billion. In Britain, Asian women form the majority of the
workforce, many of us - mothers and grandmothers - are the
sole wage earners for our families. Our wages are on average
between £6.00 and £7.00 an hour. We had been struggling for
one year to get the positions of those of us who were
employed on a temporary basis regularised.
The management told us in January 2005 that they were
planning to make 670 people redundant because they
were 'surplus' workers and negotiations had been going on
over this between our union, the TGWU, and the management.
Despite the management's claims that they had 'surplus'
workers, on 9 August this year we were told that 130 agency
workers were to be employed from the next day onwards. When
we came to work at 6am the next morning, we found that the
management people were all already there (normally they come
in at 9am). At 9 am agency workers were brought to the wash-
up department. We stopped working. Our shop stewards were on
that day involved in a negotiation meeting with management,
but those that were at work, and in some departments the
managers themselves, told us to go to the canteen for a
meeting. When we got there we were told by the management
that we had five minutes to go back to work otherwise we
would be dismissed. We said we wanted to speak to our union
representatives. After five minutes the management came and
threw letters on to the tables at which we were sitting. They
were letters of dismissal already translated into five
languages - Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu, Gujarati and English -
obviously they had been prepared in advance.
At this point we realised that an estimated two hundred and
fifty security guards and armed police, including a van load
with police dogs had entered the premises. As soon as we were
told that we were dismissed, the doors of the canteen were
locked and no one was allowed to leave. We were told to
surrender our ID cards and locker keys but we refused and
said we wanted to see our union officials. However we were
not allowed to meet these officials although we were aware
that they were in the car park outside. We were not allowed
any food or water or access to toilets for six hours. Some of
us including those who were pregnant and older women had no
choice but to use a bin from the canteen as a toilet.
At 2.30pm we were surrounded by police and security guards
who stood linking arms. Several of us were physically dragged
out by security guards leading to injuries. One of us, Ms
Benti Bansal, was sitting at a round table when she was
pulled up by her shoulders by two security guards. Her chair
slipped from under her and she fell to the ground, injuring
her back and neck. She begged them to let her go but they
dragged her across the room. Later she went to hospital and
was prescribed medication. Two other women suffered panic
attacks when security guards tried to grab their ID cards and
locker keys and an ambulance had to be called, and one woman,
Ms Rajpreet Dhaliwal, has suffered long term damage and has
had to have medical treatment as a result of being prevented
from using the toilet for so many hours.
Those of us who were on leave on 10 August received letters
of dismissal which were dropped through our doors by hand in
the early hours of the morning. One of us, who was on holiday
at the time, received a phone call from the management when
she returned. They asked whether she was on the side of the
management or the union. She replied that she did not know
what it was all about but that she would support her
colleagues. A sacking letter was dropped through her door at
2am.
Such physical assaults, bullying, intimidation, and attacks
on our dignity should not be acceptable in any workplace in
the 21st century. It is also not acceptable that we still do
not know what our position is - while it has been reported in
the press that a deal has been agreed, none of the workers
has been given any information about who is to be offered
their jobs back, who will face compulsory redundancy and who
will be simply sacked. Currently we are being forced to try
to survive on £50 a week.
We urge you to support our struggle for justice.
JOIN US AT OUR DEMONSTRATION OUTSIDE DOWNING STREET
12.00 - 3.00pm
TUESDAY 25 OCTOBER 2005
Further information on the demonstration from 0207 267 0923
o o o o
[Demo Leaflet]
GATE GOURMET WORKERS DEMAND JUSTICE!
DEMONSTRATE at
10 DOWNING ST
TUESDAY 25 OCTOBER
12 a.m. to 3 p.m.
WHITEHALL
(nearest tube: WESTMINSTER)
· The dispute at Gate Gourmet is NOT OVER. We the
sacked workers are still on the picket line. While many of
our supporters think a 'deal' has been agreed, the reality is
that none of us has been given any information about who is
to be offered their jobs back, who will face compulsory
redundancy and who will be simply sacked.
· The company is deliberately delaying in the process
of implementing the deal because after 9th November we will
no longer be entitled to take them to Industrial Tribunal.
The company is also trying to force those made compulsorily
redundant to sign a 'compromise' agreement giving up their
right to take their cases to Industrial Tribunal
· We are forced to try and survive on £50 a week
· We also wish to highlight the physical assaults on us
and the attacks on our dignity made by Gate Gourmet
management on 10 August 2005 - the day the dispute began
Please join us at our demonstration which is supported by the
Sacked Gate Gourmet
workers support group (West London), South Asia Solidarity
Group, Crossroads Women's Centre, Asian Women Unite! and
others.
Details 020 7267 0923
MASS SOLIDARITY - PLEASE ALSO JOIN US ON SUNDAY 23 OCTOBER
ON 'BEACON HILL', 12-2pm (Beacon Hill is outside the Terminal
4 perimeter fence. Nearest tube Hatton Cross, then a five
minute journey on the H23 bus)
o o o
[Demo Report]
GATE GOURMET - RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
A contingent of about 70 sacked workers of Gate Gourmet, the
large majority of them women, travelled from Beacon Hill to
Central London on the morning of 25 October. First they held
a press conference where they expressed their anger at the
injustices and injuries and illegal actions they had suffered
the hands of the multinational corporation. More than 144 of
the workers had received letters of 'compulsory
compensation' the previous weekend which offered them a
meagre sum of money on condition that they signed
a 'compromise agreement' giving up their rights to take the
company to Industrial Tribunal, agreeing to never again apply
for jobs at Gate Gourmet or associated companies (which
include many employers in the area) and most revealingly
agreeing not to take Gate Gourmet to court for injuries they
had suffered on the day they were sacked. 'Unlawful
imprisonment' and 'assault' are explicitly mentioned in
the 'compromise agreement'.
They were also told that if they did not sign the agreement
their fellow workers would not be offered jobs.
Despite these intimidatory tactics the workers have refused
to sign this agreement and were now considering legal action
against the company.
The press conference was followed by a powerful demonstration
of anger and unity at 10 Downing Street with slogans such
as 'Gate Gourmet , down down! Pick and choose no way!'. The
letter handed in to Tony Blair is pasted below.
_________________________________
Labour Notes South Asia (LNSA):
An informal archive and mailing list for trade
unionists and labour activists based in or
working on South asia.
LNSA Mailing List:
Labour Notes South Asia
To subscribe send a blank message to:
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
LNSA Web site:
groups.yahoo.com/group/lnsa/
Run by The South Asia Citizens Web
www.sacw.net
_________________________________
To join the Labour Notes South Asia Mailing List, send a blank message to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lnsa/
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
