EALING Parking Service workers are angry at the way in which their strike has been sold out.
Unite Branch Secretary Harjinder Nagi told News Line yesterday morning: ‘It was a very low turn out. The meeting on Tuesday was poorly arranged. If it had been arranged properly, there would definitely have been a different result.
‘There was only 17 in total at the meeting on Tuesday afternoon. Ten voted in favour, six voted against, and one abstained.
‘I didn’t get a chance to go to the meeting. But if I had I would have voted against. I have written to Peter Kavanagh (Unite Regional Secretary) and asked him to look into the process of the meeting arrangement.
‘Over twenty people called me yesterday saying it was unfair and that they did not get enough notice of the meeting.
‘We are just asking him to look into the process and if he agrees that it was inadequate we will ask for a re-run.
‘As far as the deal is concerned, there are no major concessions from Serco. It is not what we were fighting for.’
Fellow striker and Unite member Michael Lester said: ‘I don’t understand, it is bad, I should not be going back to work, I didn’t know what was going on, I didn’t get any notice at all.
‘Nothing is resolved, we have just been messed about, which I am not happy about really.’
A Unite union statement yesterday said the strikes had been ended after Serco apologised for union busting and agreed to reform.
Nearly 50 civil enforcement officers, who are employed by Serco on the Ealing council parking enforcement contract, will now be seeking to overturn the ‘sell-out’ decision!
The dispute centred on the company’s attempts to undermine trade union organisation and collective consultation by offering severance agreements to Unite representatives and lay members.
Unite regional officer Clare Keogh said of the sell-out: ‘Our members stood together on the picket line for three months to protect their trade union and collective bargaining rights.
‘Unite’s position remains that public contracts, such as parking enforcement in Ealing, should be taken out of the hands of outsourcers and brought back inhouse by local authorities.
‘The union, however, looks forward to improved industrial relations with Serco in Ealing now that this dispute has ended.’
- Unite construction members will be holding a central London demonstration outside the Skanska-Costain-Strabag Joint Venture site tomorrow, Friday (6 August), over the consortium’s flouting of the HS2 agreement by not allowing union officials ‘meaningful’ access to the site.
The HS2 protest will be at the corner of Hampstead Road and Roberts Street NW1 3EL (close to Euston Station, London) from 12 midday to 14:00 on Friday (6 August).
The demonstration is the start of a long term campaign to stop the union-busting activities of companies like Skanska and Costain which are renowned for blacklisting union members.
Unite national officer for construction Jerry Swain said: ‘This joint venture made up of leading construction companies have union-busting ingrained in their DNA and a burning desire to break the strong bond between Unite and construction workers – that will never happen.
‘These companies loathe Unite as we stand up for our members in all weathers fighting and campaigning for decent pay and employment conditions, as well as the highest possible health & safety standards in the industry.’
