HEATHROW Airport police tried to remove the Gate Gourmet picket from the Beacon Roundabout outside the airport yesterday.
Three locked-out workers were picketing in their tent yesterday lunchtime when the police arrived.
A PC told the pickets: ‘You are in breach of the airport by-laws’.
When they told him that the picket had been ruled legal by a High Court judge he replied: ‘No, it was a local agreement between yourselves and Heathrow Airport Ltd.’
However, inspector Hackett, the duty officer, said that he would investigate the High Court ruling.
Gate Gourmet locked-out workers’ TGWU branch secretary, Jarnil Singh, said afterwards: ‘The High Court ruled that six people could picket the gate and the remainder could demonstrate on the hill at the Beacon Roundabout.
‘Everybody has seen us on the hill and we have the right to be there. They cannot stop us demonstrating on the hill.
‘If they wanted to stop us why didn’t they stop us nine months ago.’
The ladies on the picket line were also defiant. Surinder Dhaliwal said: ‘We have the right to picket here. A High Court judge made that ruling.’
She also showed News Line her injured hand, she said: ‘When it is cold I am in more pain. I suffered an industrial injury in 2004 when two trolleys trapped my hand which is now swollen, discoloured and painful.
‘Gate Gourmet chose me for compulsory redundancy saying my sickness levels were too high – when I was sick due to an injury at work.
‘I am going to show my hand to the court at my employment tribunal.’
Asha Varma said: ‘We have been standing here since August 10th, what has changed? We have the right to remain here until we win our jobs back on our original terms and conditions.’
She added: ‘We went to the T&G office this morning to ask for our hardship money, they said that it is no longer being dealt with locally and told us to write to the union office in London. It’s just an excuse. We have been told so many different things.
‘We need the support of the union now more than ever.’
Asha added: ‘The police said “either you move or we will arrest you”. We need the whole union to defend our right to picket.’
Kuldeep Hotti said: ‘We are all members of the union and we need the union to sort this out. We know we have the right to picket.’
