LOCKED out Gate Gourmet workers were very angry on the picket line at Heathrow Airport yesterday when letters from the TGWU solicitor advising them to sign the hated Compromise Agreement were distributed.
Parmjit Baines said: ‘Now we’ve got two letters from the union solicitors, one is confirming that the Employment Tribunal cases are in, and the other is urging us to sign the Compromise Agreement. This is disgusting. We are not going to sign any compromise agreement. We are not going to give up our rights.’
She continued: ‘The deal has collapsed and we are all fighting for reinstatement on our original terms and conditions.
‘We are demanding that the TGWU leadership fights for this.
‘We also want a permanent shelter on the hill and we need heating with winter coming.
‘We want the dispute declared official with proper official, proper dispute payments, and all the money that is being donated to the hardship fund distributed to help our members who are suffering hardship.
‘We want the union to call a national demonstration, the TUC voted unanimously to support us and we want them to support a national demonstration.’
Fellow picket Nirmal Purewal added: ‘We are not going to sign the Compromise Agreement, we are going to court. The deal is finished it gives us nothing, we must all go back to work not just some of us.’
Picket Kuldip showed News Line a letter she had just received from Gate Gourmet. She said: ‘After I received the letter from the company saying I was being made compulsorily redundant I sent in an appeal and they have just sent me back this letter.
‘It says: “In your case, the company’s position is not that your score in the selection process means that you are compulsorily selected. Rather, it is considered that your conduct has been such that mutual trust and confidence has been irreparably damaged to the extent that the company could not consider you for re-engagement in any event.”
‘They’ve chosen me for this discrimination because my score is too high in their disgusting selection process for compulsory redundancy.
‘I’m positive that this is the case. For the six years that I’ve worked here, I’ve never been sick and nor have I received any warning letters, I’m not accepting it.
‘I’m not signing the Compromise Agreement, I’m fighting for reinstatement.’
Mrs K Jassal said: ‘The deal is no good and we won’t sign it. It stops us working on Heathrow ever again. They’ve sent me a “compulsory compensation” letter but I’m not going to sign. We are fighting and we are going to win.’
