‘WOODLEY said “You can stand outside the T&G office for as many years as you want to, it’s not going to change anything’’,’ Gate Gourmet locked-out worker Parmjit Bains told News Line yesterday.
A delegation of the locked-out workers lobbied the Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU) General Executive Council meeting in central London yesterday morning to appeal to TGWU leaders to restore their hardship payments.
Their lobby came a day after reports appeared in the press about two sacked British Airways shop stewards allegedly receiving £600,000 ‘hush money’ from the TGWU and BA.
General Secretary Tony Woodley spoke to the locked-out members inside the TGWU foyer.
Afterwards, Parmjit said: ‘Woodley said don’t believe what you read in the papers about what they are writing about us paying the money to the BA shop stewards.
‘He said it is not true. I said if it is not true, why don’t you ask the newspapers why they are writing it?
‘He refused to pay the hardship pay. He claimed it would be against the union rules. It’s not true, he can pay it. He just wants to keep away from us and hope we’ll disappear.
‘But we won’t disappear. We will follow him everywhere to get our rights.’
Fellow locked-out worker Jaswinder Kumar said: ‘Woodley has betrayed us. But he won’t get away with it. We are going to win our fight.’
As delegates went in, some stopped and spoke to the lobbyists and donated money.
Yorkshire and Humberside TGWU GEC member, Mohamed Taj, said: ‘Yesterday we discussed it and Woodley said he would ask Steven Hart (TGWU Region One, London Secretary) to have a look at it and talk to the workers at Gate Gourmet again and see what can be done.
‘Regarding the payments to the two BA stewards, we haven’t had the figures disclosed. But I can see that when you see this big settlement, it puts the hardship of these workers in perspective.’
Passenger Services GEC member, Martin Mayer admitted ‘some money was paid out’ to the BA shop stewards.
As he went into the NEC meeting, Steven Hart, commenting on the BA pay-out, said: ‘It’s a confidential matter.’
Locked-out worker Harbinder Singh said: ‘If the BA shop stewards can get the money, why not the Gate Gourmet workers?’