Workers Revolutionary Party - MASS PICKET AT GATE GOURMET

The News Line: News Friday, 11 November 2005 MASS PICKET AT GATE GOURMET

Gate Gourmet workers lobbying the TUC Congress in Brighton on September 12 insisting on their reinstatement

There was a big picket of over 200 locked out Gate Gourmet workers at Heathrow airport yesterday.

Locked out worker Ramesh told News Line: ‘I have just received a letter from the company saying my appeal against compulsory redundancy has been rejected.

‘I am not surprised. They don’t want any of us back.

‘Now the union must take action.

‘The deal that the union leaders made with the company is no good.

‘We want a mass demonstration and rally in London, and we want all trade union members and all airport workers to come to it and support us.’

Mr Sharama said: ‘We want action from the union now. There can be only one end to this situation – reinstatement for us all.’

Hermohinder added: ‘We want the TGWU to call a national demonstration in London.

‘We want all workers and all trade union members to join us.’

Parvinder added: ‘The deal has definitely collapsed. The cases have gone to the tribunal. The union leaders are pretending that the deal is still alive, but it is dead.

‘It was a rotten deal which they should never have signed in the first place. We want a national demonstration and action to win our jobs back.’

Last Wednesday BA staff went on strike again at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport.

An SATA-CGT spokesman told News Line: ‘90 per cent of the staff are refusing to be transferred to Globe Ground handling company.

‘BA staff who have worked for BA ten, 20 or even 30 years do not want to lose their work conditions, their wages and refuse to be outsourced.

‘BA has organised and trained temporary staff to replace the strikers, this is illegal regarding French legislation.

‘But BA has refused to comply with the law.

‘Yesterday, staff from Globe Ground went on strike as well and joined the BA staff.

‘They were complaining about their working conditions, and their wages.’