Workers Revolutionary Party - ‘ON OUR WAY TO VICTORY’ say Gate Gourmet workers

The News Line: News Wednesday, 14 December 2005 ‘ON OUR WAY TO VICTORY’ say Gate Gourmet workers

Locked -out gate Gourmet workers during their successful lobby of the TGWU Executive meeting earlier this month

LOCKED out Gate Gourmet workers were yesterday campaigning outside the Transport and General Workers Union regional office in Hillingdon, near Heathrow Airport.

On Saturday the Gate Gourmet bosses announced that only 137 of the over 700 workers had signed the notorious ‘Compromise Agreement’.

This is despite the support of the TGWU leadership.

Gate Gourmet also announced that the closing date for the sell-out deal is next Friday, December 16th.
The locked out workers were telling every Gate Gourmet worker who came to the office not to sign the Compromise Agreement, and to demand that all of the locked out workers are returned to their jobs on their original wages and conditions of service.

Mrs Parmjit Bains told News Line: ‘We are telling people that signing the Compromise Agreement means signing all your rights over to the company.

‘The union officers are putting so much pressure on people to sign this week, they are saying that people who don’t sign might not get a penny.

‘They are trying to frighten people. They are doing all this for the bosses but they are not succeeding, more and more people are standing firm and are determined to struggle until victory.’

Mrs Parmjit Sidhu said: ‘The company wants slavery restored.

‘The Gate Gourmet Survival Plan, which the union leaders have signed up to, is slave labour.

‘They think that we are slaves, but we are not slaves.

‘Under this plan they have already cut one break and they can tell people to do anything, and they can sack them for nothing.

‘When we go back inside it will only be on our original terms and conditions.

‘The union leaders are trying to help the company and they are also threatening to stop our hardship payments.

‘We are going to have to stop them from doing this.’

Mr Hole said: ‘Who the hell do they think they are, saying if we don’t sign by the 16th of December we’ll lose everything.

‘It’s them that illegally sacked us and them that have been sitting on this for months.

‘Now they are issuing more threats. I’m not signing, I’m going to see them in court.’

Mrs Sandesh said: ‘We are fighting to make sure a majority stands firm and doesn’t sign the Compromise Agreement.

‘People who sign it are signing away their rights. We are fighting not just for our rights but for our children’s rights.

‘If the company gets away with it and the union leaders are allowed to help them, then there will be no future. We are going to win.’