Workers Revolutionary Party - 'RESTORE OUR HARDSHIP PAYMENTS' – demand Gate Gourmet locked-out workers

The News Line: News Wednesday, 15 February 2006 'RESTORE OUR HARDSHIP PAYMENTS' – demand Gate Gourmet locked-out workers

Kentish Town FBU chairman Ben Sprung (centre) was among the many trade unionists who joined the Gate Gourmet locked-out workers six months anniversary picket last Friday

Gate Gourmet locked out workers are calling on all trade unionists to act in their support.

The TGWU members are fighting for reinstatement on their original terms and conditions and are demanding that the union restores their hardship payments, which it stopped on 6th January 2006.

Speaking on the picket line at Heathrow Airport yesterday, Mrs Mohinder Grewal told News Line: ‘We need our hardship payments. It’s very hard to live without money.

‘We call on all trade unionists to insist that our union restores our hardship money, otherwise people will never believe in the union again.

‘We know we have lots of support. When we were sacked, more than one thousand other trade unonists came out to support us. Now we need their support again.

‘The TGWU leaders must be changed. We are innocent people who have been deceived. We need honest leaders.

‘We are also asking other trade union leaders to put pressure on the TGWU leaders to pay us our hardship pay.’

Jaswinder Kumar added: ‘We have already told the union solicitor we are not going to sign the Compromise Agreement, so why are they sending us letters to come in to discuss things?

‘They are still trying to put pressure on people to sign.

‘Three or four months ago, was the original deadline. The deadline is over, we are going to see them in court, that’s it.

‘We are going to win all our jobs back and payment for all the money we’ve lost.’