{"id":27061,"date":"2020-12-14T16:25:51","date_gmt":"2020-12-14T16:25:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=27061"},"modified":"2020-12-15T16:12:00","modified_gmt":"2020-12-15T16:12:00","slug":"enough-is-enough-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=27061","title":{"rendered":"‘Enough is enough’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The strike by Unite members at Heathrow Airport continues to gain momentum on their second day of strike action today (December 14) against the imposition of permanent pay cuts which will see their wages slashed by 25 per cent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unite staged a car rally event at Bedfont Football Club to coincide with the second of several 24-hour stoppages, which drew a groundswell of support. Unite Heathrow reps and activists spoke at the rally, alongside local Heathrow-area Labour MPs including John McDonnell, James Murray and Seema Malhotra, among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The speakers praised the tenacity of the striking workers, including firefighters, engineers, campus security, baggage operations, central terminal operations and landside and airside operations, in their fight to save their livelihoods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re taking a stand against Heathrow Airport Limited\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s (HAL) decision to fire and rehire its 4,000 employees on vastly inferior contracts, with workers facing permanent pay cuts up to \u00c2\u01418000 a year.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Addressing the striking workers, Labour MP Seema Malhotra (pictured below) said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis is about fairness, this is about social justice. And that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why we have stood with you \u00e2\u20ac\u201c because the rights that you fight for are the rights for you, and for your families, but they also are the rights of the next generation of workers.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Unite chair for Heathrow fire services Don O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Brien (pictured below), who is also part of the negotiating committee, slammed Heathrow bosses\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 intransigence, after the union had brought various proposals to the negotiating table which were all rejected out of hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe were just met with brick walls,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bSo we were forced to take this strike action, with a heavy heart.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Don told the rally of the various messages of solidarity that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve received, not just at home but internationally as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt really does strengthen our resolve to see such solidarity from as far away as Uganda,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Labour MP and former shadow chancellor John McDonnell (pictured below) likewise highlighted HAL\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s exploitative tactics \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and its real mission to use the pandemic as a smokescreen for its sinister plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhen the pandemic happened, Heathrow Airport Limited (HAL) saw it disgracefully as an opportunity to fulfil the strategy they had for years of cutting wages, undermining terms of employment and reducing job numbers,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 McDonnell noted. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThey saw this [crisis] and they just didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want it to go to waste.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bNo matter how long it lasts or how tough it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been, we know this pandemic is temporary and we will get through it \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and aviation will come back,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bBut what they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re trying to do is use a temporary problem that we have to inflict permanent cuts in wages and undermine terms of employment. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s exploitation.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unite London and Eastern regional committee chair Jim Kelly (pictured below) highlighted the gaping disparity between the fortunes of Heathrow bosses and shareholders and the workers who are being expected to bear the burden of the current crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe CEO of HAL earns \u00c2\u01414.2m a year,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he pointed out. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bHe gave himself a 100 per cent pay rise in 2018 and now they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re saying our members need to take a 25 per cent cut in their wages. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s great to see Unite fighting back against these draconian attacks on terms and conditions,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Jim added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking to UniteLIVE after the rally, Heathrow engineer Gary said this was his first time ever taking part in a strike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not something I ever imagined myself doing, especially for such a big company like Heathrow Airport Limited but I just felt that enough is enough \u00e2\u20ac\u201c they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve treated us really badly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhat\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the company going to do in a few years\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 time when passenger numbers are back up to capacity?\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bTheir income will go up but our wages will remain low. This doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to be permanent cut.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gary said he was especially heartened by the messages of solidarity and support which have poured in from around the globe \u00e2\u20ac\u201c UniteLIVE highlighted some of these messages last week.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt made me feel really good that there are so many workers from countries all over the world supporting us,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bHopefully people around the world will see what we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re doing here and take inspiration from our fight to stand up for their rights and livelihoods too.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Heathrow strikes will continue this week, with a further two 24-hour stoppages on Thursday (December 17) and Friday (December 18), just as the airport becomes busier in the lead up to pre-Christmas travel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unite has warned that despite Heathrow airport continuing to operate during the strikes, management has failed to provide details of its contingency plans and questions remain about safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unite regional co-ordinating officer Wayne King said workers will be ramping up strike action this week after HAL \u00e2\u20ac\u015bhas refused to withdraw its decision to brutally fire and rehire its loyal staff\u00e2\u20ac\u0165.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe airports success was built on its workforce, who have continued to ensure it operates throughout the pandemic, on occasion risking their health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bHAL has repaid them by conducting the most brutal fire and rehire operation ever seen in the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bHAL would rather pay millions on arranging for contingencies during the strike then agree a fair deal for its loyal workforce,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bHAL is using Covid as cover to force through long-held plans to cuts workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 pay. This is about greed not need. If this was related to the pandemic, HAL would be looking for temporary pay cuts.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you missed our Facebook Live coverage of the Heathrow car rally today, you can re-watch it here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By UniteLIVE team<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pics by Mark Thomas<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The strike by Unite members at Heathrow Airport continues to gain momentum on their second day of strike action today (December 14) against the imposition of permanent pay cuts which will see their wages slashed by 25 per cent. Unite staged a car rally event at Bedfont Football Club to coincide with the second of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27072,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1308,17],"tags":[1295,195,1504],"wps_subtitle":"Heathrow strike gains momentum as Unite stages car rally","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27061"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27061"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27061\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27077,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27061\/revisions\/27077"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/27072"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}