{"id":28890,"date":"2021-05-11T17:18:30","date_gmt":"2021-05-11T16:18:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=28890"},"modified":"2021-05-12T16:18:17","modified_gmt":"2021-05-12T15:18:17","slug":"corporate-greed-by-corporate-gangsters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=28890","title":{"rendered":"‘Corporate greed by corporate gangsters’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Unite members sent a loud and clear message at a protest on Wednesday (May 11) calling for the end of fire and rehire contracts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Unite members, striking workers who face being forced onto contracts that would see their pay slashed by thousands of pounds, joined Labour MPs on a boat on the river Thames to call on the government to ban the pernicious employment practice which is sweeping through UK workplaces amid the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The boat sailed past Parliament, timed to coincide with the Queen\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Speech, as protestors, wielding Unite flags and placards, chanted \u00e2\u20ac\u0098We say no to fire and rehire\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 and \u00e2\u20ac\u0098Tories out!\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among those in attendance were workers from Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE). JDE is attempting to dismiss and re-engage 291 employees at its Banbury coffee factory on new contracts that could see some workers lose between \u00c2\u01417,000 and \u00c2\u014112,000 a year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The workers took strike action last weekend, with more strike dates on the cards as negotiations continue, as well as a continuous overtime ban in place since May 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unite JDE Banbury convenor Chris Moon (pictured below), who has worked at the coffee factory for 26 years said he and his colleagues were devastated when the company insisted on pushing through the new contracts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Chris said that he and others will not only be losing out on significant sums of money in the long-term, but are also being forced onto different shift patterns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be working a completely different shift pattern where I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be working Christmases, weekends and bank holidays \u00e2\u20ac\u201c this will have a significant impact on my family life.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chris called fire and rehire \u00e2\u20ac\u015bdeplorable\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 and said it amounted to \u00e2\u20ac\u015bcorporate greed\u00e2\u20ac\u0165.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bMy message to the government is this — please listen to the people who have put you in power — take heed of this, talk to these companies, and make fire and rehire illegal as it is in other countries,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unite rep and JDE worker Andrew Compton (pictured below) agreed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI was very disappointed by the actions the company have taken especially given the amount of profits they had already announced,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Andrew explained. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThere is absolutely no need \u00e2\u20ac\u201c there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s never been any evidence to show that they need to carry this through. This is just a blatant attack on workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 terms and conditions.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andrew said he and his family will \u00e2\u20ac\u015blose out on vast sums of money — it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s us ordinary families that are going to be taking this massive hit while the company won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to suffer at all\u00e2\u20ac\u0165.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe government needs to realise that fire and rehire is affecting a lot of people in this country now \u00e2\u20ac\u201c some families are even losing their homes. If they don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t step in now things will only get worse.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Referencing staff from London-based letting services firm Goodlord, who are striking over \u00c2\u01416,000 fire and rehire cuts, also joined Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s boat protest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They have been on continuous strike action since February after Goodlord singled out referencing staff \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the lowest-paid workers in the company \u00e2\u20ac\u201c for fire and rehire attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The workers were originally employed on fixed-term contracts \u00e2\u20ac\u201c in January they were offered permanent roles doing the exact same work but on \u00c2\u01416,000 less. The pay cuts on the new contracts would take their wages below the London Living Wage to \u00c2\u014118,000 a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unite member and Goodlord worker Martyna (pictured below) said she had moved into a more expensive flat with her boyfriend before the new contracts were announced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think my pay could possibly drop any less \u00e2\u20ac\u201c I relied on the fact that I was earning \u00c2\u014124,000 a year when I moved,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Martyna explained. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bNow it means we struggle to pay the rent.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI think fire and rehire is not just wrong but it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make any business sense,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Martyna added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhen employers do things like this you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel valued, you feel like you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re no one to them and your motivation plummets so you just want to leave and look for work somewhere else.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unite member and former Goodlord worker Athena (pictured below) agreed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Athena, who refused to accept the new contract and is now unemployed, recalled her and her colleagues initial reaction to the company\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s new contracts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe were outraged \u00e2\u20ac\u201c I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t tell you how shocked we were,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bI had decided to do this job because of the initial salary they offered. That was the only reason I left my previous career in fitness. Being paid less than the London Living Wage is just not acceptable.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commenting on fire and rehire, Athena said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt is immoral to use an economic situation to cut the wages of the lowest paid in your company \u00e2\u20ac\u201c to employ someone on a certain wage and then all of sudden you tell them their labour is not worth as much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bYour entire company exists because of the work that your employees do,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe only way fire and rehire makes sense is in the minds of incompetent CEOs who just want to please investors in the short-term \u00e2\u20ac\u201c nothing else.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Athena, who is a first-time union member, called being part of Unite \u00e2\u20ac\u015babsolutely amazing\u00e2\u20ac\u0165.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bFor those of us who have joined the union we have this new outlook on life,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she explained. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhen you feel like the entire world is against you and you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t do anything about it, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s when you realise that there are already institutions \u00e2\u20ac\u201c unions — that exist that can help you as workers stick together and fight for the good of everyone.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emmeline (pictured below), a Goodlord worker who is also a first-time union member, agreed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been really wonderful being part of Unite,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThey\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been so incredibly supportive and really amenable to what we wanted to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bAt the beginning we said we wanted to do less in-person demonstrations and be really social media focused because the company really cares about their online reputation,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bSo Unite was totally on-board with that and it was just really nice to be listened to and respected, at a time when we weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t being listened to or respected by our employer.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recounting when she first learned the company\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s plans to fire and rehire her and her colleagues, Emmeline said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt was a real slap in the face the company telling us that the work they we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d been doing for the last year wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t worth anything to them. A lot of my colleagues had to move out of London or move back in with their parents.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emmeline urged the government to ban fire and rehire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bMake it illegal and stop this exploitation,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s already gone too far \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s happening in many different companies across the UK and this will affect people and their families for the rest of their lives. We need to stop it now.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unite national officer for the food industry Joe Clarke, who joined JDE members on the boat, agreed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Highlighting the fire and rehire fight JDE workers are facing, Clarke said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThere needs to be protection for workers. In many countries throughout the world, for example in Spain and in Ireland, these tactics are unlawful and they should be unlawful here. Food sector companies in particular have made huge profits. This is nothing but corporate greed by corporate gangsters \u00e2\u20ac\u201c this is what fire and rehire is all about.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unite assistant general secretary Howard Beckett, who also attended today\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s protest, said Unite would continue to take the government to task on fire and rehire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commenting on the Queen\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Speech, where the government failed to announce any moves to ban fire and rehire, Beckett said, “Working people will be bitterly disappointed that the prime minister has failed to use this opportunity to outlaw fire and rehire. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Instead of desperately needed protection from what the government itself calls a bully boy practice, all workers will get from Boris Johnson’s government are warm words,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“But with one in 10 working people being told take a massive pay cut or take a hike, we will keep hounding the Tories on this until they act to end fire and rehire.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Hajera Blagg<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Unite members sent a loud and clear message at a protest on Wednesday (May 11) calling for the end of fire and rehire contracts. The Unite members, striking workers who face being forced onto contracts that would see their pay slashed by thousands of pounds, joined Labour MPs on a boat on the river Thames […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":28896,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[1409,1638],"wps_subtitle":"Unite members fighting fire and rehire in their workplaces join Labour MPs in Queen\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Speech boat protest","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28890"}],"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=28890"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28890\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28911,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28890\/revisions\/28911"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}