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BFI workers on strike

j | 26.01.2002 10:34

For the first time in 26 years, staff at the British Film Institute have gone on strike. Intransigent management has forced staff from the MSF union to take industrial action over pay.

Beginning two days ago, workers are walking out for a half-day every Thursday until their demands are met. On the first day of the action, the vast majority of staff at the main BFI office in London took part leaving several floors deserted. The workers are obeying government anti-union legislation, one member of staff saying “we’ll play by the rules for now”.
Teckman, blamed a small minority for putting the BFI, a public body, in danger. Staff, however, “have had enough” and refused to bow to pressure from the MSF bureaucracy to compromise - the office union reps, on the other hand, were commended for their more militant stance.
After Mr Teckman sent a patronising email to all the workers, threatening a grant freeze if strike action continued, staff responded by promising to have more people out next week – one union member claimed she “was prepared to walk out and starve to death” rather than cave in.

Updates will be posted to indymedia.
Please send messages of solidarity to BFI staff at  bfi-on-strike@mail.com.

j

Comments

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Solidarity for All

26.01.2002 20:05

Try protesting when it is not only your own wages

Millennium Leia


yeah, get back to work you shirkers!

28.01.2002 17:40

You ain't getting no solidarity from us until you agree to support all we stand for. We ain't giving you support for your cause in the hope you'll remember it when we need support for our cause. We'd rather stay pure.

a nonny mouse


Assumptions, assumptions

05.02.2002 22:12

Hey, Leia, how can you possibly know that none of them do any other political activity?

Your reaction seems to be a typical anti-union one. Sure I'm opposed to union bureaucracy, but they're only on strike because the rank and file forced the leadership into it.

Nonny mouse - how can people at a workplace support all that you stand for, and even if they did individually, how the hell would you know about it - that's fucking ridiculous.
Also, I believe our cause *is* their cause. A small non-profit organisation isn't going to make the abolition of capitalism one of its demands.
Also, if they went on strike indefinitely, who would really give a shit? They provide a public service which goes largely unnoticed - they don't make profits for any huge multinationals!

We each fight the class struggle any way that we can.

anarkissed


good for them!!!!

06.02.2002 10:06

Good for them!! Too bad they have to have a massive strike because the management won't give them a ONE PERCENT pay increase!
Solidarity,
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