GM activists blockade Sainsbury's Merseyside depot
Genie out of the Bottle | 03.03.2005 06:11 | Bio-technology | Ecology
At eleven o'clock last night a group of about 25 people took advantage of the beautiful clear weather to blockade the Sainsbury's depot in Haydock, Merseyside.
This was part of a national campaign to force Sainsbury's to stop selling stuff from animals fed on GM feed. It follows a similar blockade near Bristol last Friday, and 27 recent supermarket demos. Animal feed is the last route left for GM in the UK to enter the food chain and is the main market for GM material being imported into the country. See 
http://www.geneticsaction.org.uk/resources/alliancesainsburys.pdf
A defunct Skoda was dumped at the main gate and two people locked themselves to it (to a welded-on hoop), while two other people locked the emergency gate shut, all using d-locks around their necks. The blockade lasted for two and a half hours, costing Sainsbury's an estimated £250,000 to £400,000*.
The police appeared on the scene just before midnight and about an hour later the specialist blockade-removing van arrived. It was apparent to us that they had recently been trained to deal with this type of situation:
-The van had a roof-mounted crane, ladders, hydraulic bolt croppers, neck protection devices & protective cloaks (for the people being removed) and other specialist equipment.
-The police seemed to be following procedure to the letter, clearing people away from the lock-ons swiftly, searching locked-on people for dangerous items, etc. They acted very confidently and efficiently, without much aggression.
-They filmed it all thoroughly, and at the end they asked the legal observer if it had all been carried out correctly.
-They didn't seem to be interested in arresting people, however...
...they did arrest the first person who was cut off. He was arrested, ID-verified, charged (with obstruction) and released within twenty minutes, and didn't even see the inside of a police cell.
Sainsbury’s suppliers now pay most farmers less for their milk than it costs to produce. 40 dairy farmers are going under every week in Britain at the moment because of the supermarkets pricing policies. This goes hand in hand with the international crisis of biotechnology. Farmers want to avoid GM crops, but the poor payment they currently receive forces many of them to keep using the fractionally cheaper GM contaminated imports. The continuing threat of GM, and the corporate aquisition and gentrification of the countryside, could be stopped if farmers got a fair fraction of the price paid for their milk, and the supermarkets were obliged to keep their 3 year old promise to phase out GM feed.
*This is based on Sainsbury's estimate in a recent court case, that they lose £100-150,000 per depot per hour of disruption.
http://www.geneticsaction.org.uk/resources/alliancesainsburys.pdf A defunct Skoda was dumped at the main gate and two people locked themselves to it (to a welded-on hoop), while two other people locked the emergency gate shut, all using d-locks around their necks. The blockade lasted for two and a half hours, costing Sainsbury's an estimated £250,000 to £400,000*.
The police appeared on the scene just before midnight and about an hour later the specialist blockade-removing van arrived. It was apparent to us that they had recently been trained to deal with this type of situation:
-The van had a roof-mounted crane, ladders, hydraulic bolt croppers, neck protection devices & protective cloaks (for the people being removed) and other specialist equipment.
-The police seemed to be following procedure to the letter, clearing people away from the lock-ons swiftly, searching locked-on people for dangerous items, etc. They acted very confidently and efficiently, without much aggression.
-They filmed it all thoroughly, and at the end they asked the legal observer if it had all been carried out correctly.
-They didn't seem to be interested in arresting people, however...
...they did arrest the first person who was cut off. He was arrested, ID-verified, charged (with obstruction) and released within twenty minutes, and didn't even see the inside of a police cell.
Sainsbury’s suppliers now pay most farmers less for their milk than it costs to produce. 40 dairy farmers are going under every week in Britain at the moment because of the supermarkets pricing policies. This goes hand in hand with the international crisis of biotechnology. Farmers want to avoid GM crops, but the poor payment they currently receive forces many of them to keep using the fractionally cheaper GM contaminated imports. The continuing threat of GM, and the corporate aquisition and gentrification of the countryside, could be stopped if farmers got a fair fraction of the price paid for their milk, and the supermarkets were obliged to keep their 3 year old promise to phase out GM feed.
*This is based on Sainsbury's estimate in a recent court case, that they lose £100-150,000 per depot per hour of disruption.
Genie out of the Bottle
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nice one!
03.03.2005 11:00
support
More good news...
03.03.2005 16:12
2 more bits of good news.
1) Those of us facing a court case for the anti-GM blockade of Sainsburys Waltham point Essex /London depot have had all charges dropped!! We were charged with agravated trespass & sec 5 of POA...but Sainsburies and the CPA have chickened out!!!! yay!!
2)STRIKE!!!Trade Union Dispute at Sainsburys depot Haydock, Merseyside
This is from the Mirror:
SAINSBURY'S STRIKE OVER STOLEN GUM Feb 7 2005
By Clinton Manning Business Editor
SAINSBURY'S faces losing £1million a day in sales if staff strike to support two colleagues sacked over stolen chewing gum.
Up to 800 workers at one of its biggest distribution centres are threatening to walk out.
They want union rep George Clarke to get his job back. He was asked to be a witness when managers searched a worker suspected of pinching the gum before Christmas.
The thief was asked to turn out his pockets. A source said: "When they found nothing, the two managers left the room. The thief then pulled the gum out of his pocket." The incident was caught on CCTV and the man was sacked. Mr Clarke was suspended for reportedly for not turning the thief in.
The insider added: "Now, after leaving him in limbo for a month including Christmas they sacked him too.
"It's all blowing up here now big time. People are really angry.
"There's a petition going round to get the rep reinstated. If the company doesn't listen, we are all going to walk out in support of him." The distribution plant in Haydock, Merseyside, supplies up to 90 supermarkets. A pay dispute there last year cost the firm £1million a day in missed sales.
Union Usdaw said an employment tribunal panel was considering Mr Clarke's case.
Sainsbury's said: "Two colleagues were dismissed for misconduct, not for any trade union issues or matters relating to pay negotiations."
Barry Kade
correction
04.03.2005 14:24
I believe the person who spotted the above had their view obstructed and was unable to move! What was on top of their van was the kit for removing people off tripods, which included ladders and platforms. It had runners etc, but not a crane. If this is any different once I've spoken to someone who went and had a good look, I'll post it here.
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