Solidarity with Polish workers in Ireland, Hackney, London
renegado | 05.08.2005 01:13 | Globalisation | Migration | Social Struggles | Workers' Movements
On this Thursday evening, around 20 activists held a solidarity protest to support the onging struggle of Polish packing workers, who were sacked from the Tesco packing factory in the Greenhill's suburb of Dublin, Ireland one week ago today.
We'd turned up to let Tesco's know that people in Ireland, Poland and Britain are saying Enough Is Enough! No more hyper-exploitation. No more splitting us on national lines...
When two workers turned up last week iat the Greeenhills packing centre wearing T-shirts that said "We Won't Break Our Backs For Tesco's' - The management had them 'removed from the production line.'
Radek Sawicki and Zbyszek Bukala were sacked, not just for well having cutting edge fashion sense, also for having helped form the Tesco Temps Defence Committee at the Greenhills distribution centre in Dublin
They refused to carry out backbreaking picking work at the quotas
expected by TESCO - 900, 1000 and more boxes to be shifted per day.
Radek and Zbyszek were sacked by TESCO last week - but they and their co-workers have been fighting back with wildcat strikes and other solidarity actions, Along with the support of Irish workers, the Irish Worker Solidarity Movement (
http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/wsm/ ) and many other friends, people are trying to take the struggle to a new level.
Following the wildcat strike July 29th at the Greenhills Distro centre, the Tesco Temps Defence Committee called for pickets in solidarity with their fight.
For more background..read this: http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=71189
So rising to the occasion, around 20 of us turned up to mark our solidarity on Thursday 7th August around tea time at Hackney Central Teaco's -
Surprisingly only two cops turned up - with one van lurking in the side streets - the Met must be stretched!
but actually on another level it was really nice - cause it meant for a change, we actually got to speak with the shoppers and workers about what's going on - instead of being just surrounded by a cordon of cops with the 'general public' keeping their heads down and walking by swiftly..
as well as outreaching to the workers and shoppers at Tescos
we sent a message to the Bosses
Don't believe for a moment you can play us off against each other on the basis of our nationalities - pick on polish migrants in Ireland..and...
You're picking on the international precariat of europe and beyond...
we had a banner saying ' Support Tesco's Workers!' and we had leaflets explaining the situation - though sadly we only had several hundred, when easily we could have given out many times more than that number given the people who were coming up and were asking wot's happening..
after about an hour or so - we wound up- but with a solid idea that if Tesco's don't settle up in the short term - and in the medium term....until all workers have control and power over their own situation....until we all have autonomy...
We will be back again!
Our resistance needs to as international as Capital!
These are the first steps... Vamos!
When two workers turned up last week iat the Greeenhills packing centre wearing T-shirts that said "We Won't Break Our Backs For Tesco's' - The management had them 'removed from the production line.'
Radek Sawicki and Zbyszek Bukala were sacked, not just for well having cutting edge fashion sense, also for having helped form the Tesco Temps Defence Committee at the Greenhills distribution centre in Dublin
They refused to carry out backbreaking picking work at the quotas
expected by TESCO - 900, 1000 and more boxes to be shifted per day.
Radek and Zbyszek were sacked by TESCO last week - but they and their co-workers have been fighting back with wildcat strikes and other solidarity actions, Along with the support of Irish workers, the Irish Worker Solidarity Movement (
http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/wsm/ ) and many other friends, people are trying to take the struggle to a new level. Following the wildcat strike July 29th at the Greenhills Distro centre, the Tesco Temps Defence Committee called for pickets in solidarity with their fight.
For more background..read this:
http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=71189 So rising to the occasion, around 20 of us turned up to mark our solidarity on Thursday 7th August around tea time at Hackney Central Teaco's -
Surprisingly only two cops turned up - with one van lurking in the side streets - the Met must be stretched!
but actually on another level it was really nice - cause it meant for a change, we actually got to speak with the shoppers and workers about what's going on - instead of being just surrounded by a cordon of cops with the 'general public' keeping their heads down and walking by swiftly..
as well as outreaching to the workers and shoppers at Tescos
we sent a message to the Bosses
Don't believe for a moment you can play us off against each other on the basis of our nationalities - pick on polish migrants in Ireland..and...
You're picking on the international precariat of europe and beyond...
we had a banner saying ' Support Tesco's Workers!' and we had leaflets explaining the situation - though sadly we only had several hundred, when easily we could have given out many times more than that number given the people who were coming up and were asking wot's happening..
after about an hour or so - we wound up- but with a solid idea that if Tesco's don't settle up in the short term - and in the medium term....until all workers have control and power over their own situation....until we all have autonomy...
We will be back again!
Our resistance needs to as international as Capital!
These are the first steps... Vamos!
renegado