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ISS hits migrant tube strikers; protestors hit ISS

presente | 14.08.2008 10:10 | Migration | Workers' Movements

Yesterday lunchtime around 30 protestors turned up at the Greenwich offices of multinational cleaning company ISS to protest against the letter sent out by the company to dozens of tube cleaners requesting they come in for a 'document check' that day.

It is clear to the cleaners' union RMT that this is part of the reprisals against the tube cleaners for the 3-day strike in support of a Living Wage which they held in late July. Activists and reps among the cleaners have been targetted, with a view to break union organization.

A lively picket of the 15 Park Vista office was held with people from a variety of groups and unions brought together under the the banner of the Campaign against Immigration Controls. At the same time a number of concerned citizens entered the foyer of the premises in case the ISS managers were unable to hear the message properly. However the managers lost their cool and called the police, while refusing to allow in union reps, who had arrived separately. They argued that the picket was upsetting the neighbourghood peace and quiet, while demonstrators argued back that the detentions and deportations and union busting their paper checks cause is a bit more upsetting. One protestor was arrested and is currently out on bail.

Undeterred the cleaners will be on strike again from 21 August at 5.30 am till 23 August. This time support is expected from cleaners in Unite-T&G and coincidentally engineers on Tubelines will be on strike at the same time.

A public meeting on these and all current tube disputes is to be held by the RMT union at Friends House Euston Road on Tuesday 19 August at 6pm.



presente
- e-mail: caic@lists.riseup.net
- Homepage: http://www.march29th.org.uk

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Campaign Against Immigration Controls

14.08.2008 10:32

Since February, with the introduction of new fines for employers hiring undocumented workers, the numbers of raids on workplaces has risen dramatically.

The Home office has raised £2.3million in fines to finance the meeting of arbitrary targets, in a very public focussed show of being tough on 'illegal immigrants'.

The result is increasing fear and precariousness for migrant workers and their families, and further insidious division between people who are legal and those made illegal. A surge in paper checks and raids in communities and public places and institutions is driving people further into the shadows and into more exploitative and oppressive work and living conditions. There is immense anger and outrage at this escalating injustice - and the will to fight.

In July national insurance numbers were used as the pretext to suspend, without pay, two leading activists in the RMT tube cleaners' strike.

The checks and raids working group of the Campaign Against Immigration Controls


website address correction

14.08.2008 16:14

Sorry, website address above should be www.29thmarch.org.uk
The site mainly has material on the last trade union and community conference against immigrationcontrols, held in London in March of this year.

presente