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Support Visteon Factory Occupation in Enfield, London

KM | 02.04.2009 15:19 | Repression | Social Struggles | Workers' Movements | World

After the recent demos against meeting the G20 and the obvious failure this shindig will have in shoring up capital racked by crisis, it's good to make the connection between other people in struggle and the yesterdays struggle on the streets.

PDF of a leaflet issued in support of the occupiers is included. Please circulate by hand and by lists.

SHORT REPORT 2nd April 2009

After car parts manufacturer Visteon announced job cuts workers occupied plants in Belfast, basildon and Enfiled. In Enfield about 70 workers - men and women from all kinds of backgrounds - are still inside the plant and on the roof. Last Tuesday the management called for a general assembly and told people that they would have to leave their workplace immediately. They were told to fetch their personal belongings the next day at 10 am. When people turned up the factory was already closed. Workers entered through an unlocked side entrance and occupied the plant.

The security guards won't let people go inside, they also blocked the fire exists with padlocks - which is clearly illegal. Last night, Thursday 1st of April, two bailiffs entered the plant. They issued an eviction order, supported by five cops. The eviction order was flawed, e.g. it was not signed and it had the wrong address on it. Workers expect a proper eviction order for tomorrow, Friday, 3rd of April. In case of eviction workers plan to picket the plant. they also plan to go to Ford Dagenham for a solidarity picket.

The plant manufactured parts for various car companies, for example Land Rover, Jaguar, Madzda, Renault, Ford. In 1991 there were still 1,100 people employed, this number came down to 250. Workers guess that Ford Southampton, the main 'client', piled up stock lasting several weeks - Ford Southampton announced redundancies and will eventually shift production of the Transit to Turkey. Links of solidarity between Enfield and Southampton is the most pressing.

People have the most basic stuff inside, sleeping backs, some food etc., contributions are welcome, ex-Visteon workers and neighbours from Enfield drop by with food. Unfortunately the G20 hype has pushed the occupation into the public back-ground. The occupations are the first 'offensive' collective reactions to the crisis, we should support them - particularly given the pending threat of eviction. So spread the word and come up to Enfield:

Meeting point: Friday, 3rd of April and Saturday, 4th of April at 10 am at Ponders End Railway Station
(the plant is 5 in walk, cross the foot-bridge, walk down main road towards Central London, the next street to the left is Morson Road, the factory situated at the end)

Bring along: friends, banners, food, music...

Mobile Phone inside the plant: 07799896466

KM

Comments

Hide the following 4 comments

Brilliant.

02.04.2009 19:11

Good to see workers taking matters of THEIR WORKPLACE in to their own hands instead of waiting to be ordered to by some TUC bureaucrat. I'll be there to support. Typically the media are ignoring the 2 factory occupations and the violent vile police brutality in these last days at g20 in favor of ''TERRORIST ANARKY NONSENSE IS EVIL BUT OBAMA'S WIFE IS THE NEW DIANA SO THE DAY IS SAVED!!!'' Fuck them. We reject their artifice. We reject their crisis. Hope to see everyone reading this showing to support these brave workers.

-


solidarity! this is where the fight is really happening

02.04.2009 20:06

will be there - to be honest this is more exciting and radical than g20 meltdown or climate camp or any of the events of the past few days 'cos it is unpredictable -sorry but g20 events were a foregone conclusion and follow a set script where all our anger and energy is diverted into fighting with or defending ourselves from the cops - and challenges the basics of power and ownership and is a fight against the ruling class-

wavy gravy


More on crisis and redundancy

02.04.2009 22:57

There's a leaflet done by some anarchists and communists that was given out on the Put People First demo last weekend. It has a lot to say about the crisis and the lie that sacrifice now will result in job security and better wages later. This has has been disproved once more at Visteon:

"Workers had been put on 1, 2, or 3 day shifts since November - led to believe such a sacrifice would help pull the company thru hard times - a now familiar story we shall hear more frequently as more workplaces move towards closure."

 http://libcom.org/forums/news/workers-occupy-visteon-factory-31032009


The leaflet goes onto to talk about possible strategies for workers fighting redundancy:

"It is only by resisting the day to day logic of capitalist “laws” that we will ever be in a strong enough position to put an end to the system itself. Unlike money, houses are not evaporating, but people are being evicted – this is one obvious area for organised resistance. Another is redundancies. Workers are being laid off with only the bare minimum pay-off required by law, and often being cheated of even that. We are not interested in “saving jobs” – let’s face it, there are some jobs that no one in their right mind would want to save! It’s not our problem if the company is no longer profitable, it’s just a question
of the balance of forces, of how much disruption we can cause – solidarity
strikes, occupations, blocking roads… We don’t care if it’s the boss, the state, or Gordon Brown’s sister-in-law who pays! We want money to live on. Even in a small company that goes bankrupt
it’s worth resisting (like the workers who recently occupied the packaging company in Dundee). Even the crappiest little company has valuable assets – grab them before the boss does!"

You can download the full leaflet here:
 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/03/425352.html


Another longer excellent text full of great combative examples of French workers fighting redundancies can be found here:

 http://www.mouvement-communiste.com/pdf/letter/LTMC0519EN.pdf

KM


Solidarity Demo - Saturday 11am

03.04.2009 13:15

We are meeting again tomorrow to show vital solidarity for these workers who are still in occupation and staying strong. Come along to Ponders End at 11am, Saturday the 4th of April.

Zig


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