Free-market buccaneers

[Briar]

Free-market buccaneers

The Gate Gourmet saga lifts the lid on a business culture that freely exploits low-paid, migrant labour

Polly Toynbee

The bitter truth is that it's over. The Gate Gourmet workers are summarily sacked and there is nothing much they or their union can do about it. British Airways is back in the skies, with Gate Gourmet now providing meals assembled by a new workforce hired through the temp agency Blue Arrow.

The temps are mainly newly arrived east Europeans and Somalis. When I called Blue Arrow in Uxbridge to ask about the pay rate for catering assistants, it was £6 an hour - as expected, a lower rate than that of the sacked workers.

But you may not hear much more from the 670 sacked Gate Gourmet workers: they have already slipped down the news agenda. They are still on their grassy knoll above Heathrow trying to embarrass BA - but what else can they do? ...

Gate Gourmet screws down pay in very British style while FTSE company directors pay themselves a very British 16% rise, with a typical CEO on £2.5m. So where is the indignation? Where is the leadership that dares even whisper a question about this growing social dislocation? People are left to presume that there is no alternative to some malign economic force beyond human control. The truth is that penury and greed are political choices, not economic destiny: we can be Nordic, not American, and we can be John Lewis, not Gate Gourmet, employers if we choose.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1552203,00.html

[julianer]

1. F*ck Toynbee

She supports this shit. She was calling for a labour vote while 'holding your nose'.

This typifies what is wrong with liberalism. They beg you to let them have power because they are not as bad as the other lot, but they only use that power in favour of the wealthy.

Above all, even in the face of blatant injustice, no one must break the law! My god, if she knew anything about labour history she would know that breaking the law is the only way to win. The employers don't need to break the law - they just chuck a few hundred thousand at the Labour party and voila, a 'flexible' labour force is handed to them, bound and gagged.

[julianer]

2. Instead of handwringing

She could advertise this (details of solidarity actions called for by the T&G):

--------
Over 800 T&G members at Gate Gourmet - who are predominantly low paid Asian, black and white women - were dismissed by the company last week. The workers continue their fight to draw attention to the harsh, shameless mistreatment of a loyal and hard working workforce by a company with no respect for labour relations or basic employment rights.

Negotiations are currently taking place in order to seek the reinstatement of the workers, many of whom now face financial hardship. In addition to providing a grant from central funds, the T&G has set up a hardship fund for all the Gate Gourmet sacked workers. If you would like to make a donation, however large or small, please send to:

Gate Gourmet Hardship Fund
c/o Mr E McDermott
Regional Secretary
TGWU
218 Green Lanes
London N4 2HB
(please make cheques payable to TGWU with Gate Gourmet written on reverse)

Send a message of support to the workers

Add your voice to support workers and their families affected by the action of Gate Gourmet's management. Email a message of support. Remember to include your name and the town where you live. Disclaimer: Note the T&G may edit your comments and cannot guarantee that all e-mails/messages will be published.

You can also email email the workers directly.

Read a message from the workers at Gate Gourmet and find out the facts about the dispute.

Please pass this information on to all your workmates and friends.
---------

Here's a link on the Respect site that renders the email markups correctly:

http://www.respectcoalition.org/?ite=849

[LeftishBrit]

3. I'm glad it's finally being pointed out!

This sort of thing has been happening for far too long. Thatcherism (sadly, perpetuated by Blair) damaged too much of what is good in this country. It's ironic that the right always claim to be the defenders of decency and morality, but they perceive it in such a narrow sense. What is decent or moral about the actions being described here?

ETA: I am glad that the T&G are supporting them!! That might make some difference!

[Kicked in the Taco]

4. Aah, the glories of the Thatcherite-Blairite "free market" Utopia

Where the scum always rises to the top, and ordinary hard-working people wont be allowed to hold them back, god dammit! So 670 people's lives are ruined- why the hell should their right to a decent wage suddenly trump the right of company directors to stick another bentley in the garage? It's about time the rest of Europe listened to Tony Blair and reformed their archaic social model, so they could all have dynamic economies where the unwashed are protected from indulging in vice by being paid barely enough to live on!

[fedsron2us]

5. One of the mysteries of life

is why the poor do not rise up and cut the throats of the rich.

[D-Notice]

6. Because of the opiates of the masses:

no, not religion, but TV & tabloid newpapers...