Support The Strikers

[Jeevan]

Gate Gourmet employs a substantial amount of Sikhs with Heathrow being next door to Southall. In the early part of the 21st Century in the developed world, how dare companies carry on treating workers without a care in the world.

BBC NEWS

Wildcat strike grounds BA flights

Thousands of people are stranded at Heathrow where all British Airways (BA) flights have been grounded by an escalating industrial row.

All Thursday's flights have been cancelled and BA is putting passengers up at hotels.

BA baggage handlers, loaders and bus drivers have walked out in sympathy with workers at Gate Gourmet.

The firm, which provides BA's in-flight meals, sacked 800 staff over an unofficial strike on Wednesday.

BA disruption helpline

0800 727 800

A BA spokesman said about 17,000 passengers had been affected by the cancellations.

Action by Gate Gourmet staff was already affecting BA on Wednesday, as the airline cancelled four flights because of a lack of food.

By Thursday, passengers were being given food bags and vouchers to get food before boarding flights, but queues meant some check-in desks had to be closed.

Later some BA staff, represented by the same union as the Gate Gourmet workers, staged an unofficial walk-out.

People are fed up, although there's been no fights yet

Stranded passenger Jane Taylor

BA says there is little it can do as the walk-out is related to a dispute outside its control.

But it has had to ground all Thursday's flights and divert 14 inward-bound flights. The airline is putting on coaches to ferry passengers between airports.

A BA spokesman said: "We are trying to get people home and trying to find hotels for those who need one. We will give refunds if that is what they want or passengers can rebook for a later date."

He said the incident is a "huge disappointment" and the company is doing all it can to resolve the situation.

Among stranded passengers was Jane Taylor, 36, from Esher, in Surrey, who was stuck on a plane two hours after it landed from Frankfurt.

"People are fed up, although there's been no fights yet. Everyone is quite calm," she told BBC News.

BBC correspondent Russel Hayes said the Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU) recognised the walk-out by BA staff was illegal "wildcat" action and was trying to persuade members to go back to work.

The union held talks with Gate Gourmet on Thursday and said it was hoping for a "definitive statement" from the firm by 2100 BST.

Gate Gourmet has said it will not re-instate staff and said it had told the union it was facing a financial crisis.

It said the actions of the staff had jeopardised the livelihoods of the entire 2,000-strong workforce.

Gate Gourmet's Andy Cook told BBC News: "We are in the situation at the moment where we need to make changes.

"We really do want to do that with the cooperation of the union and the staff, but we have to manage the business otherwise it will cease to exist."

But the TGWU said managers had provoked the dispute and the union was taking legal advice.

It is not the first wildcat strike to force BA to ground its flights from Heathrow at the height of the holiday season.

An unofficial walkout over a new electronic clocking-on system in July 2003 was later blamed by BA for much of a £245m slip in its profits.

Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/engl...don/4142408.stm

Published: 2005/08/11 18:32:53 GMT

© BBC MMV

[Jeevan]

Dear Sikh Sangat Forum Members,

You will have undoubtedly seen and heard the images in the press, TV, radio of Gate Gourmet with the striking workers at Heathrow, what is amazing is the proportion of female Sikh workers. I sincerely hope Gate Gourmet did not sack these workers thinking they were a ‘soft touch’ being female and of an ethnic minority.

I urge ALL members of the Sikh Forum to e-mail the Commission for Racial Equality to investigate if this with case or not. The link is below:-

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4147780.stm

In the service of the Khalsa.

Jeevan

[kurtas]

Dear Sikh Sangat Forum Members,

You will have undoubtedly seen and heard the images in the press, TV, radio of Gate Gourmet with the striking workers at Heathrow, what is amazing is the proportion of female Sikh workers. I sincerely hope Gate Gourmet did not sack these workers thinking  they were a ?soft touch? being female and of an ethnic minority.

I urge ALL members of the Sikh Forum to e-mail the Commission for Racial Equality to investigate if this with case or not. The link is below:-

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4147780.stm

In the service of the Khalsa.

Jeevan

114049[/snapback]

A few questions for you .

Whats the ethnic/religious background got to do with the dispute/sackings ?

Did the company pick on Sikh employees only when it sacked them ?

In your first post you wrote "Gate Gourmet employs a substantial amount of Sikhs ". Will it not be the case that when the company sacks peole a substantial number of these will be Sikhs ?

[Raju]

Forums like BNP are already saying that 'It's all due to those Asians'.

They will turn our airports also like Delhi or Bambay etc.

And if the employees where whites then none of these would have happened and so on...

[gupt_paapi]

aah typical focurse they say dat.. just lyk hitler sed germans had low emplyment coz of jews

[Jeevan]

Kurtas,

OK maybe my argument was not very well set out so I need to clarify the point I am making.

Do you remember when Rover went in to receivership earlier this year with a loss of 6000 jobs, this was front page news. PM Blair rushed back from the Pope’s funeral to get to Longbridge. The Chancellor and the Trade Secretary paid visits to assess/help in any way they could. Now how much money do you think BA earns for the UK economy? Don’t you think the 800 sacked Gate Gourmet workers deserve a little attention from our esteemed politicians or is because they are mainly low paid, unskilled women, of a visibly ethnic background (probably for some with English not being their first language), tell me who should stick up for the workers who are predominantly from our own community?

I make no apology for sticking up for our Sikh Brethren a little more than other communities. I hope I have not caused you any offence and you will understand why I am hacked off with this situation..

Jeevan

[sikh supreme]

At first I was thinking what the hell are these people doing walking out of their jobs on a unoffical strike.

But today I was reading the daily mirror (UK newspaper) and I read a story basically saying this was all planned by the head and managment of company for such a strike to happen so that these "seasonal workers" who are eastern european immigrants setup in a seperate company could take over the work and do it for much less.

So now that I know the underhand tactics the company used I too support the strikers and everyone should strike in support of these people because these tactics will be used more if no action is taken by unions.

[sikh supreme]

A hidden world of exploitation is revealed as the Gate Gourmet case unravels

By Rachel Stevenson

17 August 2005

The hundreds of Asian workers protesting at being sacked by BA's caterer have exposed the misery of many across Britain who are enduring appalling working conditions and abuse of labour rights, Oxfam says.

The charity claims the Gate Gourmet case, where 670 people were sacked last week, reveals a forgotten underclass of workers - predominantly women from ethnic minorities - who work long hours for low wages, with little or no job security, sick pay or other basic employment rights.

Talks at Gate Gourmet to reach a settlement with the unions broke down last night and the company - which is already financially crippled and facing a loss of £25m this year - warned it was facing bankruptcy.

A spokesman for Gate Gourmet said: "The formal mediation process has broken down, but we are continuing to talk to the unions and still hope we can reach a settlement. Without it, the company has no other option than to go in to administration and this could happen very soon."

The Transport and General Workers' Union, which represents employees, said the company had threatened bankruptcy before, adding: "We know the financial situation of the company is very serious, but we do not know how close it is to administration."

Both Gate Gourmet and the T&G blame British Airways for making unreasonable demands which have forced managers to squeeze more out of their already overworked staff.

"It is our belief that BA cannot do a Pontius Pilate on this issue. It is [bA's] 'cost down' [attitude] that has led to the sacking of our people. BA must now play a part in the resolution," Tony Woodley of the T&G said.

Oxfam, too, says many of Britain's big businesses are guilty of putting pressure on suppliers to deliver the cheapest goods as quickly as possible so that workers at the end of the supply chain, like those at Gate Gourmet, end up exploited.

Amy Barry of Oxfam said: "People think sweatshops only exist in Asia and the developing world. But there are still sweatshops in the clothing trade in the East End of London, and hundreds of homeworkers in Britain suffer terrible conditions.

"There is an underclass in the UK who are so desperate for jobs that they will take them on at any price. Companies are not considering the workers who have to bear the brunt of their demands and end up in intolerable conditions."

Unions agree. The Community Union, for example, says it still encounters poor working practices in the catering industry, and intimidation of staff who fight for change.

Michael Leahy, the general secretary, said: "While there is no doubt we should be glad that Britain has more people in work than ever before, the Gate Gourmet dispute highlights the fact that there are many British workers who endure terrible conditions.

"British people are enjoying low-cost goods and services, but these are often delivered at the expense of their fellow citizens."

Gate Gourmet's talks with T&G ended after the company refused to reinstate all 670 workers, who were sacked in the car park of the company's Heathrow factory by megaphone.

Their dismissal, after a long-running dispute with management over pay and conditions, led to a sympathy walk-out by BA staff. Heathrow ground to a halt, leaving more than 100,000 passengers stranded.

'I came here for a different life. This is worse than India'

PIRTHIPAL SINGH

Mr Singh, a former driver-loader who worked at the company for nine years, is a single parent with three children. "I don't know how I'm going to pay my mortgage, which is £925 a month, or look after my children without a job. I was already struggling on my wage, which was £1,200 a month without overtime."

SUKHMINDER HUNDAL

Indian-born Mr Hundal joined Gate Gourmet in 1997 as a driver. Married with three children, he said: "Every day, the company would ask us something new, something more demanding than the last thing. My future is uncertain. I have a mortgage and bills to worry about. I find it hard enough to live on my weekly wage."

PARVINDER THAPAR

Parvinder Thapar, a driver for four years, said his 30-minute unpaid lunch slot was sometimes squeezed so he could finish his work. He came from India in 1994 to get married and now has two children. "I need a job for my family. I imagined life was different in the West but my work had awful conditions. It's worse than India."

KULWINDER KAUR

Mrs Kaur, 40, who worked in the reserves store, said: "We were living with threats that they would cut our benefits, cut our lieu days, tea breaks; I was very stressed." Mrs Kaur, who came to Britain at 18, is married to a builder and has three children"I earned £220 a month and I never saved anything from that."

GURCHARAN KAUR BASRA

The 57-year-old was a shop steward for three of the five years that she worked at Gate Gourmet. She said: "They assembled us in the canteen and gave us three minutes to go back to work or we would be dismissed. We didn't go and the staff said they wanted to talk to a senior shop steward. Just a few minutes later, we were dismissed."

WARYEM SINGH KHANEJA

An Afghan Sikh, Mr Khaneja fled the Taliban, leaving behind his two children and wife, to seek asylum in Britain five years ago. He lives in one room and sends money to his family in Kabul. He said: "I saw injustices at the company before they got rid of me. I am not sure what I will do and how my family will survive now."

FATEH SINGH ARORA

Mr Arora, 22, was put on short-term contracts despite working as a "general hand" for 18 months. "They wouldn't give me a long-term contract," he said. "They kept extending and extending it." Mr Arora, who came from India in 2001, said: "I was treated like a slave. The managers wanted to cut our breaks and our salary."

BEAUT GILL

Ms Gill was on holiday - after a five-week break to India to visit relatives - when she heard she had been dismissed. "I returned and went in that day because there were things I needed to sort out. When I arrived, I was told I couldn't go in and they wanted me to give them back my work ID card. I was shocked and upset."

PARMJIT BAIMS

Mrs Baims, 42, a former tray setter, said she felt she could never work fast enough. "We were giving them more and still they weren't happy." Mrs Baims, who has one child and worked at the company for 11 years, said conditions had worsened in the past two years. "The company got really strict. They have kicked us out with nothing."

SHAMSHER DUSANJH

Mrs Dusanjh, 49, a catering assistant for six years, claimed she suffered daily indignities. "It's not nice when you have to tell someone when you want to go to the toilet," she said. She came to Britain from the Punjab at the age of 17. "They told us to do extra work but I couldn't do it," she said. "I told them I had tried my best."

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/sto...sp?story=657230

[Jeevan]

From SikhSangat.org

England

Gourmet sacked workers mass meeting held at Sikh Gurdwara

By UK Politics Press Release

Aug 22, 2005, 23:14

Southall Sikh Temple, Havelock Road, Southall

Sacked former employees of airline catering company Gate Gourmet listen during a union meeting at the Southall Sikh Temple in west London,

A powerful political and community message will be sent to British Airways, the government and the catering company Gate Gourmet this afternoon by the Transport and General Workers Union. Tony Woodley, the union’s General Secretary, will tell a mass meeting of sacked workers from Gate Gourmet, the controversial catering supplier to BA which sacked over 670 mainly Asian low paid workers, a significant number of whom are women, that the union is determined to keep fighting for justice and to use all avenues open to get the workers’ reinstated.

In a telling message for the government he said that whilst local MPs had been very supportive of their constituents the simple fact was that Gate Gourmet had taken advantage of lax labour laws in the UK to act as they have done. “The Gate Gourmet workers’ case now goes beyond just an industrial dispute,” he said. “They are the focus for the trade union movement and the fight for decency and justice in the workplace.”

“We do not forget that many of our people were sacked with three minutes notice over a public address system and with twenty minutes notice by a megaphone,” said Mr. Woodley. “These are decent, hard-working, honourable people who have been treating appallingly. We believe British Airways should do the decent thing and resist the pressure to let Gate Gourmet benefit from their actions but equally BA should be clear the public support for this group of workers is massive and may well affect their business.”

Britain's Transport & General Workers Union General Secretary Tony Woodley ® and Trades Union Congress General Secretary Brendan Barber wear scarves to cover their heads as they attend a meeting for sacked former employees of airline catering company Gate Gourmet at Southall Sikh Temple in west London

Speaking earlier on the BBC he said BA’s routes to India, for example, would be at risk but said the best solution would be for Gate Gourmet to reinstate the sacked workers. The mass meeting will take place in the Sikh Temple in Havelock Road Southall by permission of the elders at 2.00pm today. Tony Woodley will speak as will TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber. Reporters, camera crews and photographers will be welcome to attend.

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