10:20am Friday 30th July 2010
By Gareth Lewis
TENSIONS are rising in the row over sackings at docks rail transport firm Freightliner, with bosses there being accused of a “vendetta” against union reps.
A second strike ballot is under way at the firm after Freightliner succeeded with a legal challenge to the first, which was passed by “almost 100 per cent” of members.
Union leaders are calling for a “show of strength” to underline workers’ unhappiness over the sacking of an RMT Union representative and two other RMT members.
They were among six sacked in June in what the RMT says is a row over the misuse of a company vehicle, although three were later reinstated.
However staff told the Daily Echo that the dispute centred on workers storing rubble on the Millbrook Point Road site for use as hardcore in a friend’s patio.
An RMT statement said: “RMT is clear that the dismissals are a culmination of what can only be described as a vendetta against the local union representative and his colleagues.”
One member of staff, who did not want to be named, said: “People are not happy, not happy at all, because they sacked the union rep and he’d been protecting staff.
“These people don’t deserve it. Their lives have been ruined and it’s affecting their families. It’s an absolute outrage.”
RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said: “Instead of management seeing sense and taking the necessary steps to resolve this dispute they chose to challenge the legality of our previous ballot using the anti-trade union laws.
“RMT says that enough is enough. We demand that the company immediately and fully reinstate our representative and his colleagues back into their substantive posts. Furthermore, we demand that the company agree to enter into meaningful discussions with RMT to review the procedure in respect of disciplinary action against our reps.
“RMT’s executive is calling for a massive YES vote by our maintenance engineer and crane fitter members employed by Freightliner for strike action and industrial action short of a strike. A show of strength is what we think is needed to get management back around the table to resolve these issues.”
No one from Freightliner was available to comment.
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