13 Workers Arrested!

national | miscellaneous | news report Friday May 31, 2002 15:00 by James Redmond - Socialist Alternative antrophe at hotmail dot com

Cops Use Public Order Act To Break Picket!!

At the company behind the clamping of Cars in Dublin, Control Plus, 13 workers have been arrested for engaging in direct action in order to stop company vehicles passing their picket...

The unofficial action in the city centre kicked off last monday and grew out of the employers refusal to implement an agreement reached with the workers on the correct mechenism for promotion and the hiring of further staff. the agreement was reached last december.

117 stafff are on strike, with 30/40 maintaining a picket today.

In a recent series of promotions, 4/5 of the positions filled weere filled by external interviewees, through advertisements and unfair interviews. The action escalated last nite when workers were told by their managers that unless tehy returned to work and ended their action, theyw ould be fired and their jobs filled externally.

The arrests occured this morning as 10 workers sat on the ground, linking arms in an effort to block vehicles getting out through the front gate of the company compound. the vehicles were driven by managerial staff, supervisers and in one case by a company accountant.

the workers were arrested under section 8 of the public order act.

As they were arrested other workers moveed in to take their place in the blockade, and the last i've heard is that at about 1pm the cops were moving in to arrest those replacing the previous arrestees.