Sacked airport workers to resume protest

national | worker & community struggles and protests | news report Thursday May 01, 2008 17:05 by me belfastairportworkers at googlemail dot com

The three sacked airport shop stewards, Gordon McNeill, Madan Gupta and Chris Bowyer, who were on hunger strike outside Transport House for five days at the start of April are to resume their protest.

The shop stewards went on a hunger and thirst strike because their union, Unite, had reneged on promises to pay the legal costs of their long court battle against their former employer, ICTS, and to offer them compensation for the fact that their union official colluded with ICTS to get them sacked.

The hunger strike was suspended on 11 April after the union gave firm assurances that their legal bill would be paid and that an offer would be made to resolve the compensation issue. A deadline of 30 April was set for all these issues to be resolved.

This deadline has now passed. The legal bill has not been paid. No offer of compensation has been made.

Gordon McNeill today explained why the shop stewards feel they have been left with no option but to recommence their hunger and thirst strike:

"Once again our union have made promises which have not been kept. We suspended our hunger strike in good faith having been given an assurance that all the issues of dispute with the Unite leadership would be resolved by the end of April.

"Our solicitor, Fintan Canavan, has tried but has failed to get the union to stick to its promise. He can confirm that the union leadership have once again gone back on their word.

"We now intend to resume our protest. We will be taking our message to the trade union rank and file at the May Day parades in Belfast this Saturday and in London on Monday.

"Our hunger and thirst strike will start on Monday morning at Transport House in London. This is not a course of action that we want to have to take. Neither Madan Gupta nor I have recovered from the effects of the last hunger strike. However, the refusal of Tony Woodley and other Unite leaders to stick to their word leaves us with no other choice.

"All we have been asking for, after six years of betrayals and broken promises, is for our union leaders give us justice. During the hunger strike in April the Unite senior officials refused to talk directly with us. This time we are demanding face to face negotiations and will not end our hunger strike until we have firm guarantees both on the legal bills and on compensation.

"I am appealing to all trade unionists to support us in demanding that Unite General Secretary Tony Woodley and Irish Regional Secretary, Jimmy Kelly, talk directly to us, agree to pay all our legal costs and make an offer of adequate compensation without any strings. If they refuse to do this they must be held directly responsible for whatever happens to us."

belfastairportworkers at googlemail.com