This video from Ireland says about itself:
Annual Northern Ireland regional conference of the Workers Party, Belfast 4th October 2008 - marking the 40th anniversary of the major Derry civil rights march of 5th October 1968.TRIBUTES were paid on Wednesday to Paddy O’Hanlon, a founder member of the SDLP and the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association who died on Tuesday evening: here.
From the Internet site of British weekly Socialist Worker:
Visteon car workers in Belfast occupy against cutsSee also here. And here.by Simon Basketter
Some 200 workers have occupied the Visteon car parts plant in Belfast, Northern Ireland, against job cuts.
The workers went into occupation on Tuesday after the bosses summarily announced the closure of the plant with the loss of all jobs.
Davy MacMurray, from the Unite union, said the way the job cuts were announced was “brutal”. He said, “The administrator came in, held a meeting and told the workforce their employment was terminated. These people were going to be put out on the street tonight.”
Visteon took over the plant from Ford in 2000. All the parts the plant makes were for Ford.
One occupying worker told Socialist Worker, “Ford have a commitment and agreement with the unions that there would never be compulsory redundancies. At the very least we should get the same redundancy package as Ford workers.”
In the early evening the 200-strong workforce was holding protests both inside and outside the plant. Supporters were bringing supplies and sleeping bags. The furious workers are fighting to be treated with decency by the company and the administrators. They are planning protests tomorrow at Ford dealerships across the city.
Jon Macquire the Unite union convenor at the plant, spoke to Socialist Worker from the occupation. “Ford and Visteon have manipulated this situation together,” he said.
“We have been treated disgracefully. We are occupying the factory to save our jobs. There was no consultation whatsoever – they simply announced the closure.
“They have put the pension scheme into administration. To make it clear – we are in for the long haul and are committed to get proper redundancy packages and pensions.
“We are determined to continue our occupation and we appeal on workers throughout Ireland, Britain and internationally to support our fight to defend jobs.”
Visteon has also announced the closure of is plants in Basildon and Enfield – threatening another 400 jobs.
Prisme factory occupation enters its fifth week: here.
Loyalist bigots whip up race attacks in Northern Ireland: here.
For immediate and urgent release
Support Visteon workers!
200 Visteon car plant workers in Belfast are blockading their factory after the
Company went into administration today. If they get away with it, over 600
workers in ex-Ford factories in Belfast, Enfield and Basildon will be sacked
and left to claim statutory redundancy form the state. Even workers with over
30 years service will only get about 9 grand and most workers a lot less. Also,
their pensions plus those of ex-Visteon workers in Swansea and retirees will go
into the Pension Protection Fund, which will result in reduced payments. This
is the brutal side of capitalism - no bailouts or bonuses like the bankrupt fat
cats but bare minimum pay outs and the dole. Visteon UK executives have jumped
ship are now employed by their own spin-off ‘Visteon Engineering Services’. A
life raft for rats escaping the sinking ship!
Visteon was spun-off by Ford in 2000 as a device to slash costs at the expense
of the workforce. Two and then three-tier contracts then followed as well as
outsourcing of ‘indirect’ jobs. However, for Visteon bosses this wasn’t enough.
They’ve spent the last 3 1/2 tears demanding that Visteon workers break their
Ford ‘mirrored’ contracts. No doubt there will be some in the unions who will
agree with management that if only the workforce had agreed cuts in their pay,
pensions, terms & conditions, insolvency could have been avoided. The reality
is however, that Visteon like General Motors’ spin-off Delphi was never viable.
Visteon workers were correct to resist and have had at least more income by
doing so. It was that successful battle that has given the Belfast workers the
confidence to resist now.
These workers want to put pressure on Ford to intervene to stop the sackings.
They are appealing to the unions in Ford to support them by not using parts
shipped in to replace those from Belfast. If that fails, the occupation can be
built to involve the trade union movement and working-class community to force
the government to intervene to nationalise Visteon to save these jobs.
Messages of support / offers of help to John Maguire Belfast Unite Convenor -
07816590380
Comment by Administrator — April 1, 2009 @ 2:03 pm