Mount Pleasant Bulletin 10/2/16

[anna]

Hi here is latest workers' fight bulletin.
Meetings today outside the Mount with Dave Ward... against anti-trade union bill which would affect right to strike. Someone pointed out before that Ward signed what amounts to anti=strike deal with RM. Anyway he gives a good speech.

VOTE NO, STRONGLY, IN COLOUR
So we in Romec got this incredibly glossy, full colour booklet (deliberately adorned with nice photos of some of us!), promoting the agreement blackmail between RM and the CWU and urging us strongly to vote for it!
But how can we vote "yes" for this, when it changes nothing to our very bad Ts&Cs and certainly doesn't reinstate even the former RM conditions we had? Not to mention the outrageous 2-tier workforce, monitoring, "efficiencies" (job cuts!) ,etc..! "NO" can be the only response!!

BAD AGREEMENT = DISAGREEMENT
The union leaders decided to tie their own hands by accepting that Romec terms and conditions should be an integral part of any deal to bring us back in-house. So if we don't agree to remain a cheap (or even cheaper!) workforce, then we can't become fully part of RM again? What was the point of going back in-house then?

LET'S HAVE SOME HONESTY
Indeed. First secret negotiations, then a bad agreement dressed up (like they usually do it) as a wonderful "victory". They haven't even promised they'll put our issues back on the table straight away! No. They want to sign a 3 year deal! And by the way, it's dishonest to say we get a "4.7%" pay rise when its over 3 years and is only 1% this year - which is a cut in real wages. The latest Retail Prices Index is up 1.2%! "Our" union leaders should at least be honest about that!

PERMANENT-HOURS CONTRACTS!
And what about the fact that 5 Romec cleaners are still on zero-hours contracts here? This cannot be tolerated! We need them on same Ts&Cs as us! The union HQ may have forgotten, but we're here to remind them: equal pay for equal work! (#love heartunions...?)

REPLACEMENTS NEEDED
We are so sorry to see our mates leaving (despite the EVR "freeze"!) especially from nights Processing where at least 8 jobs are cut - and they'll not be replaced! We certainly don't blame these mates for leaving: good luck for the future. Now it's up to the rest of us to resist further cuts - and the Bee!

HERE ARE SOME MORE JOBS TO SAVE!
There's another reduction in our numbers - 7 driving jobs - that we don't agree with! Especially since some of the work we do should never have been cut!! We have the re-sign coming very soon so surely we need to decide how to tackle this, so yet more permanent jobs aren't lost?

DOM CLUCKS...
We've had enough of EC bosses who act like cowboys - or should we say "outlaws" - since they certainly don't act according to any workplace law that we know! Besides not being able to organise the work itself, they muck up everything they touch, whether it be our hours of work, our breaks, or our holidays! Are they unable to count or add up? The outlaws better watch out. O.K. Corral, here we (and Wyatt Earp) come!

...AND CHOCOLATE TEAPOTS
Yes, and how many times have we told them that the PDA is no good? It needs to be replaced with a new updated model, which actually works. But no, they use its misreadings to blame us for every misdemeanour under the sun (and rain!)! One wonders how they even got their jobs? Because these guys could not run a bath.

ANARCHY PREVAILS
Isn't it ridiculous how in certain Processing areas, at certain times, some of us stand around without much to do, while others are sweating like mad! Managers are incapable of co-ordinating work or distributing it evenly. What's their problem? Afraid of stepping on each others' toes? Guarding their little territories? Or, in the non-sweating areas, just taking care of "friends and family"?

THIS PLACE IS ON FIRE!
But despite managers' territorial non-sense, they still have to send some of us here and there, when the workload has become so heavy that they've no other choice. We feel like fire-fighters surrounded by pyromaniacs…

SMOKE BEE OUT?
Talking of flames - the story of the fire on night shift last month has a follow-up: having refused to evacuate us, the Bee night shift boss actually then proceeded to turn the fire alarms off completely! Such a travesty couldn't be ignored even by HMP's govenor, so he was called to the governor's office - but all he got was a little slap on the wrist... So he's still buzzing away...

ELEPHANT'S BRAIN?
Not only are we not enough cleaners here, but it seems the distribution of our duties is done by a very small mind: some of us get all the heavy stuff, while a few are on light duties… of course, we're happy that some have lighter work, whether they're "chosen ones" or not, but ALL duties could be lighter if we had more hands!

CHEERS!
We were pleased with the (blue) bulletin from the union, answering many questions , informing (+ reminding) us of our rights. Maybe it left some things unsaid, like on the Romec issue. But still. Having the chance to discuss our issues at regular meetings (open to all) in working hours (instead of WTS?) would be a good thing too!

PS: We see a meeting's organised for the TUC's social media #campaign against the Anti-Trade Union Bill on Thurs. Sure, we don't mind taking a selfie... but on the picket line!!

PPS: Isn't it shocking that junior doctors have been left to strike on their own, the only section daring to fight the drastic NHS cuts? Solidarity to them - but they need more than just words!

[oypostie]

Ah. Dave Ward does still exist