New Events

Antrim

no events posted in last week

Blog Feeds

Public Inquiry
Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005

offsite link RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail supporter? Anthony

offsite link Joe Duffy is dishonest and untrustworthy Anthony

offsite link Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony

offsite link RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony

offsite link Waiting for SIPO Anthony

Public Inquiry >>

Human Rights in Ireland
A Blog About Human Rights

offsite link UN human rights chief calls for priority action ahead of climate summit Sat Oct 30, 2021 17:18 | Human Rights

offsite link 5 Year Anniversary Of Kem Ley?s Death Sun Jul 11, 2021 12:34 | Human Rights

offsite link Poor Living Conditions for Migrants in Southern Italy Mon Jan 18, 2021 10:14 | Human Rights

offsite link Right to Water Mon Aug 03, 2020 19:13 | Human Rights

offsite link Human Rights Fri Mar 20, 2020 16:33 | Human Rights

Human Rights in Ireland >>

Lockdown Skeptics

The Daily Sceptic

offsite link Climate: The Movie is a Perfect Cure for Climate Anxiety Thu Mar 28, 2024 13:00 | Toby Young
Climate Change: The Movie, the new film by Martin Durkin, should be shown at every school in the country to disabuse anxious young people of the idea that we're in the midst of a 'climate emergency'.
The post Climate: The Movie is a Perfect Cure for Climate Anxiety appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link The WHO?s Plot to Seize Power Over Nation States in Future Pandemics Must Be Stopped Thu Mar 28, 2024 11:12 | Will Jones
The World Health Organisation is gearing up to persuade the world's governments to sign a new pandemic treaty that would allow the unelected body to seize power over nation states in future pandemics, warns Matt Ridley.
The post The WHO’s Plot to Seize Power Over Nation States in Future Pandemics Must Be Stopped appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Easter Quiz: Why Are White Things So White? Thu Mar 28, 2024 09:00 | Steven Tucker
It's hard to tell the difference these days between genuine news stories relating to 'anti-racist' ? or, more realistically, anti-white ? ideas and the spoofs and fakes. Pit your wits against our Easter quiz.
The post Easter Quiz: Why Are White Things So White? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Record Ozone ?Holes? Reported Despite 35-Year CFC Ban Thu Mar 28, 2024 07:00 | Chris Morrison
The ozone hole scare of the 1980s and the banning of CFCs was the template for the subsequent alarm promoting Net Zero. Yet the ozone hole is now back as large as ever, even after a 35-year CFC ban.
The post Record Ozone “Holes” Reported Despite 35-Year CFC Ban appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link News Round-Up Thu Mar 28, 2024 00:50 | Richard Eldred
A summary of the most interesting stories in the past 24 hours that challenge the prevailing orthodoxy about the virus and the vaccines, the ?climate emergency? and the supposed moral defects of Western civilisation.
The post News Round-Up appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Lockdown Skeptics >>

Voltaire Network
Voltaire, international edition

offsite link Moscow attack reminds us of the links between Islamists and Kiev's fundamentalis... Tue Mar 26, 2024 06:57 | en

offsite link Failure to assist a people in danger of genocide, by Hassan Hamadé Tue Mar 26, 2024 06:32 | en

offsite link Yugoslavia March 24, 1999 The Founding War of the New Nato, by Manlio Dinucci Sun Mar 24, 2024 05:15 | en

offsite link France opposes Russian Korean-style peace project in Ukraine Sat Mar 23, 2024 11:11 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N°79 Fri Mar 22, 2024 11:40 | en

Voltaire Network >>

Hundreds rally in support of Visteon workers occupation

category antrim | worker & community struggles and protests | news report author Wednesday April 08, 2009 23:51author by Belfast WSM - Workers Solidarity Movement Report this post to the editors

Over 200 people marched today from Andersonstown to the factory in Finachy for a rally, which was addressed by Unite Shop Stewards Charlie Maxwell and John Maxwell, including representatives from the SDLP and Sinn Fein.
march_1.jpg

Young and old, workers and their families and trade unionists joined the march to protect the rights of Visteon/Ford workers in a display of working class solidarity and resistance. Morale and unity to beat the bosses remains strong amongst the workers with speaker after speaker highlighting the level of support from the wider community and other factory sit ins in the UK sustaining the occupation.

Over a week has passed since the occupation. In this time the sit in has been managed on a shift basis with successful family fun day for their families and various talks and debates.

Meanwhile, unions representing ford workers across the UK have confirmed they will be refusing the handling of car parts from South Africa until the dispute is resolved. This week, Basildon Visteon workers paid a visit to their former managing director’s mansion in the countryside demanding justice.

Belfast Branch secretary, Michael McGovern said: “Their message is one of defiance and workers solidarity, and steadfast in their determination to win their demands. It is time to seize the moment to prevent the bosses and politicians from making us pay for the crisis in capitalism.”

Gangster capitalists are using the global recession to undermine our working conditions which have been won through struggle, Adding: “Members of WSM took part in the rally today and have visited workers at the occupation. They have shown that we are far from powerless when we utilise the weapon of direct action. A victory for visteon workers is a victory for workers everywhere.”

Send messages of support to Davy McMurray dmcmurray@unitetheunion.com
Or text John Maguire (Unite convenor) on 07816590380

Previous article on the occupation by a wsm member
http://www.wsm.ie/news_viewer/5392

Useful link on the workers occupations
http://libcom.org/tags/visteon-occupation

Related Link: http://www.wsm.ie

march2.jpg

Adressed by various trade unionists and political parties
Adressed by various trade unionists and political parties

author by Belfast WSMpublication date Thu Apr 09, 2009 00:14author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Audio recordings




audio worker_1.mp3 1.66 Mb

author by Belfast WSMpublication date Thu Apr 09, 2009 00:38author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Interview




audio worker_2.mp3 4.92 Mb

author by Belfast WSMpublication date Thu Apr 09, 2009 00:50author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Audio recordings




audio worker_1_1.mp3 1.66 Mb




audio worker_2_1.mp3 4.92 Mb



Rally inside the plant
audio Rally inside the plant 8.65 Mb

author by Belfast WSMpublication date Thu Apr 09, 2009 01:05author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Also BBC footage of the march
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7990210.stm




audio rally_1.mp3 8.65 Mb

author by ford prefectpublication date Thu Apr 09, 2009 15:34author address author phone Report this post to the editors



Two letters of support from workers at Tedrive - formerly Visteon - car plants in Germany.

Letter from Worker at Tedrive, formerly Visteon in Wuelfrath, Germany

It is good to hear from Visteon workers in England and Ireland fighting back and occupying their factories. In the Visteon plants in Wuelfrath and Dueren (West-Germany) workers have been too patient for too long...

In 2000 the former Ford plants in Wuelfrath and Dueren were outsourced to Visteon. Despite agreements with works council and unions it took only few years to deteriorate the working conditions of the former Ford workers. As early as 2003 about 400 of the 1,000 workers were employed by temp agencies. In 2006 the remaining permanent workers had to swallow a so-called restructuring agreement in order to 'save' Visteon: no christmas and holiday money for three years plus wage cuts, in total 15,000 Euro per worker within this three years period. In summer 2006 these new conditions prepared Visteon to sell the two plants to Tedrive. Dueren now focus production on power trains and Wuelfrath on steering systems, meaning that the chassis of the Fiesta manufactured in Cologne is produced elsewhere. In spring 2007 Special Situations Venture Partners II bought the Visteon plants under the name of Tedrive. Works council and unions sold this deal as a way to 'save jobs'. Tedrive new that all major order of Ford would run out by 2009, they were just in for some quick money. As it now turns out they did not pay for the companies (part-time) pension scheme either. Instead Tedrive bought another small supplier for steering systems, taking over machines and patents. Ford/Visteon/Tedrive in Wuelfrath now manufacturing steering systems for Ford Mondeo, Galaxy and S-Max and parts for Volvo and Land Rover. In November 2008 the order from the US – about 30 percent of the total production in Wuelfrath – are cancelled. 150 temp workers are sacked on the spot and 170 highly skilled permanent workers are shifted from single parts manufacturing back to assembly line production. On a company assembly on 31st of October2008 the company prepares for a final blow: 28o workers are supposed to be sacked and the remaining 288 are supposed to accept wage cuts of further 4.6 million Euro. At the same time the managements demands Sunday and holiday shifts for finishing the outstanding Ford orders! Only mild protest from the workers representative (works council). On 10th of December the company announces bankruptcy. Ford still depends on the plant in Wuelfrath, they pay for each delivery immediately – instead of the former six weekly payments. In that way Ford paid 7 million Euro in December and 6.5 million Euro in January 2009. Due to lack of investment by Tedrive the production is rather precarious now, spare parts are missing, sometimes simple things like safety gloves lack, as well. The normal shift bonus for the workers is not paid. All in all it became clear: workers have been rather patient, accepting wage cut after wage cut and job cut after job cut. Now they have double stress: Sunday shifts for last orders and the threat of near future unemployment.

Letter from another worker at Tedrive, in Germany

hello colleagues in england,

greetings in solidarity from former Ford werke ag in Germany. we have been outsourced to visteon in 2000 and sold to Orlando in May 2007, a German-Dutch investment group - so now we are employees of the Tedrive-Group. Since December 2008 some branches of the Tedrive Group are in insolvency proceedings and mass redundancies are about to happen - the rest of the workers are supposed to accept a considerable wage cut and to be thankful for the 'saved" jobs. We got to know about the factory occupations in Great Britain and we wish you best of luck. In Germany in the former Ford/Visteon plants industrial peace is being kept up and Ford is delivered in time, given that Tedrive still depends on Ford and expects a promise for long-term orders. In Germany, as well, Ford is delaying things on purpose, trying to go the way of least resistance and most likely doesn't think about saving the former Ford employees or plants - they are just interested in securing the supply chain/loyality/quality for a cheap price! don't back off - you have a lot to lose!

in solidarity, colleagues from Germany
despite the changes of names we say: once ford, always ford, because we are more than just 'former-ford-employees"!

author by Seanpublication date Thu Apr 09, 2009 16:44author address author phone Report this post to the editors

http://www.wsm.ie/story/5418.

There are also articles drawing on previous workplace occupations including the Argentinian example of workers self-management.

Number of comments per page
  
 
© 2001-2024 Independent Media Centre Ireland. Unless otherwise stated by the author, all content is free for non-commercial reuse, reprint, and rebroadcast, on the net and elsewhere. Opinions are those of the contributors and are not necessarily endorsed by Independent Media Centre Ireland. Disclaimer | Privacy