New Events

Limerick

no events posted in last week

Blog Feeds

Anti-Empire

Anti-Empire

offsite link North Korea Increases Aid to Russia, Mos... Tue Nov 19, 2024 12:29 | Marko Marjanovi?

offsite link Trump Assembles a War Cabinet Sat Nov 16, 2024 10:29 | Marko Marjanovi?

offsite link Slavgrinder Ramps Up Into Overdrive Tue Nov 12, 2024 10:29 | Marko Marjanovi?

offsite link ?Existential? Culling to Continue on Com... Mon Nov 11, 2024 10:28 | Marko Marjanovi?

offsite link US to Deploy Military Contractors to Ukr... Sun Nov 10, 2024 02:37 | Field Empty

Anti-Empire >>

The Saker
A bird's eye view of the vineyard

offsite link Alternative Copy of thesaker.is site is available Thu May 25, 2023 14:38 | Ice-Saker-V6bKu3nz
Alternative site: https://thesaker.si/saker-a... Site was created using the downloads provided Regards Herb

offsite link The Saker blog is now frozen Tue Feb 28, 2023 23:55 | The Saker
Dear friends As I have previously announced, we are now “freezing” the blog.? We are also making archives of the blog available for free download in various formats (see below).?

offsite link What do you make of the Russia and China Partnership? Tue Feb 28, 2023 16:26 | The Saker
by Mr. Allen for the Saker blog Over the last few years, we hear leaders from both Russia and China pronouncing that they have formed a relationship where there are

offsite link Moveable Feast Cafe 2023/02/27 ? Open Thread Mon Feb 27, 2023 19:00 | cafe-uploader
2023/02/27 19:00:02Welcome to the ‘Moveable Feast Cafe’. The ‘Moveable Feast’ is an open thread where readers can post wide ranging observations, articles, rants, off topic and have animate discussions of

offsite link The stage is set for Hybrid World War III Mon Feb 27, 2023 15:50 | The Saker
Pepe Escobar for the Saker blog A powerful feeling rhythms your skin and drums up your soul as you?re immersed in a long walk under persistent snow flurries, pinpointed by

The Saker >>

Lockdown Skeptics

The Daily Sceptic

offsite link News Round-Up Sat Feb 15, 2025 00:50 | Toby Young
A summary of the most interesting stories in the past 24 hours that challenge the prevailing orthodoxy about the ?climate emergency?, public health ?crises? and the supposed moral defects of Western civilisation.
The post News Round-Up appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link J.D. Vance Slams European Leaders for ?Criminalising? Free Speech and Opening the Immigration Floodg... Fri Feb 14, 2025 17:00 | Will Jones
US Vice President J.D. Vance has slammed European leaders for "criminalising" free speech, opening the immigration floodgates and brutally clamping down on dissent in his landmark address to the Munich Security Conference.
The post J.D. Vance Slams European Leaders for “Criminalising” Free Speech and Opening the Immigration Floodgates appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link No, Roberta Cowell Was Not ?Transgender? Fri Feb 14, 2025 15:11 | Zack Stiling
The Science Museum has repeated the claim that Roberta Cowell was Britain's 'first transgender woman'. This is false, says Zack Stiling. She was biologically female. Worse, she would have hated the trans movement.
The post No, Roberta Cowell Was Not ‘Transgender’ appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Academia Fights Back in the War on DEI Fri Feb 14, 2025 13:21 | Dr Roger Watson
As major corporations see the light over DEI and Trump flushes it out of the US Government, true to form, academia is manning the woke barricades in its determination to fight back, says Dr Roger Watson.
The post Academia Fights Back in the War on DEI appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Giant Gas Field Discovery Could Power Britain for a Decade Fri Feb 14, 2025 11:28 | Will Jones
A giant gas field has been discovered under Lincolnshire that could fuel the UK's entire needs for a decade, reducing?dependence on imports?and generating tens of thousands of jobs, an energy company has said.
The post Giant Gas Field Discovery Could Power Britain for a Decade appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Lockdown Skeptics >>

Voltaire Network
Voltaire, international edition

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?120 Fri Feb 14, 2025 13:14 | en

offsite link Did the IDF kill more Israelis on October 7, 2023, than the Palestinian resistan... Fri Feb 14, 2025 13:00 | en

offsite link Donald Trump and the conflict in Ukraine, by Thierry Meyssan Wed Feb 12, 2025 05:10 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?119 Fri Feb 07, 2025 15:26 | en

offsite link Donald Trump plans to displace Palestinians from Gaza and build a riviera on the... Fri Feb 07, 2025 13:33 | en

Voltaire Network >>

Element Six Jobs Massacre

category limerick | worker & community struggles and protests | feature author Tuesday August 04, 2009 13:34author by Cian Prendiville - Socialist Partyauthor email limericksocialist at gmail dot comauthor address Mid-Westauthor phone 0868064801 Report this post to the editors

All workers & young people should upport the De Beers workers in their fight

featured image
Element Six - Get ready for more of the same

Element Six/De Beers’ plan to shut their Shannon plant, sacking 370 workers, and move production elsewhere is a disgusting stab in the back of the workers whose hard work has made them billions in profits over the years.

After huge sacrifices, including working part time on the promise that this would save jobs, the company now want to pack up and jump ship, with only a pittance of a redundancy. The entire cost of the redundancy scheme to the company is only €6.6m, about one week’s turnover for the factory, according to the Irish Independent!

Note: This article was written before managment started discussing an "alternative" proposal saving "some" jobs, probably only a stay of execution, and demaningd much reduced wages, terms and conditions. Therefore, the need for a fight still very much stands

These actions are motivated purely by greed. De Beers is a profitable company, making $3 million in the last year. The order books for many Element Six products are full. But they want more profit and don’t care if livelihoods have to be laid to waste in the process. They plan to throw hundreds of workers on the dole, in order to move elsewhere to pay slave wages of around €3 an hour.

With over 400,000 on the live register, and predictions that this will rise to 600,000 next year, job losses mean many workers face long term or even permanent unemployment. For some, there is no guarantee that they will work again. Just so Element Six can make more profits, workers face struggling with mortgages and loans, while living on a dole which faces cuts.

If they get away with this, more companies in the region and around the country will follow suit. If these jobs are let go they will not come back. There will be a legacy of unemployment in the region into the future. This is why as well as fighting for better redundancy, workers need to fight to save the jobs.

Action and occupation can get results
A strong fight, reaching out to workers across the region and the country, can put a stop to the company's plans. Element Six must be forced to open up its books, and show where the profits from the last 40 years have gone. The workers should demand that these profits are reinvested to safeguard jobs, and provide a decent redundancy package for those who want it.

The company will attempt to tie workers up in endless negotiations, and hope to deflate the anger and mood for action, in order to be able to sneak out the back door. Workers should not let this happen. In reality, it is the level of organisation of the workers on the ground, and their willingness to take firm action that will wring concessions out of management. As the recent electricians' strike shows – strong industrial action, not endless talks, gets results. In particular a struggle to save jobs would get huge support from ordinary people throughout the region and indeed the whole country, but even if it comes to redundancies, taking action can drastically improve redundancy terms.

Recently workers in Visteon (Ford) in Belfast and Waterford Crystal occupied their factories and successfully won better redundancy payments. Element Six workers should consider building on the sit-in protest of February, this time to establish a complete occupation of the factory. This would ensure the company removes no equipment, materials or finished products, and give the workers a real bargaining chip.

Demand the Government Act
The government cannot be allowed to sit idly by as jobs are axed, unemployment rises and factories gather dust. Element Six workers should organise to put pressure on the government to take action to stop the jobs massacre, and to actively create jobs. This is a vulnerable government, facing a referendum and elections. A strong campaign which reaches out and involves workers across the entire region in mass protests and other such actions., could force them to act.

If De Beers are not willing to safeguard jobs, then the factory and resources should be taken into democratic public ownership. If the government can spend billions bailing out corrupt bankers, then there is no reason why they cannot come up with the initial investment for research and development, and whatever retraining and retooling is needed to safeguard these jobs, or immediately provide alternative employment. The one thing that is both unviable and unthinkable is to allow any more jobs to disappear.

Related Link: http://www.socialistparty.net

 #   Title   Author   Date 
   PRSI redundancy payments rip off     shoegirl    Wed Jul 29, 2009 12:31 
   From the inside     e6 abused    Thu Jul 30, 2009 20:23 


 
© 2001-2025 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