Lindsey dispute: in defence of wildcat strikes
Posted on Friday 19 June, 2009
Filed Under Industrial relations
PERHAPS the tactic known by the immortal franglais neologism of ‘le bossnapping’ has something to do with it. But fear of the legal consequences alone would surely be enough to stop Total giving the entire workforce of a plant in its home country the boot, with no notice whatsoever at that. So why is it being allowed to get away with it this side of the Channel?
Yet there is no legal obstacle whatsoever to the French oil major sacking at least 700 UK employees at Lindsey Oil Refinery, and then telling them that they have until Monday to reapply for their posts.
The difference is that where continental countries guarantee some form of employment rights, Britain celebrates the hire and fire culture to the point where Labour dishes out government roles to the likes of Sir Alan Sugar, in the misguided belief that this somehow sprinkles the Brown administration with some sorely needed showbiz stardust.
A Downing Street spokesman has already clarified the official line on the Lindsey dispute. ‘Unofficial strike action is never the right response to industrial relations problems,’ we are told.
Taken literally, I suppose those words could be taken as simple advocacy of official strike action instead, perhaps on the grounds that it is likely to be more effective in the long run.
But somehow, I suspect what the guy really wanted to say is that no kind of strike action is ever the right response to industrial relations problems, and that walkouts should not be contemplated in any circumstances whatsoever. Meanwhile, we must await Number Ten’s response to the sensible, constructive, emollient and patently completely grown-up approach embraced by the employers.
Total’s nakedly nasty move makes its intention absolutely clear. Shop stewards, troublemakers, lippy bastards and/or anyone with minimal self-respect will not be required back. What we are seeing is the return of hardline, back-to-the-eighties, management’s right to manage old skool union busting, pure and simple.
Yet British workers remain constrained by a statute book that since the Thatcher era has been stacked against them so comprehensively that Tony Blair admits its provisions are the most restrictive in the western world. That was a boast and not a condemnation, of course.
So far, there are reports of solidarity with LOR at oil refineries and power stations across the country. Given the etiolated state of working class organisation in Britain, I will admit that until now I would have said that an instantaneous response on such a scale would not have been possible.
Just this once, I am happy to be in the wrong. It would be premature to argue that victory is guaranteed in advance, but the prospect of a sustained outbreak of blue collar wildcats for the first time in decades is one that every socialist should find exciting. Heck, it might just be worth putting the real business of beating each other up over theoretical disputes on hold for the duration.
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5 Responses to “Lindsey dispute: in defence of wildcat strikes”
Heck, it might just be worth putting the real business of beating each other up over theoretical disputes on hold for the duration.
Oh, I don’t know…
Total’s nakedly nasty move makes its intention absolutely clear. Shop stewards, troublemakers, lippy bastards and/or anyone with minimal self-respect need not apply. What we are seeing is the return of hardline, back-to-the-eighties, management’s right to manage old skool union busting, pure and simple.
One difference between now and then was the faux left hadn’t done half the bosses work for them by delegitimising the strikers in advance.
My former MP (Alan Johnson) was on the radio today criticising the strikers for going outside the law. Given that the original purpose of the Labour party was to remove anti-union laws, this is surely some kind of sick joke. I wonder what you can tell us about your attempts to change your party’s policy on this question. Was your motion well received at the ward or constituency meetings?
One notes the near complete lack of coverage of this issue on the rest of the left sites linked to from here.
Fancy that.
“Heck, it might just be worth putting the real business of beating each other up over theoretical disputes on hold for the duration.”
Hear, hear, Dave!
I was about to write something very similar at “Shiraz” but you beat me to it.
Socialist Party report on victory at Total. It appears that all strikers have been reinstated, and that the workers who were originally made redundant will be offered jobs.
http://socialistparty.org.uk/latest/7482