Manchester sit-in against closure
Socialist Organiser1981 1981-09-24Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 14 →
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ANOTHER occupation against closure has been started at Barnes Flexible Packaging in Cheetham, Manchester. The 236 workers at the food packaging printers, voted unanimously to fight for their jobs, with the full support of three of the unions involved, the NGA, SOGAT and EETPU (the AUEW has yet SOGAT leader Keys to meet discuss the occupation).
Although originally the workers were only demanding parity on redundancy payments with other workers who have been laid off by the owning Smurfit Group, once they had occupied the factory, they extended their demands to include the re-opening of the factory.
Dot Bradshaw, the SOGAT MoC for shop floor workers, told me that the management had offered a "revival package" in February, which was basically 40 redundancies, which were reluctantly accepted. Two months later a "survival package" was tabled, involvagain the unions reluctantly agreed. Four months after this, the company closed down the factory.
Already support has bee forthcoming - the executiv of the NGA has instructe its members in all 27 Smurf factories in Britain and Ir land, to carry out an ove time ban, a work-to-rule an to black work from th Cheetham factory. Pressur are being put on the SOGA leadership to do the same.
The workers at Barn‹ Flexible Packaging have als found the strikers fro Laurence Scott Electr motors very helpful, : giving them advice for fun raising and for avoiding ti early pitfalls of an occup tion. Bob Litherland, tl MP for Central Manchest has also shown support fi the occupation.
Messages of support al donations to: Len Hught 163, Argyl St., Heywoo Lancs.