Postworkers in wildcat strike

29 May 2001

[Picket line at Bradford South Mail depot this morning]

Postal workers at Royal Mail's Bradford South depot walked out this morning in support of 26 colleagues who face wage cuts and loss of seniority rights.

No mail was delivered in the area as local union branch secretary Eddie McTighe was locked in negotiations with managers. A mass meeting was expected to be held at 10 o'clock.

The "Bradford South 26", who were initially employed as part-timers but had since been promoted to full-timers, each received a letter from Royal Mail on Saturday morning, just before the bank holiday break. The letter told them that they were being re-assigned to part-time duties. This means an automatic cut in hours and pay and a loss of all accrued seniority rights.

Some have been working full time for 5 years and had been clearly told the position was permanent.

Postal workers were outraged by the move, which proved to be just the latest in a string of grievances caused by the hard-line management style adopted by the post office recently. Unofficial strikes have broken out across the country over similar moves.

The post office is desperate to cut costs in preparation for future government privatisation plans.

PACE: The guilty men

12 May 2001

[Pace bosses: Miller, Hood and Fleming]

The man responsible for putting 470 workers on the dole has picked up over £9 million from electronics firm Pace Plc in the last 12 months.

Chief Executive Malcolm "job killer" Miller, who told stunned workers a week ago that Pace was to "outsource" their jobs, made over £8.5 million on a single "optional share" deal on November 17th. In itself that is more than enough to keep all the lost jobs going for the next year. The jobs will instead go to Mexico and China.

Miller bought one and a half million of the shares at the special knock-down price of 53 pence each, and sold them on immediately at the market price of £6.23 each, netting an instant personal profit of over £8.5 million. The special share option is one of the perks he enjoys in his post.

Other directors made over £3 million in similar deals at the same time.

Miller will also collect over £500,000 in pay and bonuses, with his fellow directors collecting over £1 million.

And 2 other directors, David Hood and Robert Fleming, became the cash-richest men in the North of England when they sold a fifth of their shareholding in the company to pick up over £110 million between them last July.

Fleming said that it would help him in his hobby of collecting vintage World War 2 planes:

"I still come to work every day and life's no less busy but now I just have a nice feeling of security.

"I suppose the wealth allows me to indulge my passion for flying and share my aeroplanes with hundreds of thousands of people at air shows every year.

"I think the figures show the company's doing well and that's good for Saltaire and Bradford."

See: Full story: Taking the Pace

May Day parade brings smiles all round

1 May 2001

[May Day in Bradford]

Today's May Day march brought colour, noise and fun to the sun drenched centre of Bradford.

Led by the famous Red and Black drummers and a giant "fire bird", the message was one of unity and solidarity in a city that has known it's fair share of troubles.

A larger than usual police presence failed to dampen spirits, and the May Day parade marked a successful week of events so far around the 20th anniversary celebrations of the 1 in 12 Club.

Elsewhere in London an organised mob of around 6000 heavily armed thugs went on a carefully planned rampage against anti-capitalist protesters there. Like their counterparts around the world, the London police seem hell bent on protecting the interests of global capital against any possibility of disruption.

See the Latest May Day reports from the Indy Media group.
See also the 1 in 12 Clubs May Day 2001 site.
See also Bradford's May Day '98 reports.

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