Devon Socialist Party

Report by phone from Alistair Tice (Yorkshire Socialist Party) on the mass picket at the Lindsey total refinery North Lincolnshire.

"The strike committee accepted the main demands of Keith Gibson and John Mckewan to put to the mass meeting today.

Keith is a Socialist Party member and on the strike committee and John is a Socialist Party supporter and victimised worker from the refinery.

The strike committee added an extra demand, calling for John to be reinstated into his job.

Iceland, Greece, France, Latvia ….. all across Europe workers are taking to the streets in protest against governments that have let the fat-cats get rich while our jobs, wages and pensions are being attacked.

Now at last, workers in Britain are saying “Enough is Enough!” Our strike spread like wild-fire last week with solidarity action all across the UK with around 20 sites out by Friday. Thousands of workers taking militant action completely disregarding the anti-trade union laws.

Thousands of construction workers in oil refineries and other major utilities sites are still on strike.

There were mass meetings in the Lindsey and Conoco refinery sites in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire on Friday and Socialist Party members were well received with 18 copies of the Socialist sold.

The main issue is not that "foreign" workers are being brought in by the employers, as reported in the media, but that there are thousands of unemployed construction workers.

The Socialist Party is raising the demand that any worker should be part of the national engineering construction agreements that cover the wages and conditions on the sites.

The BNP held a brief stall in Exeter High Street yesterday, and faced with various opponents including the Socialist Party and complaints from the public which attracted the Police, they were forced to pack up and retreat. Unfortunately the Police then made everyone pack up their stalls for the sake of appearing 'even-handed'.