INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ACTION – FRIDAY 19 MARCH – CALL FOR SOLIDARITY!

The London protest will kick off from 5pm outside the UBS building at 100
Liverpool Street. Come, bring friends, bring stuff to make a noise,
bring placards!

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=386699357493

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=321918197556

Venceremos
Andy


INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ACTION – FRIDAY 19 MARCH – CALL FOR SOLIDARITY!

Dear
Brother/Sister,

We are appealing to all sections of the labour movement, to trade unionists, women and youth, socialists and communists, to assist in an important struggle of workers with the Union Bank of Switzerland underway in London.

For many years cleaners (janitors), mostly migrant workers, have been amongst the most exploited section of the working class. In an effort to improve their rights and conditions many have organised into trade unions as part of campaigns such as Justice for Cleaners. There has been a concerted effort by employers to break the union organisation and reverse any gains made by cleaners. Unionised workers have been dismissed and the
immigration laws used to victimise and intimidate them.

The Union Bank of Switzerland is the latest to attack these workers, despite making a profit of $1.1 billion in the last quarter, it has hired the notorious anti-union contractor Lancaster Ltd to drive down it costs.
Ignoring the legal protections afforded them, they have set out to cut
the jobs and wages of workers already on poverty pay. Simultaneously
they have attempted to break the trade union of the cleaners at UBS.

A mere three days after taking over the contract, the UNITE union
representative and leader of the Latin American Workers Association
Alberto Durango, was sacked on 4 February. Alberto has been a leading
activist amongst cleaners in London, he previously worked for the
contractor Lancaster for over a decade, on becoming a union activist
they victimised him. A series of allegations were thrown at Alberto,
they orchestrated his arrest based on false claims. He was released
without charge. The company then sacked Alberto regardless claiming he
never worked under his true identity. After his dismissal the company
admitted he had in fact worked in his true identity after all! It is
clear UBS and Lancaster are prepared to blacklist union activists.

The treatment of these workers is symptomatic of many others in this
industry. It is a disgrace which can and must be stopped. Already many
sections of our movement have endorsed the campaign in defence of the
cleaners. TO WIN WE NEED YOUR HELP. We have called an international day
of action on Friday 19 March. We appeal for protests, demonstrations and actions at all buildings of Union Bank of Switzerland. Please help us
by organising actions in your country. Through global solidarity we can
defeat a callous representative of global capital.

Chris Ford

Branch Organiser – Unite CLERKENWELL & ST. PANCRAS 0694M