UNIONS IN STRUGGLE CENTORY CITY LUXURY DAY SWEAT SHO
MIC New wave of militancy amongst traditionally unorganised workers The battle being fought out in the North Sea for safety and union rights of oil workers is one of the most important the movement has seen for several years.
Nearly 500 oil workers have died offshore - victims of oil companies routinely breaking the law in their chase for profits.
A clear victory in this fight would mean a massive breakthrough for union organisation in all those areas of industry where there has been massive restructuring of hiring pattems -sub-contracting or "the lump' - with the resultant cradication of union organisation and safe working conditions. Obvious areas are the construction industry, catering, textiles, ancilJary services in the NHS and the food industry.
This kind of fight offers a far better way of unionising women workers, part-time workers and those on wages below the legal minimum than the growing wave of inter-union membership wars - such as that between the GMB and TGWU in catering (where they have just ripped up a "no poaching' agreement) and the internecine war started by train driver's union ASLEF against the NUR on the railways.
The TUC could quickly win the oil dispute within days by calling an all-out strike of all union members in the industry. But the fulltime leaders of the seven unions involved have instead promised a ballot across the North Sea for official strikes to win the reinstatement of the hundreds of workers that the oil companies
Oil