Unite slams ‘unnecessary and unjustified’ Seagate redundancies

Posted on May 18, 2023 by unitetheunion

Redundancy announcement comes just weeks after US special envoy highlighted plant’s vital role

May 18th: Unite today (Thursday) said that the decision by Seagate to seek over 100 voluntary redundancies at their Springtown site is ‘unnecessary and unjustified’, and urged workers to join the union in order to secure recognition and a collective voice going forward.

Seagate management this afternoon informed workers that it was seeking redundancies from a workforce of 1,600 as part of a retrenchment package which has also included wage cuts. The Springtown site is one of the world’s leading wafer fabrication manufacturers and makes the critical recording head component which goes into one in every four hard disk drives in the world.

Unite today described the company’s attempt to justify the job and wage cuts as ‘blatantly dishonest’, pointing out that the current drop in sales is from a post-pandemic surge and comes amidst an unprecedented logistical supply crisis.  Seagate’s CEO has himself noted that the drop in sales reflects a ‘prolonged inventory correction’ by customers, and the company is expecting a bounce-back in sales in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham challenged the company’s attempt to justify its attack on jobs and wages, saying:

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Unite members vote to accept inflation-proofed 13% pay increase at MM Bangor

Posted on May 14, 2023 by Unite the union NI

Trade union hails pay deal that breaches the low-pay norm, offering hope to attract a new generation of workers to safeguard jobs and skills in Bangor area

Workers at MM Bangor voted with a 78% majority to accept one-year pay deal which will provide them with a 13% pay increase. The vote will end the workforce’s six day strike action with workers returning to work on the night shift on Sunday [14th May 2023]. 

Unite the union has welcomed the deal which they state will provide a solid platform to sustain the long-term future of jobs and skills at the packaging manufacturer as well as vital investment in the Bangor area.

Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham congratulated the workforce:

“This is a tremendous success for the workers of MM Bangor. It was won after a determined strike action and despite workers having had the PSNI called to their picket lines by management. The right of workers to withdraw their labour is one our movement must and will defend. 

“The workers at MM Bangor have demonstrated how by standing together and forcing employers to the table – workers can win pay increases offering real protection in this cost of living crisis.”

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Campaigners to demand NI Water intervene with their contractor Murphy International to reinstate ‘Murphy 4’

Posted on May 14, 2023 by Unite the union NI

Press Notice

What: Campaigners to leave in letter to NI Water demanding intervention

When: 10.30am Monday 15th May

Where: NI Water HQ, Westland Road, Belfast

Campaigners seeking the restoration of four Unite members, including a shop steward dismissed by he the Murphy group’s Irish subsidiary are to demand NI Water intervene with Murphy International, a contractor, to secure the re-employment of the workers. The protest is the latest in a campaign to reinstate the workers after their dismissal on what Unite members believe to be spurious grounds.

Those leaving in a communication with NI Water include Lily Kerr, a longstanding trade unionist and Castle DEA candidate for the Workers Party.

Murphy International is understood to be tendering for a very high-value contract with NI Water and the campaign is engaging with all prospective councillors in the area to demand NI Water use their influence to get the Murphy 4 back to work.

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Unite Hospitality activists launch Charter

Posted on May 14, 2023 by Unite the union NI

What: Launch of the Unite Hospitality Charter

When: 11.30am Monday 15th May

Where: Outside the Europa Bus centre, Belfast

Ahead of the launch, Amy Ferguson, Unite Hospitality’s branch secretary, said:

“Our research shows that over 90% of workers in the hospitality industry have experience sexual harassment in the workplace. Bosses need to take this issue seriously with real zero tolerance policies. This is an issue for both workers and customers – for example in recent years we have seen an alarming rise in reported incidents of spiking.

“Our charter lays out clear steps employers must take to ensure sexism, abuse and harassment are stamped out of the workplace. This must involve dealing with the conditions that allow these things to thrive – low-pay that mean workers rely on tips, precarious contracts that mean your hours can be cut for reporting issues and so on.”

“This is linked to abuse and harassment in society generally” said Eva Martin, an activist with ROSA, “it is seen most starkly in the increase in gender violence in Northern Ireland and elsewhere. We need a collective movement of workers and young people to challenge sexism in and outside of the workplace.”

Unite Hospitality and ROSA will be campaigning for this charter across the hospitality industry in the next weeks and months.

For further information or a request for an interview contact Donal O’Cofaigh, Unite Campaigns, Communications & Press (NI) tel. 07810 157926; or Amy Ferguson, Unite hospitality, amy.ferguson@unitetheunion.org or Eva Martin, ROSA, evarosem123@gmail.com

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MM Bangor workforce denied cost of living increase while shareholders receive dividend

Posted on May 10, 2023 by Unite the union NI

MM Bangor workforce denied cost of living increase while shareholders receive dividend

Union calls on employer to recognise that a paltry minimum wage increase plus one pound a day leaves workers suffering cost of living crunch

Strike action by workers at MM Bangor, a manufacturer of agricultural sacks, is now into its fourth day with members of Unite the union on the picket lines determined to secure a cost of living proofed pay increase. Workers have been offered a pay increase equivalent to the increase in the bare legal minimum wage and a non-consolidated payment of £350 – less than a pound a day – by employers.

Meanwhile the hugely profitable Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG group which owns the business is today set to pay out a dividend of Euro 4.20 today [May 10] on every share held.

Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham expressed her continuing support for the striking workers.

“MM Bangor is a very successful company experiencing a significant increase in both sales and profits post-pandemic. The new owner Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG is one of the biggest agricultural suppliers globally with sales up more than 50% in 2022 to Eur 4.6 billion and an operating profit for the year of Eur 467 million.

“The workers who have generated part of these profits meanwhile are offered an increase equivalent to that for the bare legal minimum wage and a non-consolidated one-off payment worth less than a pound a day. That is disgraceful. The workers at MM Bangor have the full backing of Unite in their fight to win a cost of living increase and a living wage.”

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