Posted by Morning Star in Britain
Tuesday 18th July 2017
STRIKING social housing maintenance workers in Manchester held a mass protest meeting
yesterday as their bosses met union officials and councillors.
The 200 Unite members are on strike over attacks on their pay and conditions by privateer
Mears, which won a contract to maintain some of Manchester City Council’s social housing.
Mears attempted to increase working hours and has brought in pay differentials for workers,
leaving some workers thousands of pounds worse off for doing the same job.
The workers began a programme of rolling strikes, initially three days a week, on May 15.
On July 10 they began all-out strike action.
Unite regional official Andrew Fisher told the Star: “Mears introduced a new contract which
meant three extra hours work, Saturday working, and a productivity agreement which was
basically a sackers’ charter — and all this for what was effectively a pay cut.”
Mears, Manchester City Council and Unite representatives will reopen negotiations on
Thursday.
The company was ridiculed last month after it banned its construction workers from growing
beards so they could “wear appropriate dust marks effectively.”
