Against victimisation

Defending victimised workers and trade unionists

Support Jerry Hicks!

By an Amicus member Thousands of trade unionists will be converging on Bristol on Friday 2 September to demonstrate in support of victimised Rolls Royce convenor Jerry Hicks. In late July Jerry was suspended and then sacked from the Bristol Patchway Rolls Royce plant, where he is the Test Area convenor. Workers at the plant walked out on strike in protest at Jerry’s suspension, and struck again in protest at his dismissal. Amicus members in the plant’s Test Area were subsequently balloted on further strike action, and voted two to one in favour. Since 23rd August the Test Area workers have...

Rolls Royce: strike against victimisation

By Doug Russell On 3 August 95 test engineers at Rolls-Royce’s Filton plant in Bristol received ballot papers on whether to strike over the dispute resulting from the sacking of their Amicus convenor Jerry Hicks. Jerry Hicks has been a long-time union organiser at the plant, but is now being victimised after a three-day strike in June which successfully defended two fitters from being dismissed. Ian Waddell, Amicus’ national officer for the aerospace industry, said that “it’s difficult to see the dismissal as anything other than a cynical ploy to attack workers and the union”. Indeed, it seems...

News about Rolls Royce dispute

From the campaign to reinstate Jerry Hicks
--------------------------------------------

The Second Major Blow for Rolls-Royce Within a Week!

After the remarkable victory in the Interim Relief Hearing at the Tribunal in Bristol, which found in Jerry's favour and called for Rolls-Royce to reinstate him, today we have the result of the Test Ballot, which is almost two to one in favour of strike action! This is a MARVELLOUS decision by people who have said with the loudest voice that they are prepared to defend the Union and demand to have their Convenor back! The first strike day is likely to be Monday, 22 August 2005.

The priority now is SOLIDARITY! MESSAGES! SUPPORT! FINANCE! and ...

JOIN THE DEMONSTRATION IN BRISTOL ON
FRIDAY, 2 SEPTEMBER 2005
(details to follow).

Don't forget to keep checking out our Website at: http://www.union.coreoperations.co.uk/rolls All news/updates are posted here.

Thanks for your ongoing support.

Jon Locke
Amicus Shop Steward
Test Operations
Rolls-Royce, Bristol
Mobile: 07769 536 660

Comments

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 18/08/2005 - 00:02

Why are you defending Jerry Hicks? Your member Jim Denham can be found all over the internet calling the SWP and Respect scum who should be booted out of the workers' movement as apologists for Islamofascism. So how on earth can you defend one of their members like this?

Submitted by Pete on Thu, 18/08/2005 - 10:24

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

The apologies for political Islam given by the SWP should be fought and defeated by the workers movement. But no-one from the AWL has ever argued that SWPers should be expelled or 'booted out' of the workers movement. If that is what the contributor is alleging then that is simply untrue!

Wanting a fierce argument with the ideology the SWP propagates is different and doesn't justify scabbing on a dispute in which they are involved.

Would the contributor, who presumably is fiercely hostile to the AWL line on Iraq, think that scabbing, on a dispute in which an AWLer was central, would be justified? If he is a member perhaps his contribution reveals the irrationality of the SWP's hostility to the AWL more than any irrationality in our own?

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 18/08/2005 - 23:08

In reply to by Pete

Two quotes from Denham:

"The SWP is... a pro-fascist organisation. It should be denounced and exposed within the Labour movement as such. I will certainly do my best to expose it as pro-fascist."

"we, the3 SWP, just hate Amercicans and Jews... and we'll support *anyone* who attacks te Americans and Jews... including Fascists"

Do you not have a policy of no-platforming fascists or pro-fascists? How can you defend anti-semites? Shouldn't you be pointing out to the Bristol workers that Hicks is a pro-fascist anti-semite rather than just cheerleading for him?

And no, I wouldn't for one second consider scabbing on a dispute in the extremely unlikely event that one of your members were central to it.

Submitted by Pete on Fri, 19/08/2005 - 00:27

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

I don't recognise the quotes you give of Jim Denham. And I don't know whether the repeated '...'s change their meaning substantially.

If you want to consider what the AWL view is on the SWP, don't take it from quotes of individuals presented out of context.

I think you know that we don't define the SWP as 'fascist'. We consider that you give platforms to 'anti-Zionists' like Atzmon who sees nothing wrong with Israel Shamir, an open friend of the Nazi anti-semite, Martin Webster. You give platforms to people from MAB who believe that homosexuality should be repressed by Sharia law and those renouncing the faith of Islam executed or tried for treason.

I imagine that that is what Jim meant by his use of 'pro-fascist'.

But the SWP leaders protect their membership from a real consideration of the MAB's policies. And most of the SWP's trade union members, as far as I can see, are semi-disengaged from your organisation these days. In a sense there is hope in that.

I don't know Jerry Hicks but if he is a trade union member of the SWP I imagine he would not want Sharia Law to operate in the 'muslim' communities with all that would mean for women, gays ... and socialists.

But even if he were a reactionary or even a racist (which as I say I very much doubt) he, and the union organisation he is part of, are under attack and that is why we defend him.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 24/08/2005 - 01:45

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

I've no idea what Jerry Hick's views are on the middle east: but if he is presently leading a dispute, then we should support him.

If Mr Hicks has reactionary views on other matters, then we should take them up with him later on...

I don't think the question of tIsrael /Palestine is usaually central to industrial disputes...

Jim Denham

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 05/09/2005 - 11:35

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Are you the same Jim Denham that also said the Gate Gourmet strikers shouldn't accept solidarity from Respect? http://www.haloscan.com/comments/lenin/112377425874230404/

Strange view, if such issues are not central to industrial disputes.

But still, I'm puzzled to see how people like Jerry Hicks are to be "exposed and rooted out of the Labour movement" if you don't mention his membership in such a high-profile dispute.

ps I particularly like this comment "because they've thrown in their lot with Muslim communalism, they are now unable to relate to the Sikh Gate Gourmay strikers" - as we can all clearly see http://respectcoalition.org/?ite=862

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