21 February, 2012

STRIKING GMB MEMBERS PROTEST IN LONDON AGAINST CARILLION BULLYING

Category: Trade UnionsBy: admin at 5:57 pm

This afternoon dozens of GMB members picketed the Euston offices of Carillion. The protest is part of ongoing strike action from staff at Great Western Hospital Swindon against a culture of bullying and discrimination. The GMB members work as porters and housekeepers in catering and cleaning and other support roles at the hospital.

From Big Smoke

Over 90 staff members have taken the step of giving evidence of bullying.

The pickets came down to London (some of whom are pictured above) as part of an innovative approach to their dispute where on non-strike days the GMB members keep up the pressure on their employer until they begin to take these issues seriously.

Carole Vallelly, GMB Regional Organiser said “Carillion have made no moves to deal with bullying, harassment and discrimination despite being left in no doubts about the determination of their staff to get the problems dealt with.

More information at Socialist Unity.

14 Responses to STRIKING GMB MEMBERS PROTEST IN LONDON AGAINST CARILLION BULLYING

  1. “Usually when people are sad, they don’t do anything. They just cry over their condition. But when they get angry, they bring about a change.”

    Malcolm X
    died 21 – 2 – 1965

  2. you have deleted my comments every time i put them on, obviously not a democratic site after all. so here goes again, but i will keep it short. far from being bullied, the Goans and their union are bullying their way to a state of ” we want to do what we want, when we want” if not , we will play the racist card. and you know its true, youre just all too scared to say it.

  3. #2 is a management stooge

  4. #2

    voice of truth: far from being bullied, the Goans and their union are bullying their way to a state of ” we want to do what we want, when we want”

    Well it is interesting that you see the GMB as the Goan’s union.

    You say that the Goan workers at the GWH are bullies, but making an anonymous comment on an Internet site without providing any detail is not very convincing evidence.

    A great deal of evidence of bullying and discrimination against Goans has been presented to Carillion by both Goans and also from white British members of staff.

    Yet you claim that the bullying is by Goan workers? This flies in the face of the evidence we have seen. Is this all Goans? Or just some? And what have you done about it? Have you approached your union? Have you made a complaint to management? Have you raised this through the Exraordinary People Forum?

    Incidently, if there is no racism, can you explain how for a workforce that is over 50% Goan, and when there are about 80% Goan in Housekeeping, every single person on Carillion’s Extraordinary people Forum is white?

    There are a number of more effective ways than posting comments on the Internet.

    If you haven’t done any of those things, then perhaps your views shouldn’t be taken seriously?

  5. I love the names free-market libertarians tend to pick for themselves: ‘voice of truth’. Lol. It’s crying out for a spoof. ‘Temple of lies’ anyone? ;)

    PS. I’d never heard the term ‘Goans’ before. Is the Wikipedia page correct, or is there more to it?

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goans

  6. Wasn’t the propaganda ministry in 1984 called the Ministry of Truth?

    And it’s so easy to claim that comments have been deleted. Smells of bullshit to me.

  7. “Voice of truth”, can you be specific about when you posted?

    See, I did delete some pretty obnoxious racism from someone with a similar name, but this was weeks ago – again, posting anonymously and making allegations without evidence.

    Since then, no comments about Carillion have been deleted.

  8. @5I love the names free-market libertarians tend to pick for themselves: ‘voice of truth’.

    From Wikipedia

    “(Woodrow) Wyatt was a prolific journalist….and by the late 1970s he had crossed the political spectrum and became an admirer of Margaret Thatcher. During this period his News of the World column (was) ‘The Voice of Reason’”

  9. @#9. It’s as if they’re trying to convince themselves as much as they are the rest of us: if you need to compliment yourself, it’s because no one else thinks you worthy of complimenting! ;)

    Feodor Augutus, aka the most handsome man in the world…

  10. very good, got all your cronies to post , or all you under different names. so lets have a look at some of these points eh? firstly, #3, a management stooge? no, not a Goan stooge either. just because a persons skin colour is other than white, that doesnt make them right. if anyone wants to work at the hospital, there are rules. if you dont like them, go somewhere else. #4, firstly let me address the fact that you condem me for not putting my name to my piece. #1 was posted by someone called “anon”,(funny) #3 was posted by someone called “ted”,(again, doesnt really identify does it). #6, look at this one, “jellytot”, (excellent).so lets not bother trying to make being anonymous a big deal, or does it just become one when it is someone who doesnt agree with you? next, i will tell you why other complaints than the Goans havnt gone through management, management dont want to hear it. incase they have to act against a Goan, so they refuse to allow them to go any further. you just crack on trying to build your political future Mr. Newman. #5, never heard the term Goans? they are people that come from Goa. like Germans come from Germany. got the hang of it? #7, what has a ministry from 1984 called “ministry of truth” got to do with anything?? strange point to bring up vanya. #8, Mr. Collins, you obviously got your view of what is obnoxious racism, that probably includes everything/ everyone that doesnt bow down to minorities does it? #9, another strange point, “the voice of reason”?? so whats your point?? i once knew of a bag of sweets called “jellytots”. any link? (or just a name)? you can all blag all you like,and criticise those who dissagree with you, but people know the truth. politicians, not had a good press have they? and the press?? well, again, not exactly a shinning example of honesty in this country eh? so there you go, the pen is mightier than the sword, and i know you will shout louder than me, but that doesnt make you right or mean that what you are shouting is the truth. in this world of “freedom of speech” i have just exercised my right.

  11. #11

    voice of truth: if anyone wants to work at the hospital, there are rules. if you dont like them, go somewhere else.

    Well there are a few points here:

    One of the complaints is that the rules are not fairly applied; if the “rules” are discriminatory, then they may be against the law, which means that people don’t have to just put up with them.

    BUt even if rules are legal but unfair, then through your union you can object to them and try to get them changed. If you personally have problems at work, then GMB would be just as strong in sticking up for you as we would for anyone else.

    It seems that you think GMB is only interested in sticking up for the Goan workers, that isn’t true. We have over 200 members on the NHS side at the GWH, most of whom are white british, and we fight just as hard for them – it is just that the level of problems with carillion is much worse.

    i am sorry that you think people just have to put up with whatever management say or get another job.

    I used to work as a hospital porter myself years ago at RUH in Bath, and we wouldn’t accept management pushing us around, because we stood together. We didn’t just put up with things we pushed back, which is what the strikers at GWH are doing now.

    For legal reasons we can’t name the individuals, but do you really think that they would have just resigned if there hadn’t been some substance to the complaint. And you won’t know yet what is cominig next, … …

    It seems that one of the things that has happened at GWH is that carillion’s junior management have played the white and Goan workforce off against each other; while senior management complacently did nothing.

    The fact that there are only white people on the staff consultative body, the Exceptional people Forum, when a majority of the workforce is from Goa shuld have rung alwarm beels for any professional management that had a basic awareness of equality issues. But it didn’t.

    And you know some of the other things that have gone on up there. things that are just wrong, whether it was to people opf Goan or white British origin. It is a shame that you have set your horizons so low that you think you have to put up with it.

  12. @11just because a persons skin colour is other than white, that doesnt make them right……you obviously got your view of what is obnoxious racism, that probably includes everything/ everyone that doesnt bow down to minorities does it?

    Voice of Truth comes across as somebody who doesn’t care much for the cause of these ethnic minority Union members.

    Using the descriptive term “scabby racist” would, of course, be too harsh and impolite.

  13. @ jellytot, you assume that i myself am of white British origin, well maybe you have heard of the phrase ” never ASSUME, IT MAKES AN ASS out of U & ME”. I can respect the views although i dont agree with them of Andy Newman, arguing different points of view is called democracy. but for you to refer to me as ” a scabby racist” shows me and others that you are not at all interested in EQUALITY, NON DISCRIMINATION, because i too am a human being and therefore deserve to be treated with the same respect that you DEMAND for as you call them ” ethnic minority union members”. so until you have anything intelligent to say “jellytot”. wind your neck in!

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