We shall not be moved, say sit-in rebels

Published on Thursday 5 March 2009 21:06

IT MAY be 25 years since the miners' strike marked the beginning of the end for trade union dominance in Britain, but yesterday the "glory days" of workers' power were rekindled at a small Scottish factory.

In an echo of the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders' occupation in 1971, 12 employees staged a sit-in protest after losing their jobs – by locking themselves behind the gates of a cardboard box manufacturing company in Dundee.

The five men and seven women – all non-union members – had been told the company, Prisme Packaging, has no money with which to fund their redundancy payments. They have vowed to continue their occupation until they receive statutory redundancy money.

One of the protesters said: "We want to make other employers think twice before they make people like us redundant.

"If 12 of us can do it then anybody can, and we will hold out for as long as it takes."

The sit-in began on Wednesday night at the plant in the city's Tannadice Road, when the small workforce refused to leave the factory after being told they were being made redundant with immediate effect.

Seven of the staff spent the night in the plant's offices and design studio, bedding down in sleeping bags on the floor and on couches. One slept on his design table. Local supporters delivered food hampers to the 40,000sq ft plant.

David Taylor, 33, a packaging designer at the factory, said: "We were told at Wednesday lunchtime that all 12 of us were being made redundant and that we had to be out by five.

"We were given no notice and then told there was no money to fund our redundancy payments. And we are frankly not prepared to accept the situation."

In a letter, the company said it had "reluctantly" decided to close down the plant after losing a major contract.

The redundancy notice was served on the workforce by Ken Andrew, a director of the company. Prisme Packaging said it had "reluctantly" decided to close down the operation and make all 12 of the employees redundant.

After spelling out the redundancy terms, the letter added: "Unfortunately we do not have any money to make these payments to you."

The company is not thought to be in administration. However, if it were, employees would be behind creditors in reclaiming money from the firm.

Mr Taylor said: "They are treating us like second-class citizens. They simply wanted to wash their hands of us."

The workforce held a mass meeting on Wednesday night and voted unanimously to occupy the plant.

Mr Taylor said: "There are people here who couldn't stay last night but everyone is involved. All 12 of us are solidly behind the action.

"Rather than leave and let them change the locks we decided to stand firm. Some people have been working here for 14 years and it's criminal they won't get a penny from the company."

Matthew Duffield, 25, who worked in the company's admin office, said: "We are frustrated rather than angry or upset. It's like being punched in the stomach.

"We have decided to dig in until we get what we are due. The company have shown us a complete lack of respect. We will make a stand and hopefully stop this sort of thing happening in the future."

He added: "We have a microwave and a kettle. We had a chippie last night and we've been having Pot Noodles and crisps and that sort of thing today. We still have heating and we're reasonably comfortable. We are in for the long haul."

No-one from Prisme Packaging could be contacted for comment yesterday.