Wednesday 22 October 2008

Opposing 3400 UK job cuts at HP

UNITE is starting a campaign over the massive proposed job cuts at HP, which took over EDS not so long ago.

In the current economic climate I think it is incredibly important that the union doesn't just deal with redundancies in the same way we might have a year ago. The consequences of redundancy for individuals are much more severe as we go into recession. But also the options for resistance have got wider. Firstly the ideological prop of "market forces" to justify decisions that hurt working people has got a lot weaker. Secondly the scope for gaining widespread support from across the movement and the public has grown. Thirdly the potential to pressure the government to intervene is much wider.

These relatively favourable conditions may not continue indefinitely - a significant rise in unemployment could make it harder to fight job losses. It is crucial that we try to draw a line now and that the whole movement piles in behind any group prepared to fight job cuts.

Is the action of the Ford Southampton workers the beginning of something bigger?



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