by Hackney Socialist Party members
For the fifth successive week, the sparks were out on the streets of London on 24 March.
Yet again they took the fight against deskilling to the doors of NG Bailey, one of the electrical companies behind the Electrical Service Operator (ESO) grade that would be used by the bosses to undercut skilled wages.
Unite EC member for construction, Frank Morris, told the construction electricians that the protests are spreading around the country and building momentum.
The ESO grade looks like being taken off the table at Hinkley Point nuclear power station because of the sparks’ pressure, but the fight continues until the likes of Bailey and Balfour back off.
A retired electrician told passers-by that deskilling would mean that new offices, workplaces and hospitals would be a safety risk. Rob Williams of the National Shop Stewards Network paid tribute to the Shrewsbury pickets and their families who finally got their convictions overturned after 48 years of fighting for justice.
He said: “We need a trade union inquiry to expose the establishment framing of these workers and the cover-up.”
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