Greater Manchester Respect

Workers at Pilkington Ceramic Tiles in Swinton, Salford, have voted to hold a demonstration at the factory on Monday 28 June 2010 at 9am. The firm went into administration last week after existing since 1892 and announced new investment at the factory of £500,000 only last year. This was to develop new production lines and manufacturing equipment.

Instead, the directors have opted to throw the workforce to the lions. KPMG, the administrator, has decided to lay off 204 staff out of the 343 employed at the factory. It wants to sell the company to the highest bidder or let it be stripped of its profitable parts. Not one worker will receive redundancy payments even though families work at the plant and some have given forty years of service.
Salford is already under severe pressure with large scale job cuts threatened at the council. Labour’s thirteen years of government has not saved one of these jobs. Instead, Labour introduced the very loophole that allows the administrator to lay off staff without even a handshake. This is a disgrace and a shameful episode.

KPMG, the administrator, will demand fees and salaries for its staff that conduct the break-up of Pilkington Tiles. Last week, it was reported that KPMG had clocked up £8.6 million in fees when appointed to take over running Aero Inventory UK, an airline parts manufacturer. It became administrator in November 2009 and has offered those owed money 1.1p for every £1 owed while clocking up its own fees. In 2008, it was administrator of Courts furniture stores and was forced to defend its fees in court after charging over £23 million in three years. This included partners charging £600 per hour and even work experience staff at £17 per hour.

This is the world of the market economy magnified large for us, a world where the rich will walk away richer while discarding the poor without even a job to show for their commitment. The growing crisis of job losses and unemployment in Britain is mirrored by the growing wealth and profit at the top of society.

The Respect Party fully supports the Pilkington Ceramic Tiles workers who have voted to demonstrate. A minority are members of a trade union, UNITE, and we urge the rest to join the union immediately. We are faced with a situation in which there is no alternative but to campaign to save jobs. Resistance is all that we can do to hold our lives together and give our families and children a chance of some future. Respect offers its support, urges people to attend the demonstration and show support and will actively campaign with the workforce to build support for saving these jobs in every area.