Union leader Mick Lynch has offered his backing to Seagate workers attempting to secure union recognition amid fears of job losses at the manufacturing site in Derry.
Speculation has been mounting in recent days on how the hard-disk manufacturer's "restructuring" plan will impact the factory where over 1,000 workers are employed in Derry.
Mick Lynch, the general secretary of the RMT union, who shot to fame after his quick-witted interactions with TV presenters and journalists on rail strikes in Britain went viral, gave his congratulations to efforts by the Unite trade union to secure formal recognition with the company.
Read more: Seagate latest: Union vows to continue fight for recognition
The Unite trade union have been seeking official recognition following a "member-led" organising campaign over the past six months at the site in the Springtown area of the city.
Meanwhile, an announcement is expected in the near future on how the company’s restructuring plans will impact workers at the Derry site.
Politicians, including the Mayor Sandra Duffy, have been demanding an urgent meeting with the company’s management.
Speaking to Belfast Live ahead of a May Day rally on Saturday, Mr Lynch suggested the union campaign at Seagate is an example of working class communities beginning to “wake up”.
“What we've been saying over in Britain for the ‘enough is enough’ campaign, which we'd love to see rolling out in Ireland, is we've got to wake up working class communities,” he said.
“That sounds like it's happening, in fairness, at Seagate, done by Unite. So congratulations to them. “We've got to wake up working class communities so that they can not just organise through political parties, but so that they can organise themselves and find solidarity and strength - and then things like the Derry Trade Council and other community organisations can give back into that.
“These companies will do anything to make more profit. In the face of that massive economic power - oligarchy, if you like - people have got to join together. And the trade unions are the best vehicle for that, to give them a voice and give them the tools to stand up and rebalance their workplace.”
He added: “I completely back the Seagate campaign, and then the other campaigns for trade union organisation, we do it ourselves all the time.
“And often it's the most exploited workers, the ones that have been outsourced to these facilities companies doing the cleaning during the security during those jobs, that are regarded as peripheral, that are the most exploited, whereas the people that are working in-house tend to get a better deal. “So we've got to make sure we reach out to all workers no matter what their background, or what what ever their status in the company or in the organisation is.”
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