THE BRITISH Oxygen workers' pay claim is the first in the round of winter claims — and the BOC workers look set totake on the company.
The main element of the claim is for £25 on their basic wage. They have already rejected derisory offer of £7.
Management has tried to turn the emphasis of the increases towards the shift allowances, but this has been rejected as divisive who do shift work from those who don't.
The workers' claim around increases in the basic wage.
This becomes even more important redundancies overtime already threatened for eariy next year.
Micky Bouiter, secretary
Transport Union at BOC sees the struggle for a 35 hour week without loss of pay role in the redundancies:
'We will have to go for 35 hours for 18 hours pay it we're not to lose any jobs. And that pushing up the basic rate now?
The unions al BOC have won the right the books, and their claim is based on an Assessment of the company's abilit to pay. Predicably this assessment is correct.
The BOC claim is an example to other workers of how to build a united fight to defeat the bosses and the Tories reactionary policies.