275 Christchurch workers have been made redundant after the Japanese owners of the Bridgestone Tyre Factory announced it would be closed by Christmas. It opened in 1948.
The closure comes at a time when we are being told that an 'economic recovery' is under way - clearly the owners of Bridgestone think otherwise.
As usual, the gutless trade union bureaucrats have laid down and surrendered. Ged O'Connell of the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union, said the factory closure 'would hurt'. Talk about stating the bleeding obvious.
Of any plan to resist the closure , which will have a devastating impact on the local community, there was not a word. And there won’t be.
The trade union bureaucracy have failed to put any real resistance to the numerous business and factory closures that have occurred since the economic recession began to bite, and Bridgestone will be no exception. At the end of it all, the likes of Ged O'Connell will continue to slumber on and pick up their nice fat salaries. None of these union fat cats will be facing the prospect of signing up on the dole.
The trade union bureaucrats have allowed mass unemployment to develop virtually unopposed.
I agree that the reaction of the TU bureaucracy to the current wave of redundancies has on the whole been pretty appalling. However, IMO it is only a small part of the problem - where is the rank and file militancy that would in the past have kept such craven opportunism in check? Until workers themselves develop the confidence to struggle (both against the bosses and the TU bureaucracy) I fear we will not see any improvement in the situation, even with the most militant TU leadership...
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