Unite pushes MMP dispute to European level

Unite has asked the Mayr-Melnhof Packaging (MMP) European Works Council (EWC) for an emergency meeting in order to aid its dispute with the packaging manufacturer.

Meanwhile, it has claimed support for the Bootle plant's employees has come pouring in from elsewhere.

Employees at the Austrian-owned company's Bootle plant began a strike in early February, before management locked them out on 18 February. No work has been produced on site since, with staff picketing the plant for the past 21 days.

Negotiations have been ongoing, but the union rejected its latest offer, with members voting 138-1 not to accept.

No further meetings are scheduled, with a meeting initially planned for today failing to happen, but Unite national officer Ian Tonks told PrintWeek that the union expected to meet with the EWC as early as next week.

He said: "The work is being pushed around Europe, so we believe this is a European matter; the workers across MMP should be talking to management at a European level.

"The company has been trying to win the war of words by telling union members elsewhere that this is not a well-supported strike; I think a secret ballot returning 138-1 shows that this is not the case."

Unite has also scheduled a meeting with one of MMP's major customers. Tonks added: "We want them to understand our fight is not with them,  but with MMP; obviously, though, this is affecting their work."

The union also reported this week that "hundreds of messages are flooding in from far and wide" in support of the action.

Union members in Finland, Austria, Switzerland, California and Australia have pledged their support, while international unions such as the Utility workers union of America, United Steelworkers, and Fellesforbundet, the biggest private sector trade union in Norway, have backed the action. 

Unite regional officer, Phil Morgan said: "As workers battle the brutal lock out it is making them angrier by the day and more determined to continue their fight back.

"The international support sends a clear message to MMP that workers will not be bullied into agreeing unfair redundancy terms. People around the world are standing up for our members as they fight the company’s outrageous behaviour towards its workforce."