Connex......the same the world over!!

dublin | worker & community struggles and protests | other press

Monday November 14, 2005 17:56

by Obvious

Red Cow Luas stop is Connex HQ.

Connex Sweden has very close links with Connex Ireland .Probably why they have the same attitude to union reps and anyonewho speaks their mind.

Connex strike and protests 18th Nov
by Yiannis Konstantis Tuesday November 08, 2005 at 02:46 PM
liljeholmen@klubb119.org +46 8 686 42 46 sparks

November 18th has been declared a day of protest against the anti-union policy of Connex in general and against the sacking of Per Johansson in particular. We are appealing for your solidarity. On September 27th, his employer, Connex Sweden, fired Per Johansson, chairman of the metro drivers' union of Stockholm.

An appeal for support - Connex Employees plan for a new strike

November 18th has been declared a day of protest against the anti-union policy of Connex in general and against the sacking of Per Johansson in particular. We are appealing for your solidarity.

On September 27th, his employer, Connex Sweden, fired Per Johansson, chairman of the metro drivers' union of Stockholm. The reason for this was Johansson's alleged disloyalty to the company and his alleged rudeness towards his "fellow employees" (probably referring to his bosses). Connex maintains that the sacking is in no way related to Johansson's role as union chairman. The members of his union and other unions think otherwise.

Under Johansson's chairmanship the union has gained considerable ground in questions concerning wages and working hours. The immediate cause for his dismissal, however, is probably his focus on safety and working environment. Together with the elected safety controllers the union has put its finger on several sore spots. The safety controllers have used their power to stop the traffic on three different occasions after severe incidents. Insufficient measures having been taken to remedy the ills, Johansson has gone public. In all likelihood this constitutes his "disloyalty".

Since the sacking of Johansson the metro drivers' union has convened meetings for its enraged members at least once a week to discuss measures. In Sweden trade unions are tied up by collective labour contracts. This makes it impossible for the union to call for a strike in support of Johansson. Nevertheless, the metro drivers went on an unauthorised strike on the morning of October 6th. The Stockholm metro came very close to a complete standstill. At nine o'clock, the traffic was resumed. On the same day a demonstration was stages in front of the main office of Connex Sweden.

The metro drivers' union has continually taken many actions, putting pressure on Connex to reemploy Per Johansson. One of those actions was the big demonstration on the 20th of October where about 2000 members showed their support for Per. Connex employees in Stockholm are planning for an unauthorised 24 hours strike the 18th of November and a large demonstration, a local demonstration on the 7th of November, and other actions.

The metro drivers' union enjoy the unanimous support of the other trade unions of Sweden. Petition lists are being circulated, calling for the reemployment of Johansson. Thousands of leaflets have been distributed. A poster campaign is going on with the motto "We refuse to keep silent!" The national leadership of the union is investigating the possibility of a political strike for the freedom of speech. The ITF is exerting pressure on Connex internationally.

Fellow workers all over the world, at the 18th of November a huge demonstration organised by the union will take place in Sweden; we are calling for your support on this day. You can support us this day by demonstrating or by taking other actions in front of Connex offices or any other office that represents the mother company Veolia, the owner of Connex, Onyx, Dalkia, Veolia Water and others. In case there is no representative of any of the above-mentioned companies in the country you live in, you can still show your support by demonstrating in front of the Swedish embassy.

An urgent call for the unions that have not yet sent their petition lists to do so as soon as possible.

P.S. We need if it´s possible, pictures from your actions. Send them to us by mail, so we can show your solidarity actions to our members and the workers in Stockholm's metro.

For the board of the metro drivers' union

Yiannis Konstantis
Vice-chairman
http://www.klubb119.org
e-mail: liljeholmen@klubb119.org
Tel: +46 8 686 42 46
Fax: +46 8 686 42 54

www.klubb119.org

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connex and israel/palestine

by raymond deane - ireland palestine solidarity campaign

Mon Nov 21, 2005 18:25

supportpalestine at ireland dot com

64 Dame St, Dublin 2

01-6770253

Connex is involved in deepening Israeli apartheid. Read the following, from stopthewall.org:

The Grassroots Palestinian Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign calls upon citizens, NGOs and civil society
groups to stand up and demand the immediate cessation of the involvement of French companies Alstom
and Connex in the expansion of settlement infrastructure around Jerusalem.
The companies form part of a consortium that won a 2002 tender put out by Israeli authorities for a light rail
transportation project amounting to around 500 million euros. The companies will be responsible for
operation and maintenance for the next 30 years. In August of this year, the project got the go ahead from
War Criminal Ariel Sharon who stated at a signing ceremony: “ I believe that this should be done, and in any
event, anything that can be done to strengthen Jerusalem, construct it, expand it and sustain it for eternity
as the capital of the Jewish people and the united capital of the State of Israel, should be done.” The
Occupation’s Mayor Uri Lupolianski described the light rail to be “the fulfilment of Psalm 122”.
The path of the light rail incorporates a number of Jewish settlements around East Jerusalem, built on
stolen Palestinian land. It will ensure the contiguity of these settlements into the central areas of the city and
provide them with a vital transport link. The project plays a key role in sustaining the settlements and
ensuring they became a permanent fixture upon Palestinian land. The project, a private-public partnership
(PPP) between the Israeli Occupation government and the consortium, is hinged upon the willingness of
international business groupings to provide a huge injection of capital. In turn the French companies will
reap significant profits and dividends over a thirty-year period, money stained with the blood and misery of
Palestinians currently being expelled from Jerusalem. Locked behind an eight-meter high Apartheid Wall,
Occupation roads and checkpoints, Palestinians face a fresh wave of ethnic cleaning from their lands as
they are shut into disparate and miserable Bantustans not just in Jerusalem but also across the whole of the
West Bank.
The rail project is nothing more than the most cynical attempt of the Occupation Forces to bolster the
Judeaization of Jerusalem and it must be stopped now. The complicity of these companies in the further
colonialism of our land is illegal, contrary to the Geneva Convention, and against our rights as Palestinians
to a presence in the capital of Jerusalem.
Even PA President Abbas and the Foreign Minister Mr al-Qidwa brought the issue up with French President
Chirac last week during a visit to Europe. Chirac has promised to look into the issue but has stated the
project will not change the position of East Jerusalem. This fails to detect the realities implied by this project
that will add to the isolation and disparate nature of Palestinian neighbourhoods, and allow the continued
domination of the city by Zionist settlers.
We make the call for European citizens of conscience to put pressure on President Jacques Chirac and the
French government to demand that they force an end to Connex and Alstom involvement in projects that
contravene international law and work against our rights as Palestinians to exist in our capital.
We call upon our supporters in all the countries where Connex and Alstom operate, to use all forms
of popular pressure, protest and boycotts against them, until they end their support for the Israeli
project to ethnically cleanse Jerusalem.
􀂾 Demand an end to complicity in the Occupation and its attempts to expel us from our lands!
􀂾 No to the Apartheid Wall and settlement expansion and international support to render it
sustainable!
􀂾 For a Free Palestine! No to settler infrastructure in East Jerusalem!
The Grassroots Palestinian Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign
E-Mail: Mobilize@StopTheWall.org

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Connex......the same the world over!!

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