“Eddie, Eddie, Eddie, in, in, in!” shouted a lively demonstration through the streets of Hastings as protesters demanded the reinstatement of Eddie Fleming, chair of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) branch at the Hastings Child Support Agency site.
Eddie was sacked for his union work on charges that the PCS says were “utterly trumped up”. In reality management are victimising a well known and popular, fighting trade unionist and the union is giving its full backing to the campaign for his reinstatement. So far, 800 signatures have been collected, and in an indication of the size of local support for Eddie, he has recently been re-elected unopposed as chair of his branch, despite being unemployed and barred from the workplace.
After the rally, Eddie told the socialist, “it’s fantastic to see so much support from so many different unions and it’s great to see the trade union movement come alive again”.
Bizarrely, management are still intending to go ahead with three outstanding grievances and appeals even though Eddie doesn’t have his job anymore! The battle for justice for victimised trade unionists continues...
For further details contact Keith Johnston, PCS regional organiser on 07856 110206.
