A-Infos (en) UK, AFED, Organise - Support Obsidain and Echo Workers - Sacked After Winning Safe Workplace Victory! (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

After returning to work when their employer made the necessary changes 
to ensure them a safe workplace - and paid them for the duration they 
had removed themselves - all the workers were sacked on egregious 
charges. --- Workers sacked for leaving an unsafe workplace.
Boycott Obsidian and Echo Body Piercing Belfast!
Solidarity is Strength.
Workers at Obsidian and Echo Body Piercing studios in Belfast were all 
sacked on Thursday 30th April - on the eve of May Day, international 
workers day. It is clear to each and every one of the workers and to 
Organise! IWA that they were sacked for walking out of work on the 7th 
of March due to ongoing exposure to blood and bodily fluids without the 
employer having taken steps to ensure adequate vaccinations.

The workers' case is solid. To the extent that on Friday 20th March they 
were invited back to work in reduced - safe - roles "focused on 
non-piercing or non-fitting tasks". As the issue of safety around 
exposure to bodily fluids was being addressed the workers, who had 
removed themselves from an unsafe workplace on the 7th of March, 
prepared to return to work. As they did so antibody tests and renewed 
courses of vaccinations were arranged for two of them. Organise! IWA 
also made it clear that workers were to return without detriment and 
that we were hopeful of meeting management to discuss other outstanding 
issues. Workers were paid in full for hours they would have worked 
between the walk out and their return - a further acknowledgement that 
they had acted correctly in removing themselves from an unsafe workplace.

Antibody and vaccination appointments took place on the 24th and 26th of 
March. The first fulltime workers returned on Thursday the 26th and 
Monday the 30th of March followed by part-time workers as their shifts 
were rostered.

The first indications that the employer was out for 'revenge' against 
workers who had the temerity to ensure their own safety came when two of 
the workers were informed that their contracts as apprentice piercers 
would not be honoured. Then on 1st April a part-time worker showed up 
for their first shift having been told to expect a back to work chat and 
retraining, which they were asked to attend half an hour early to 
complete. Instead she was left on her own to cover the manager's lunch 
break and after about an hour discovered she had been brought back to 
work only to be used as cover before being handed a letter informing her 
that she was being immediately suspended on pay. As other workers 
attended subsequent shifts they were handed similar letters. They were 
then informed that they would be given notice of disciplinary hearings.

As workers were provided with 'evidence' it became clear that they were 
facing disciplinaries for the walk out on safety grounds under the guise 
of 'damaging trust' with their employer!

Despite the 'evidence' compiled against them by the cut-throat HR 
company Peninsula the facts are clear - the workers walked out of an 
unsafe workplace, returned as soon as steps were taken to make that 
workplace safe and being told, insincerely, that they would be welcomed 
back. The initial dates provided for disciplinaries by the employer were 
put back to facilitate representation from their union, Organise! IWA 
and in order to study and respond to the 'evidence' presented. All of 
the disciplinaries were rearranged to Tuesday 21st of April to 
accommodate representation.

Twenty minutes into the first disciplinary the Organise! IWA union rep 
was kicked out. The other workers were informed that they could not be 
represented by their union! One went ahead under protest while the 
others submitted written responses to the cobbled together charges.

We are appealing for solidarity while workers step up their dispute with 
their boss and Peninsula HR.

Appeals are being lodged as is a case at Industrial Tribunal.

Workers are calling for a boycott of Obsidian and Echo Piercing Studios 
and will be organising protests against both their employer and the HR 
company Peninsula.

https://organiseanarchistsireland.com/support-obsidain-and-echo-workers-sacked-after-winning-safe-workplace-victory/
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