GengisKhant
3rd May 2006, 08:54
Almost 200 Akrotiri residents blocked off the entrance to the area’s British Bases, over a British Defence Ministry decision to outsource the management of its support services at all its bases to a UK-based company. Many Cypriots in the Akrotiri area are employed by the British Ministry of Defence. Under a new employment arrangement support services have been outsourced to a British company and about 30 per cent of the work force will switch employer.
Although the decision will not affect the employment of current workers, residents fear it will. The plan will see about a third of the bases’ workforce, which is largely made up of support services personnel, such as groundskeepers and maintenance workers, contracted out.
British Bases spokesman Dennis Barnes said: “Nobody is at risk of losing their job… We are contracting out our services to make it more efficient.
“This will affect 30 per cent of our workforce, who will be offered two choices. They can either work for the new company for exactly the same salary and on the same terms and conditions they have with us or they can get a very handsome redundancy package.”
Barnes said the Bases had set up the contracts and they would in fact be signed today.
British officials say the switchover will be in accordance with labour regulations known as Tupe (Transfer of Undertakings, Protection of Employment) conditions. "They will have guaranteed terms and conditions for the duration of a seven-year contract," a British spokesman said.
“They’ve known about this for 15 months because we’ve been working very closely with the trade unions,” he said.
None of the residents in any of the other surrounding towns or villages who worked at the camp had complained until now, he added.
“The fact is the (UK) Ministry of Defence is bringing our working practices into line with what we do in the rest of the world. It’s the most efficient way of running a business and we are not doing anything here that we’re not doing anywhere else in the world. “It’s the standard practice in the UK and Germany and we’ll be introducing it to all other bases around the world.”
He added: “This is a management tool. We will be using exactly the same workers, just under different management.
“Now we’ll have one large company running it who will subcontract to the people already doing the work. How this will benefit us is we’ll have less people running support services and get a professional to run it.”
The Akrotiri demonstrators – made up of mostly men and a few women and children – gathered outside the bases’ main entrance just before 6am holding protest banners about the impending outsourcing. It was not long, however, before they noticed a side entrance was being used by bases personnel to enter the camp. In an attempt to completely block off access to the base, the majority of protestors moved across and also blocked off the second entrance.
No one was allowed in or out. At around 7am a handful of cars were allowed to leave the Base as a measure of goodwill.
Negotiations with the protestors were continuous, but they refused to move before 11am from one entrance and around midday for the other, said Barnes.
Akrotiri community leader Georgios Christou told reporters the situation was very bad and that the outsourcing would have a negative effect on residents.
“We recently had a meeting to discuss solving our problems but they showed no response so we were forced to come here. We had no choice… We told them the road will not open till 11am and we won’t. They can do what they want, we’ll keep it closed until 11,” he said.
At around 9am scuffles broke out between Bases police and the demonstrators. One or two suffered minor injuries and news reports alleged someone had fainted during the ruckus.
Barnes said he stood three feet away from a demonstrator who accidentally ran into a police officer and his dog. The animal reacted by nipping the demonstrator on the elbow and a medic was sent to look at him, he said.
The protestor said the dog had purposely been set on him. Bases police denied the claim and said they had been dispatched to the area to help the employees get to work and those instructions were carried out.
A number of deputies and parliamentary candidates were at the scene to show the solidarity to the demonstrators. Among them were Green Party leader George Perdikis, Athena Kyriakidou, Angelos Votsis, Aristos Chrysostomou, Andreas Kyprianou and Dinos Hadjinicolas.
Witnesses said the candidates started electioneering and riling the crowd over separate issues, including the health hazards of the Akrotiri antenna and the noise pollution caused by the Base’s military airfield.
The demonstration outside the side entrance ended peacefully at 11am. By 1pm the main entrance was also opened. As they were leaving, the villagers said there would be a repeat demonstration next week because they were fighting for their health, jobs and survival.
But Barnes said: “The only effect this [demonstration] had on the bases was that the children (who live on the bases) couldn’t get out to go to school and the people that were working night shift at other camps couldn’t get back in. Other than that business went on just as normal.”
He added: “We value our workforce and today’s demonstration is ultimately pointless because we have and will go ahead with outsourcing. It [the demonstration] will make no difference. We will go ahead.”
Britain hosts some 3,500 troops, and 1,500 civilian personnel on two military bases in Cyprus.
GengisK :ok:
Although the decision will not affect the employment of current workers, residents fear it will. The plan will see about a third of the bases’ workforce, which is largely made up of support services personnel, such as groundskeepers and maintenance workers, contracted out.
British Bases spokesman Dennis Barnes said: “Nobody is at risk of losing their job… We are contracting out our services to make it more efficient.
“This will affect 30 per cent of our workforce, who will be offered two choices. They can either work for the new company for exactly the same salary and on the same terms and conditions they have with us or they can get a very handsome redundancy package.”
Barnes said the Bases had set up the contracts and they would in fact be signed today.
British officials say the switchover will be in accordance with labour regulations known as Tupe (Transfer of Undertakings, Protection of Employment) conditions. "They will have guaranteed terms and conditions for the duration of a seven-year contract," a British spokesman said.
“They’ve known about this for 15 months because we’ve been working very closely with the trade unions,” he said.
None of the residents in any of the other surrounding towns or villages who worked at the camp had complained until now, he added.
“The fact is the (UK) Ministry of Defence is bringing our working practices into line with what we do in the rest of the world. It’s the most efficient way of running a business and we are not doing anything here that we’re not doing anywhere else in the world. “It’s the standard practice in the UK and Germany and we’ll be introducing it to all other bases around the world.”
He added: “This is a management tool. We will be using exactly the same workers, just under different management.
“Now we’ll have one large company running it who will subcontract to the people already doing the work. How this will benefit us is we’ll have less people running support services and get a professional to run it.”
The Akrotiri demonstrators – made up of mostly men and a few women and children – gathered outside the bases’ main entrance just before 6am holding protest banners about the impending outsourcing. It was not long, however, before they noticed a side entrance was being used by bases personnel to enter the camp. In an attempt to completely block off access to the base, the majority of protestors moved across and also blocked off the second entrance.
No one was allowed in or out. At around 7am a handful of cars were allowed to leave the Base as a measure of goodwill.
Negotiations with the protestors were continuous, but they refused to move before 11am from one entrance and around midday for the other, said Barnes.
Akrotiri community leader Georgios Christou told reporters the situation was very bad and that the outsourcing would have a negative effect on residents.
“We recently had a meeting to discuss solving our problems but they showed no response so we were forced to come here. We had no choice… We told them the road will not open till 11am and we won’t. They can do what they want, we’ll keep it closed until 11,” he said.
At around 9am scuffles broke out between Bases police and the demonstrators. One or two suffered minor injuries and news reports alleged someone had fainted during the ruckus.
Barnes said he stood three feet away from a demonstrator who accidentally ran into a police officer and his dog. The animal reacted by nipping the demonstrator on the elbow and a medic was sent to look at him, he said.
The protestor said the dog had purposely been set on him. Bases police denied the claim and said they had been dispatched to the area to help the employees get to work and those instructions were carried out.
A number of deputies and parliamentary candidates were at the scene to show the solidarity to the demonstrators. Among them were Green Party leader George Perdikis, Athena Kyriakidou, Angelos Votsis, Aristos Chrysostomou, Andreas Kyprianou and Dinos Hadjinicolas.
Witnesses said the candidates started electioneering and riling the crowd over separate issues, including the health hazards of the Akrotiri antenna and the noise pollution caused by the Base’s military airfield.
The demonstration outside the side entrance ended peacefully at 11am. By 1pm the main entrance was also opened. As they were leaving, the villagers said there would be a repeat demonstration next week because they were fighting for their health, jobs and survival.
But Barnes said: “The only effect this [demonstration] had on the bases was that the children (who live on the bases) couldn’t get out to go to school and the people that were working night shift at other camps couldn’t get back in. Other than that business went on just as normal.”
He added: “We value our workforce and today’s demonstration is ultimately pointless because we have and will go ahead with outsourcing. It [the demonstration] will make no difference. We will go ahead.”
Britain hosts some 3,500 troops, and 1,500 civilian personnel on two military bases in Cyprus.
GengisK :ok: