Gerry Grainger, Regional Chair of the Workers Party, has stated that the Workers Party stands in full solidarity with the workers at Balcas in County Fermanagh who have taken strike action in defence of their rights and livelihoods. Party representatives have stood on the picket line with these workers.

As Unite the Union has made clear, Balcas is highly successful and its latest published accounts recorded pre-tax profits of £18.7 million. Glennon Brothers of Longford, which owns Balcas, is rapidly expanding. As well as its sawmill in Longford and that in Enniskillen, it owns mills in Fermoy, Co Cork, and the large Invergordan sawmill in Scotland. In the last year it acquired Pontrilas, the largest timber processing mill in Wales and England with a turnover of £120 million.

Despite this many workers at Balcas are paid little more than the minimum wage and most have to work excessive overtime to bring in enough money to live. Mr Grainger stated: “Fair pay is a basic right, not a luxury. These workers stand for basic principles and rights not only for themselves but for workers across the region and beyond. The struggle at Balcas is not an isolated dispute. It reflects a wider pattern in which employers attempt to hold down wages in the pursuit of greater profit from workers’ labour.”

“The action of the Balcas workers deserves our full solidarity and support. Your fight is our fight.”