ALL 120 members of the GMB union at the Team Valley Brush company have entered their second week of indefinite strike action at Swalwell in Gateshead. The dispute is over pay, and follows a derisory 1 percent pay offer by company boss Peter Wheeldon. Wheeldon pays his workforce just 3.11 an hour.
Workers only get the minimum wage through working for bonuses and overtime.
The picket rarely has less than 50 workers on it, and is receiving constant support from passing motorists. Postal workers refused to cross the picket line. The local Spar store has given food, coal and umbrellas. There are a lot of families working in the factory. I've been here for 16 years, and we get less bonus than ten years ago.