A new horror movie for commuters or fighting talk from Bob Crow's RMT?
Thousands of tube workers have voted overwhelmingly for a 48 hour strike action starting on 9 June against what they say is an unacceptable five-year pay offer and efficiency savings imposed by Transport for London across the whole network that will lead to compulsory redundancies.
It seems to throw down the gauntlet to TfL bosses to pay up or shut up but does this bravado conceal a more conciliatory approach? Is it the 'confrontational approach' of management that niggles? The strike will go ahead unless Boris meets with Bob - which leaves open the possibility of a deal being negotiated - but perhaps a better deal than one without a fight.
A cynic may say it's also good publicity for Bob Crow's No2EU - Yes to Democracy candidates in the Euro Election on 4 June. Their party political broadcast was strangely effective in it's simple presentation and direct message against the undemocratic European Union bureacracy. But some argue that the EU defends workers rights - limits to overtime, equality legislation and so forth. Is the EU good for workers or will you vote No on Jun 4?
Tube workers strike over pay
Saturday 30 May 2009
Thursday 28 May 2009
Deal or no deal
Recently workers at Honda's Swindon plant voted in favour of taking a 3% pay cut for 10 months in an attempt to safeguard 490 jobs. Jim D'Avila, regional officer for Unite, said that by accepting this deal the workers at Honda were standing together in "true solidarity in difficult times to protect hundreds of jobs". [1]
But according to Bob Crow of the RMT ‘If a trade union ain’t going to fight, there is no point in joining’. [2] However, Bob Crow seems to be an exception and perhaps the RMT is in a pretty good position to negotiate a better deal as they can cause publicly visible disruption that puts pressure on their employers.
Not long ago thousands of workers disappeared silently from the finance and retail sectors. There have been sporadic outbursts of action like those at the Visteon (Car Parts) plant in Enfield where moderate concessions have been won but one could argue they had nothing to lose by taking a stand after they were sacked.[3] If their employers and unions had got together beforehand like the Honda workers above, they too may have accepted a similar deal to save their jobs.
The Public Sector hasn’t been hit hard yet but there is much discussion about the need for a shake-out. [4]
How do you think your workplace will respond when cutbacks are announced?
Should we fight or should we go?
Does work matter to you or should we see the reduction in work as an opportunity to enjoy more free time and do the things we would really like to do?
[1] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8063719.stm
[2] http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/support_services/article6252004.ece
[3] http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/article/6435/
[4] http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6261545.ece
But according to Bob Crow of the RMT ‘If a trade union ain’t going to fight, there is no point in joining’. [2] However, Bob Crow seems to be an exception and perhaps the RMT is in a pretty good position to negotiate a better deal as they can cause publicly visible disruption that puts pressure on their employers.
Not long ago thousands of workers disappeared silently from the finance and retail sectors. There have been sporadic outbursts of action like those at the Visteon (Car Parts) plant in Enfield where moderate concessions have been won but one could argue they had nothing to lose by taking a stand after they were sacked.[3] If their employers and unions had got together beforehand like the Honda workers above, they too may have accepted a similar deal to save their jobs.
The Public Sector hasn’t been hit hard yet but there is much discussion about the need for a shake-out. [4]
How do you think your workplace will respond when cutbacks are announced?
Should we fight or should we go?
Does work matter to you or should we see the reduction in work as an opportunity to enjoy more free time and do the things we would really like to do?
[1] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8063719.stm
[2] http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/support_services/article6252004.ece
[3] http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/article/6435/
[4] http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6261545.ece
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