So
it appears that ASLEF aren't alone in the opinion that it has finally dawned on
management that this isn't all about the money and that they need
to address their employees' concerns rather than keep throwing money at the problem if they ever want Night Tube to
happen. That's "if", there some who think that management
don't want Night Tube but don't have the guts to say "No"
to Boris and are using the unions to do their dirty work. Its quite a
popular theory along with "Boris is pulling their strings" and "they
couldn't negotiate their way out of a paper bag".
Rest
Day; off to deepest, darkest Dagenham to see Old Mother shrugged.
That's the weirdest thing, all the media and the public are convinced it's about the money. I don't want or need a 500 bonus, an infaltion busting raise or anything else. I just want to know my shifts in advance and not be dicked about by my managers
ReplyDeleteThe problem is that these 'demands' make you sound like a normal human being. And that is exactly the opposite of what the right-wing media want.
DeleteNot sure about the company seeing sense its just that they know they can't impose the rosters in view the solid support in the last two strikes.
ReplyDeleteIts a pity the RMT in particular can't see sense and suspend the 25 & 27 Augusts strikes. They should be using the window of opportunity that is now open to actually talk to the company and negotiate rather then their normal way of just screeching STRIKE STRIKE STRIKE all the time.
I have to agree with the above as a RMT member, unity did not last long a whole 2 days of action.!! Really this kind of strike is guaranteed to seriously piss everyone off, maybe it would have been better, to just to have 2 days together. There is a reps meeting next week so there may a possibility of it being called off. I do feel sorry for evening shift workers that week as they are going to be hit FOUR evening running, some Women having to wait at bus stops late at night, or being cohered into unlicensed mini cabs.
DeleteSome good points have been made by aslefshrugged and commenters here and in the previous blog post about keeping our powder dry, and the risk of longer action so soon to the previous strikes potentially fizzling out.
DeleteBut there needs to be a big change of approach in the union movement regarding solidarity! While the RMT may tend to be a bit gung ho, the attitude of some T/Ops (including you it seems, aslefshrugged!) that ASLEF need only be concerned with getting a deal for them is worryingly short sighted.
T/Ops no doubt know that they have by far the greatest clout, especially now that office staff have been trained as ICSAs and 'incident signallers'. They may feel comforted by the fact that driverless trains are nowhere on the horizon and pose no threat.
This is a grave mistake. Management's end game is not driverless trains, rather it is to deskill the role so much that it is reduced to being mere button pushing, a job that could be done with a fraction of the current training. Indeed a document leaked by the RMT a number of years ago confirmed that this was to be looked at for the SSR. By reducing manual handling to slow speed only, simplifying rules around ATO, and improving the reliability of trains, they would be in a position to train office staff as 'incident train attendants'.
Anyone feeling smug about their current industrial clout needs to wake up and see what's heading our way. Added to this, Crossrail and a much improved Thameslink will soon be arriving, reducing the impact of any strike.
The unions will need to stick together in the future, or we'll all by bulldozed my management. Divided we will fall.
Re Anonymous @ 18.11 No one is coerced into getting an unlicensed mini cab people do so at their own risk
DeleteBut why strike on 25 & 27 August?
ReplyDeleteNight Tube isn't coming in next month why strike now?
Why not wait, save that loss of wages so that you have it in hand for the next strikes - because there will be some there is no doubt about it.
LUL have not officially announced it's delay as yet.....
ReplyDeleteAnd they probably won't - but will it happen ?
ReplyDeleteNO