By an RMT Tube Worker 800 JOBS have been lost on London'sunderground. Two of the unions representing tube workers, the RMT and TSSA had voted 2-1 for industrial action to oppose over 1000 job losses.
But by the close of the balloting period and after London Underground (LUL) had called for negotiations at the arbitration service ACAS the unions felt unable to implement the action.
The two clear reasons for this were a massive and unprece dented campaign of intimidation by management and the splitting of the union side by ASLEF - the train drivers' union.
Negotiations at ACAS 200 jobs and instituted talks on rosters which could increase staffing. Proposals to cut were withdrawn and working parties on staffing and pay levels set up after the 1989 strikes, but abandoned by management, were reconstituted.
The talks reinstituted promotion and transfer arrangements and extended from 18 months to three years the protection of earnings of displaced staff. Nevertheless, large-scale reorganisation of the 'permanent way' and engineering staff, which at this stage involve no job losses, remains.
Management could move Guise towards the breakta!
3n61V10112 line managers would control their own permanent way and engineering services, with the option of putting the work out to private contractors However. it is unlikely that arry major changes to passenger services will be proposed this side of a General Election. LUL management is severely discredited in the eyes of the public. All their macho style has produced is a £100 million deticit and worse servicos The public want better and safer services with more staff on trains and stations. Only a new Tory election victory would give management a fresh mandate to cut back in these areas.
ASLEF, the association which represents 50% of LUL train staff, collaborated with management's plans from the start.
They adopted a position that ther would not fight for booking certs or sabon stah But more ther did not ever. ighthe es of 272 train jobs - because there were no compulsory redundancies.
For the first time in living memory, one union negotiated a deal with management after the others had failed to agree, and before they had finished ballotStated that they old not si Their national officials port any of their members who respected official picket lines. Their local officials activelv campaigned against the RMI and TSSA ballots and declared support for management's plans to sack activists.
During previous ballots in 1987 and 1989 management took no initiatives. This time, threats were widespread and backed up by individual letters to the whole workforce. In addition, management imposed the package while unions were still balloting. Compliance with the new anti-union laws meant that the new arrangements were in place four weeks before ballotng could be finished.
By the time LUL management called talks at ACAS, activists were concerned that a repeat of 1985 was on the cards. Then, an all-out strike called by the RMT against the one person operation of trains was ignored by the maions of the workforce and had site called off within 12 hOLE In new si is struacon ine decision to cal ost the scrike was unavoidabie.
The immediate task is to deal with the problem of ASLEF. For ten vears this organisation has been the tail that wagged the dog of the Federation of railway Unions. At the same time as consistently refusing to ballot for full amalgamation, ASLEF has oached more than 1000 mem ers from RMT on both BRanc with 47% of men. Despite this, women represent about a third of the trade union movement.
The bookiet contains statistics revealing the disproportionately ow number of women on national execu tives, attending national conferences and holding general secretary or na tional full-time positions.
Unfortunately figures showing the number of women who are shop stewards or branch officials are much less comprehensive and only 11 unions keep statistics revealing a contradictory picture. For instance NUPE has 71% women in membership with 46% of the NEC but only 30% of branch officers. The NUT however with 72% women membership has only 29% of the NEC but 50% of branch positions held by Most unions over the past few years have made some effort to in crease the participation of women in • their structures. This is a result of women themselves demanding changes.
The approach advocated by the TUC is to urge unions to improve women's equality at work. Their 'Charter for working women' outlines 18 areas for negotiation with employers including patemity/parental leave, subsidies for child care costs and occupational health issues including cancer screening. The TUC also encourages changes in union practices detailed in the Charter for equality of women within their trade unions.
The Charter includes the estabFishment of 'advisory committees', holding of union meetings in work time and representation of women on union committees proportionate to the membership in the unions.
However, the recession is resulting in steadily increasing attacks on workers' existing terms and conditions and their very right to organise. couragement of women to organise as women in the unions. This means that that such organisation is less likely to be part of the union structure and decision making process.
The LRD booklet makes some reference to women-only initiatives' but gives little detail. Some of these initiatives' clearly do feed directly into the structures of the unions. However they should not be con fused with certain unions national or regional 'women's committees' that include men and are not elected by In NALGO for instance women's groups in the branches sometimes elect representatives to branch executives and national conference. This structure was fought for very hard by women in the union over the past few years. However it is now under threat as NALGO dissolves itself into the 'superunion' - NALGO NUPE-COHSE. The signs are that the women's structure will be dumped and replaced by reserved places on union committees possibly even being elected by men as well as women.
To discuss women's involvement in the unions, the Socialist Move ment Trade Union Committee (SMTUC) and Women for Socialism (WfS) will be holding a national meeting in November. Planning has at ready begun and the special needs of younger women, black women, women with disabilities and lesbians are being recognised in the wide variety of workshops and caucuses that will take place.
The SMTUC would be grateful for details of women's experiences -successful and otherwise - of organising in their unions.
Anyone who can supply information or who would like to attend the meeting please contact Carolyn Sikorski, Secretary SMTUC, 53a Geere Road, London