By a London busworker Over 1,000 busworkers demonstrated and lobbied the House of Commons on 27 January, protesting against privatisation and deregulation on London's buses The ten existing companies -technically subsidiaries of London Transport - are proposing wage cuts of £30-60 a week, several hours increase in time on duty and a virtual wiping out of all demarcation lines and other hard-won conditions.
This is to prepare for privatiA support group for Birmingham's long-running Burnsall dispute -made up largely of Asian women -has been formed after seven months of strike acton at the metal finishing factory.
Its inaugural moeting saw 50 strikers and supporters altend. Community representatives, labour movement figures, and even delogates from Oxford and London, pledged their Dropped Unfortunatoly the Burnsal workers' union. GMBhas talled to deveico sol darity among workers af supplers and customers. A joint GMB/TGWU recruitment campaign in the metal finishng sector was dropped after GMB egodly said it would put funds in dander of sequestration - belore te employers had even made any legal sationon 1 April so management will have a 'fighting chance' to buy the compantes in open competition with private contracOf course, if busworkers accept redundancy and sell their contracts of employment, the privatised companies will be in a much better position to impose after April.
In the face of this onslaught, the TGWU leaders might have tion. Not a bit of it! Taking their cue from the NUM executive, Strikers are being blocked from speaking at Birmingham trades counil, and apparenty at other solidarily meetings, by GMB oficials.
Tribunals
But the first few of what will eventually be 53 industrial tribunais have been heard, and the nows is bad for Burnsal's owners, the O'Noill family.
compensation could top €100,000 and put the sweat shop out of business.
Dharshan Kaur, the strikers' shop stoward, was dragged into the plan recently and harassed. After she struggled and escaped, she was promoty arrested. Police searched her house after a scab alleged Dharshan had stolen her umbrella and othing and Dharshan was released Donasons massaoes of suntort requests for speakers to: Joe Quigiey ob GMB, Wa Thome House, 2 Brm ingham Road, Halesowen, West MidLands, B63 HP they are pinning all their hopes on the power of public opinion to win over the tones.
At the meeting in the House of Commons atter the march. C4088908 Peter Gibson, GWU national executive mem ber for buses and a supporter of the Workers Revolutionary Party, paid tribute to the Tory minister for London. Steve Nor"'. At least he has the bottle to come here and meet you. I hope we can persuade him to have a select committee of inquiry" said Gibson. Angrily denouncing busworkers who heckled Norris, he added: "He was good enough to come here to speak to us. Give him a hearing.
Evasions
After listening to how the proposed destruchon of workers living standards and London's public transport was in reality a great step forward, and weaselword evasions on the question of pensioners passes, travelcards Transport pension fund, Gibson refused to allow questions to Norris.
Massed ranks of Labour left MPs - 22 in all - and one Liberal Democrat assured busworkers that they had to wait for what one called a "ripple of communication" now there's a thing to strike terror into the hearts of the ruling ciass) to influence the select committee.
Of curse, a select committec is a Tory-controlled, toothless, summon anyone before it and In the meantime the bosses would have torced through the new contracts, the anger and militancy of rank-and-hile buswor kers would have dissipated and what is left of the public transport system would soon fall into he greedy clutches of the Tory vultures in the City of London. The capital's bus services would desonerate to te crone saiaards of deregulated and pri vatised Sheffield.
Busworkers cannot wait for select committees, the pleasure of supposedly 'sympathetic Tories, ballots or legal niceties. Strike action must be organised by the rank-and-file now!
It must be London-wide strike action and it must seck to bring the tubes and British Rail out with it. They must immediately link up with pensioners groups to defend pensioners® passes.