By an RMT NEC member With British Rail privatised by the Tories, London Unlerground remains the only major rail system in public hands. Underground workguarding their future.
Nine months after the election they are finding out the hard way that new Labour means no change. The only reason LUL has not been privatised is that Labour ministers cannot agree amongst themselves what form the sell off should take.
Lack of investment over the last decade has meant a continued deterioration in LUL services and massive fare rises. With London's roads grid--locked it is broadly accepted that LUL requires a major injection of capital as part of an overall transport strategy.
Rail unions have long argued that such capital can be raised through a mixture of business levies and government borrowing, adding that with a change of Treasury rules this would not even require a major change in existing budget assumptions.
However, it now appears that the best on offer from John Prescott is that the majority of the infrastructure would be leased off under a form of Private Finance initiative with jobs being handed over to the private sector.
Only a core of operational staff would remain in the public sector. Other options include franchising the whole of LUL off to the likes of Richard Branson.
In the mean time LUL management have begun the process of selling off peripheral parts of the system. Electrical control staff, advertising display staff and others face transfer into private manes RMT members on LUL are adamant that they will oppose all threats of privatisation. And whilst it is undoubtedly hard to mobilise when only a handful are currently under threat, so far it has been possible to force LUL and the government to hold off.
At the end of last year, for instance, a series of mass pickets of the Department of Transport by staff from Acton Works forced Prescott to concede that their jobs would not be hived off before the Passengers are already counting the costs of rail privatisation: but Labour wants to flog off tube future of the whole of LUL was decided.
Now, it is essential that broader forces are brought into play to defend LUL. As a first start to their campaign the RMT's London Transport Regional Council has called for a mass picket of the Department of Transport on the afternoon of Friday 13 February. As well as large numbers of LUL workers the aim is to involve other trade unionists, pensioners groups, road protesters and others.
The time is fast approaching when industrial action will become necessary if LUL workers are to defend their jobs and conditions.
While this policy is formally supported by the RMT at national level, which is itself committed to organising rallies in defence of a public sector LUL, it is clear that General Secretary Jimmy Knapp is reluctant to do anything that upsets his cosy relationship with John Prescott.
Rather, at every turn, he has tried to pose this as a dispute with the "Treasury", with Prescott really on the side of the RMT, but only constrained by Cabinet collective responsibility. This is a ridiculous position, but unfortunately only too common amongst the trade union bureaucracy. It is clear. that, whatever the talk of private disagreements, the Labour front bench is united in the direction of its policy. Jimmy Knapp and his co--thinkers cannot be allowed to hold back the campaign in defence of Underground workers. They are right to mobilise themselves, while the RMT leadership must be forced to turn its paper support into something more concrete. The whole membership must be mobilised.
While the whole of British Rail was sold off bit by bit by the Tories we were told to wait until the Labour government. Now we are being to hold back in case we weaken our "friends" in their behind the scenes battles. Enough is enough - privatisation can be stopped - but only if we are prepared to act in our own defence.
Six months of British Presidency of the EU 8B BUROPE Mobilise against present updated Guidelines and - if