walks out on pay 70,000 local govemment workers across Scotland gave overwhelming support to a one day strike over pay called by UNISON on August 29.
Union leaders reported thousands of membership appli Convention of Scottish Local Authonties refused to increase its pitiful 2.5 percent pay offer UNISON has demanded 5 percent. Further action is likely to include another 1-day stoppage coupled with selective strikes by key groups of workers. Steve Metcalfe being resolved, the transport problem in the British Isles lurches from bad bility for this lies at the foorstep of the government any loyalty to those millions ho voted for it in cringing: cowardice before the rested interests of the international oil. road and car manutactur ing combines Ifter the Ladbroke Grove the chance to claw back everything we lost under the Instead, played for time to protect privatisation, not its victims.
This is preciscly what ha appened Public-private partnership survives. Only massive Labour Party members' and working anger has deflected Blair and co from proceeding where Major's gang left off. This anger was reflected in masProtes for Ken Livingstone London Mavor and for Left and green candidates in the new Among rail workers generally, anger is in many areas intensity:
Here, almost verbatim, is signal recently told me. Judge for yourself from this:
(outside agency maintenance contractors)
SUdE bos, whip our a wallet full of "authorisation' cards in your they're on 25 an hour, and then have the bloody nerve to ask you where they're supposed to stick their sodding detonators tor a protection job they were supposed to have been on a planning meeting to find out about days or weeks before. I tell them to ring their PICOP (Person Charge Possession)." Amongst other advice, no doubt! There are usually more eye-wateringly line regular workers these days. The fact that signallers are often only on L6 or L7 an hour under the pernicious rip-off merchants who now run Railtrack adds insult to injury The safety situation has not improved. According senior Railtrack managers, recent and SPADS" (Signals passed at Danger) which could have ended up in collisions or derailments as bad or worse Grove, Paddington or Clapham.
A verage worked by train сси, заданст and track maintestaff on remain among toc nignest In Britain and indeed across Europe.
The ignorance of senior Railtrack managers is WanaRe Chris Leah admitted to the Cullen Inquiry into rail how dangerous a "wetspot" or "wetbed" could become 2 years ago, having railways for over 30 years! Privateers on the railways should be found guilty of institutional ignorance. They admitted to Cullen also that they were stressing performance to the almost total Health and safety representatives are particularly targeted for victimisation and sacking by train operation and track maintenance companies. The latest prominent victim, after many others including Joe Steve Headley and Company Councillor Bill Ashcroft, is London train driver Sarah Friday. I myself recently sented one such rep, David Watham, ing himself from duty even though he was following management guidelines.
• leaving his successful appeal warning" punishment not even on the immediately sent off for an eyesight and hearing test for alereds failing to acknow! edge passing trains.
This crude ploy also failed, even senior reps have to put up with today:
The right wing careerist elements within the company union structures, be they RMT, ASLEF lem. In many cases of victimisation, there have been too many suggestions "crocodile tears", if there have been tears at all.
The TSSA are the worst, with "Tosser' being the usual many rail workers to refer to weak kneed today, recently abjured by the TUC, along with AsLEr for unscrupu lously poaching RMT memI reckon the only way forward for railway on an industry-wide basis, in an industrial union which the carty ports cause was Phe old NOR, apart from old NUR, apart from leading the fight for a Labour Party, was also a strong advocate of industrial powerful educational force for thousands of Marxists and socialists. ane spine or castance of that era can and must be T hell place period railways even more in public the compromising of the carpetroleum-roads combines in the cyes of the population. Thousands and millions people are sick of the death and suffering caused by the car; the accidents, pollution UVCE the past decidest should which cannot but end up in our favour дітса ропися: раскоос in the months and years alicad. Get out there and fight!
other industry lends to workers' control more than the rail industry; except maybe farming. This desire for full control of the (despite everything) should encouraged and developed The railways should be renationalised, but not on the basis it was done in 1947.
The old shareholdmillions from the old BR must be told to get our this time. should go to the likes of Balfour-Beatty, farmac.
Virgin and Stagecoach et al.
If this leads to a showdown with Prescott MacDonald ments generally, then so be Blow them politically richt out of the window il nécessary! Long live working class socialism, free of all parasites and hoodwinkers. • Stece Metcalfe, (writing here in a personal capacity is CoCouncil GTRM (RMT), Branch 0854 Chair, and Area Secretar (ASG) (IMC2000) GTRM Health and Safety)
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