SURES YOUR ERI CUTSI Has Labour decided to brave the anger of unions and campaigners and axe more hospitals? HEALTH by a London tube train driver SURPRISE surprise! New Labour are breaking their promise not to privatise the underground but keeping their promise to stick with Tory spending plans. Five minutes into a Labour government and Tube workers are already disgusted.
The huge funding crisis is already affecting the day to day running of the Underground and the effects will become worse as the lack of long term investment starts to bite.
Tracks and trains are not being maintained to the same standards, escalators are causing problems, signalling desperately needs renewing. Staff in all areas have been cut to a minimum.
That is to say, we thought it was a minimum but the bosses are looking to cut another 400 jobs from safety and engineering staff, which would inevitably affect safety if they got away with it. On top of that, 450 guards' jobs are to be axed on the Northern Line.
Maastricht
Prescott's plans to deliver LUL are a direct results of the government's attempts to keep to the Maastricht criteria. Bankers have decided on these criteria which keep the public borrowing to three percent of gross domestic product.
So New Labour won't break their limit by investing in the tube. However, a public/private partnership allows investment to take place within the rules. It's no wonder the term "merchant banker" has another meaning to Cockneys.
Business "leaders" like the road lobby group "London First", the CBI and the London Chamber of Commerce are busily meeting with other greedy capitalists to get some of the jam from Prescott's plans.
Investment will have to be made just to keep the Underground going in its present overcrowded form, let alone cope with the big anticipated demand over the next few years.
¡he private rinance inmative (PFI) is a type of privatisation that will cost the public more in the long run, however happy it keeps the merchant bankers. Whatever investment the private firms make will be paid back with knobs on by the government over a fixed period of years.
Furthermore, private firms will obviously take control of the work and find opportunities to cut costs, which means cutting wages, working conditions and safety.
The introduction of trains on the Northern Line, the last line with guards, is part of a Labour supported PFi.
Out of pocket
GEC supply the trains and have kidnapped London Underground staff who do train maintenance, cutting their pay in the process. By the time the taxpayers have finished paying off GEC, they will be millions out of pocket.
John Prescott has admitted that PFi is not the only option under consideration. Far from reversing the privatisation of British Rail, Labour is considering a similar privatisation of LUL. Obviously the outcome would be the same - increased subsidies, a worse service, attacks on workers.
So it's time London Underground workers recognised their enemy for what it is _canitalism. Since the sec. ond world war, Labour as well as Tory governments have followed an anti-rail, pro-road policy, which is certainly not about to be reversed, despite all the "green" rhetoric.
The Jubilee Line extension and Docklands Light Railway were paid for by us and are putting millions into the pockets of land speculators and businessmen. They won't be subject to a windfall tax, nor will LUL be relieved from the crippling cost of the Jubilee Line.
The simple fact is that the New Labour government and their establishment colleagues in Britain and Europe are out to get us. There's no relaxing now Labour's here - we have to put our mitts up.