RMT Underground maintenance strike paralyses London.
Guido | 06.09.2007 14:24 | Workers' Movements | London
So it is the height of hypocrisy for Gordon Brown to be describing the RMT Metronet strikers as “wholly irresponsible” when they are in fact on strike to protect their pensions!? Mr Blair (oops I mean Brown) goes on to call their action “totally unnecessary” when all they are doing is following government advice. And that, by the way, is the same government who introduced the ‘Public Private Partnership’ (PPP) to the Underground to begin with. Which resulted in years of total incompetence by PPP company Metronet. Which has now gone bust threatening everything from safety on the Underground, to massive job losses in the maintenance sector to the wiping out of peoples pensions.
And which chancellor introduced PPP?
Nice one Gordon……
On strike for jobs and pensions....
....outside the Metronet HQ.
Not everyone supports the strikers.
At the rally...
...outside the Department of Transport.
The TUCs answer to Tony Soprano arrives....
....to tell it like it is.
Some can remember when the idea of privatised public transport was unthinkable.
The picket at Metronet’s HQ is dramatic to say the least (more on that later). There then follows a rally outside the Department of Transport where the RMT make a lot of noise and make it very clear that this is just the first of six days of planned action.
*****LATEST******
Day two and three of the strike have been suspended by the RMT following nine hours of talks with the bankrupt Metronet, The pensions committee and Transport for London. In other words it appears that the RMT have won!
This from their website:
"We now have in writing from the employer that the originally proposed pension-scheme rescue is withdrawn, and that a full scheme rescue will be placed before the TfL pension trustees board today, and is expected to be in place by Thursday," RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today.
"This means that our members will now actually have their pensions restored to them, which is rather different than promises from a man in an expensive suit.
"Further to the existing assurance that there will be no job losses or transfers during the period of administration, we also now have written commitments that any subsequent proposals will be subject to proper discussions through the existing negotiating machinery and the code of practice agreed at the time the PPP was introduced.
"This means that the threat of 691 job losses, tabled before Metronet's collapse and postponed by the administrator, has been withdrawn entirely.”
The RMT’s reps and pensions committee will meet on Friday to decide if the new deal is good enough for them to accept on behalf of their members. If it is then the strike is a massive victory for the tube maintenance staff and a huge defeat for the bosses and Brown. If its not good enough then the strike will resume on Monday….
Guido
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