Tube strike hits hard

Submitted by Anon on 27 June, 2009 - 8:06

The two days of strike action on the London Underground over pay, job cuts and management bullying, 9-11 June, were a big success, with management unable to get services running until well into the morning, and then only token shuttles for PR reasons.

The day we started striking, RMT and management reached a deal at ACAS, only for management to “get a phone call” and pull it. The “deal” may not even have been that great, but management showed their true colours: claiming to want a deal then backing out when one was on the cards.

Perhaps management hoped that ASLEF, another union which organises some drivers on the Tube, could deliver them a service through its disgraceful letter to members telling them to break the strike. Sadly for LUL, not all ASLEF members do as their leaders tell them: many respected picket lines and helped keep the action strong.

Pickets were in most cases well-organised and lively. There was some scabbing, as there almost always is, but we cannot let a handful of people who cannot see past their next pay packet drag the rest of us down.

Talks seem to slow down to a snail’s pace when industrial action is finished and no further action yet called. Giving time for talks before naming any more action can’t go on indefinitely. Management need to know that Tube and TfL workers are ready and willing to take action again.

• More: www.workersliberty.org/twblog

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