MASS STRIKE ACTION IS COMING

Although the October the 10th strike by Metrobus was stopped because of a "Legal challenge being lodged", up to 6,000 London bus workers across other companies took part in legal industrial action on Friday.

This will be followed by an even bigger strike on 22 October that could bring London to a standstill.

2,500 drivers from 11 Metroline garages in north and north west London will join Friday’s action along side First center east and First center west.

The strikes are the latest step in the Unite union’s campaign to win equal and improved pay and conditions across all the bus companies in London.

They will be an inspiration to the millions of people across Britain fighting for better wages, challenging privatisation or fed up with being treated with contempt by their bosses.

Bus workers at several different companies have voted overwhelmingly for action.

Unite members at Metroline voted by 88.5 percent to strike.

“When the First drivers were out it was frustrating for us. We really wanted to be on strike alongside them. Now we’ve got a chance to be part of London-wide action.”

A driver at First added, “Things cannot continue the way they are. The low pay means many of us have to work 60 hours a week just to pay the bills. No one should live like that. We want to have time for our children, to have some quality in our lives.”

Unite is calling for a driver’s wage of £30,000 or a rise of 5 percent, whichever is higher, based on a 38-hour week.

Competition to win routes from Transport for London has driven down pay.

There can be as much as £6,000 a year difference in rates between rival bus companies.

Joe Boahene, the Unite branch chair at First’s Westbourne Park garage, said that the mood among drivers is good.

“The drivers are ready to strike again. They are all happy to hear that we are not on our own and that Metroline drivers are joining the action. We had some encouragement last week when we heard that the company’s head negotiator is ‘retiring’ from the negotiations. We think it’s a sign they are rattled.”

Around 2,500 workers in the RMT union at Metronet, which is responsible for maintenance work on most of the London Underground, are also balloting for action over the victimisation of Andy Littlechild, a union rep.

Their ballot closes on Wednesday of next week – which means the union could call action alongside bus workers on 22 October.

And thousands of drivers employed by Arriva North, Arriva South, East London and East Thames buses are also balloting for strikes in time to join the action on 22 October.

Keith Apple, a Unite rep at East Thames buses said, “All the signs are that we will win the vote for strike action. The last offer of 4 percent was overwhelmingly rejected. We need to make sure that union members see that our campaign is part of a bigger picture. How long is the working class going to be paying for the rich? Whenever they mess up, they expect us to pay. Bus workers need to stand up and be counted.”

There are many stories that show how the campaign is gathering in strength.

At the London General company, management tried to stop Unite reps from balloting on the premises.

The reps took the ballot boxes outside onto the pavement – where they won an overwhelming vote to support strike action and signed up a number of new union members.

At Transdev Sovereign, drivers voted last week by an incredible 98 percent for strike action in a consultative ballot.

They are now proceeding to a formal postal strike ballot.

The result is a victory for the rank and file drivers who have, in the space of a few months, transformed the union branch from one which went along with many management demands to one of the strongest sections of the pay campaign.

This campaign can win and it can also strengthen the union across London’s buses.

Workers at different garages need to build up grassroots networks to share information, advice and solidarity.

The bus strikes should also give confidence to other workers that there is a real mood to fight over pay.

Trade unionists should take collections and messages of support to the picket lines to build support for, and links with, this key group of workers.

WE ARE FIGHTING FOR PAY AND RESPECT

“We are fighting for pay – but we are also fighting for respect. We want our lives and our dignity back.”

These were the words of one of 2,500 striking London bus workers, but this is also the collective thoughts of the majority of us.

We express the feelings of millions in Britain struggling with low pay, long hours and rising bills, who are treated with contempt by their bosses.

As recession looms and prices spiral the pressure on working people is mounting.

On the buses this often means working a 50-hour week just to make ends meet.

As bus drivers, like many others, leave work each day exhausted.

We find that we never have enough time to spend with our families.

To add insult to injury, competing bus operators are driving down wages and conditions so workers get vastly different rates of pay for the same job.

But bus workers are fighting back....

The strike by drivers in the Unite union was a huge success, with mass pickets bringing many garages, including ours, to a standstill.

Thousands more London bus workers are now balloting for strikes.

The growing anger is turning into action.

As one of our co-workers at Metrobus said, “The companies are still making huge profits. They are not suffering – we are. We have to make a stand.”

PAY RISE AFTER DEATH

One of the main reasons for the drivers of Metrobus Croydon voting for industrial action, (that has been stopped to to a "legal challenge being lodged") was the "strings" that were attached to the offer of a 4% pay rise.

Until last year, Metrobus drivers would start on a £10.50 per hour pay packet, with the potential to progress to £13.53 an hour.

But now Metrobus have capped the higher salary scale to just £11.50, unless one of the employees already on the £13.53 per hour salary dies or resigns and can be replaced.

Does this mean that a company that exists to make profit would want to pay longer serving drivers £13.53 an hour, or employ a workforce of drivers on £11.50 an hour?

Over the course of 1 year this would be a saving of over £4200 per each driver for Metrobus if they choose to only employ drivers on the capped rate.

If the Croydon depot was to only employ drivers at the capped rate this would be a saving of almost £13 Million...

Add the Orpington and Crawley depots into that mix and that equals an awful lot of money....

So Drivers of Metrobus on the higher rate of pay, ask yourself the question:

Do I have a target placed on my head?

Would Metrobus like to see me gone to make way for a workforce that gives them millions more in profit?

Take note of the fact that the new pay structure makes no mention that drivers on the capped rate will be elevated to the higher rate if a fellow driver is sacked from his position, only if they die or resign...

Stay safe....

And healthy.

RECORD PROFITS: CASHING IN ON BUS DRIVERS... AND THE PUBLIC

While our lives are dominated by the stress of living on low pay and working long hours, private bus operators are reaping in record profits.

The Go-Ahead Group proudly proclaim on our staff notice board that their bus operations made an operating revenue of £557 Million last year.

But Metrobus/Go-Ahead is not alone in making record profits.

First Group is Britain’s largest bus and rail operator with annual revenues of around £5 billion.

It reported a 12 percent leap in profits for the first six months of this year, making £103 million, including £48 million alone from bus operations.

Earlier this month First reported that its British bus operations are booming – with revenues on those businesses up 7.5 percent in six months.

Meanwhile Arriva – the largest bus operator in London – saw profits for the first six months of this year leap by an incredible 40 percent to £66 million.

It has seen a 20 percent expansion of its bus division in the same period.

But competition is fierce in the dog eat dog world of the bus companies.

Metroline, another major London operator, is owned by Singapore-based Comfort Delgro, which boasts that it is the second largest land transport operator in the world.

As well as being the largest bus operator in Singapore, the company also runs buses in Ireland, Britain, Australia and China.

It is also the biggest single taxi operator in Britain and Singapore.

Comfort Delgro is keen to expand. Unhappy with being the world’s second biggest, it says it aims “to be the world’s number one land transport operator in terms of fleet size, profitability and growth within the next four to six years”.

Since the deregulation and privatisation of the bus industry, competition between the operators has created big profits for the shareholders but driven down pay and conditions.

Services have also suffered.

Outside London there is chaos in many towns and cities, with less profitable routes serving out of town and rural areas being run down, and lucrative areas seeing several operators with different ticketing schemes competing on the same routes.

The strikes currently taking place on the London buses offer an opportunity to challenge the logic of a system where private companies rake in millions while workers and passengers pay the price.

Neither Labour nor Tory London mayors have been willing to challenge the tendering system.

Tory mayor Boris Johnson has announced fare increases on buses and the London Underground of 6 percent in the new year.

These will hit the poorest the hardest.

But strikes by thousands of bus workers across different companies can start to put some demands, not just for better pay, but over the future of the bus industry.

At a time when the chaos of the market is clear for all to see, we should campaign for buses to be taken back into public hands and to be funded properly.

The UNITE Union and the majority of London Bus drivers want to see the Buses returned to the control of the public and taken away from fat-cat bosses that want more and more and more profit.

We want to see the Buses given back to the people who rely on and need the service.

We want to see the hundreds of millions of pounds of PUBLIC funds that are given to the bosses and share holders of these private industries used for the public, not for profit.

We want to see the money that tax payers give to these companies not be used for pure profit, instead be used to re-build the London Bus industry.

We are not striking to hold the public to ransom.

We are striking because we are unhappy that our private industry employers continue to get rich by exploiting US THE DRIVERS and THE PUBLIC.

And if we just sit back and watch our pay decreased to watch their profits rise then nothing will be achieved.

Lets hope that the London Bus network can be returned to Transport for London in the same way that the Croydon Tram service was, so the money put into this industry can be used to fund the industry, not just create profit for large corporations.

METROBUS SEPTEMBER INDUSTRIAL ACTION PART ONE

Strike action over pay by around 3,500 London bus workers at two other companies brought many garages and bus routes to a complete standstill last month.

Drivers and supervisors at First Centrewest and First Capital in east and west London in the Unite union were starting a 48 hour strike – their second strike action in a fortnight.

Along with our garage we were joined by Metrobus workers at the garages in Crawley and Orpington.

This was our first strike, our first opportunity to make our feelings become public knowledge.

There were large pickets at all the garages on strike.

Strikers at both companies were clearly happy and motivated by the joint action.

Strikes were solid at both companies with only a handful of buses going out.

At our garages there were people signing up to union membership on the picket line.

Thanks also to staff from Arriva and Travel London for joining our picket line and showing support.

The action was part of Unite’s campaign for equal higher pay across all London garages.

Unite official Len McClusky spoke to strikers at Westbourne Park in west London.

He told the strikers that drivers at other companies are set to join the action, he said. “You are an example to other bus workers across this city.”

At Orpington bus garage around 50 Metrobus strikers had gathered by 7am.

They brought flags, a gazebo and even a barbeque.

Drivers on buses from other companies hooted support as they went past.

Two Metrobus Drivers said, “It's been a very good turnout. We planned it so drivers join the picket line when their shifts would start, so we should have a steady flow of people all day. Why is it that in one garage just up the road drivers get £4,000 more for doing the same routes in the same area? We all do the same job – so we want the same wage for every bus driver. The Mayor of London said the city’s bus drivers are among the finest in the world, so they should pay us the money to show it! It's not all to do with money though, its about the terms and conditions we're having to work under."

Metrobus drivers at our Croydon garage formed a lively picket line, with 120 drivers standing strong and many more joining later in the day.

Many of the conversations on the picket line were about how to win more united action across London and drivers from a number of bus companies turned up to offer their solidarity.

People were honking as they drove past to give their support and drivers delivering goods to the depot refused to cross the picket line.

A BBC News crew conducted interviews which featured on the lunch time and evening news. (which can be viewed in the youtube links.)

Through the day there was a strong feeling of unity along with the hope that a positive change will take place.

Suppliers and delivery drivers visiting the depot also refused to cross the picket line, supporting our cause. Thanks to Scania, UPS, DHL and Mercedes Benz for standing strong.

At the Crawley Metrobus depot around 30 pickets gathered outside.

Metrobus is the major bus operator in the area so the strike had a big impact.

Drivers were confident and determined.

They were enthusiastic about being involved in the London pay campaign, even though they are based some way out of the capital city.

Many talked about their concerns over the low rate for new starters at the company.

Strikers said that management’s latest pay offer included so many strings that many drivers would only break even and some may actually face a pay cut.

The same spirit of determination was evident at the picket lines of the bus operator "First".

Around 50 strikers joined the picket line at Greenford bus depot in west London.

Branch chair of the Unite union Naynam Shah said, “We are certain the strike is solid. And it is a boost that Metrobus are out with us and that other companies will be balloting soon. It's a disgrace that the bus companies making millions are refusing to give us a decent pay rise.”

At Westbourne Park in west London, more than 60 pickets joined the early morning picket. Striker Omar said, “The strike is very good. We’ll see what happens after tomorrow – but we are prepared to strike again. The company is making so much money. But I have to live on about £350 a week – for me, my wife and two children. It is hard because the price of everything is going up.”

J Mistry the Unite branch secretary at the garage, added, “We are the lifeblood of London – we don’t want to have to bring the city to a standstill but we will if we have to.”

Between 30 and 40 pickets gathered at garages in Dagenham, east London, and at Willesden Junction and Alperton depots in west London.

Some 60 strikers massed outside Northumberland Park depot in Tottenham in North London.

On the picket line at Lea Interchange in east London, about 60 strikers had gathered by 6.30am.

No routes had been covered although managers had taken out a couple of rail replacement buses.

One of the strikers said, “Why is it that gas and electricity companies can put up their bills by as much as they want to but when we ask for a pay rise we get below inflation offers? We are prepared to go all the way in this dispute.”

Nerbel, the Unite union rep said that the strike was very well supported. He commented, “The company had better understand that we are serious. They can try all the tricks in the book, but they can’t break the people’s heart.”

Ballots for action over pay are ongoing at several other bus companies across London. Bus workers should build yes votes in the ballots and campaign for more united action in the future to win decent pay.

METROBUS SEPTEMBER INDUSTRIAL ACTION PART TWO

Around 1,000 bus workers at Metrobus joined the pay battle on the London buses when they went on strike alongside 2,500 First Bus workers last month.

It clearly shows the mood for action over pay and conditions.

For the first time in years all three Metrobus garages were united.

At the recent Unite union’s London bus workers’ conference, activists met to discuss the campaign to win an equal and higher wage, and better conditions across all the London bus operators.

There are pay disputes ongoing at many bus companies in London. Thousands of drivers at Arriva South and Metroline recieved postal strike ballots after workers at both companies voted by over 95 percent for strikes in recent consultative ballots.

The strike by Metrobus workers was timed to coincide with the beginning of a 48-hour strike by workers at First Capital and First Centrewest.

This follows a very lively and solid 24-hour strike by the First workers earlier this month.

Osman, the Unite rep at Westbourne Park bus garage said “Our last strike was very strong – and we know that this one will be even better supported. Drivers are determined to win this fight. First is the biggest bus operator in Britain. It makes huge profits – yet it refuses to pay us decent wages.”

Another First worker added, “Management are trying to undermine our unity by encouraging people to work during the strike. They show us no respect at all. Shame on the company for treating us this way. None of us can really afford to strike. We’re losing three days pay. But we have no choice. We have to make a stand – and we have to make the company listen to us.”

The First and Metrobus strikes are the opening shots in a fight involving bus workers across the capital.

The strength and resolve of the strikes will be important in ensuring that the struggle for decent pay goes forward across London.

The stakes are very high and many drivers at other companies are asking when they will be joining the strikes.

The campaign on the buses is part of a growing pay fight among workers squeezed by low pay and soaring costs.

Workers at other bus companies should support the strikes by visiting the picket lines and – most importantly – by refusing to settle for less than the union’s claim for 5 percent or £30,000 based on a 38-hour week.

WHAT IS A STRIKE?

WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF A "STRIKE"?

( "Strike", painting by Stanisław Lentz.)

Strike action, often simply called a strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal by employees to perform work.

A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances.Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became important in factories and mines.

In most countries, they were quickly made illegal, as factory owners had far more political power than workers.

Most western countries partially legalized striking in the late 19th or early 20th centuries.

Strikes are sometimes used to put pressure on governments to change policies. Occasionally, strikes destabilise the rule of a particular political party.

A notable example is the Gdansk Shipyard strike led by Lech Walesa. This strike was significant in the struggle for political change in Poland, and was an important mobilised effort that contributed to the fall of governments in communist East Europe.

The strike tactic has a very long history.

Towards the end of the 20th dynasty, under Pharaoh Ramses III in ancient Egypt in the 12th century BC, the workers of the royal necropolis organized the first known strike or workers’ uprising in history.

The event was reported in detail on a papyrus at the time, which has been preserved, and is currently located in Turin.

The use of the word "strike" in this sense first appeared in 1768, when sailors, in support of demonstrations in London, "struck" or removed the topgallant sails of merchant ships at port, thus crippling the ships.

The Mexican Constitution was the first, all over the world, that constitutionally guaranteed the right to strike, in 1917.

Most strikes are undertaken by labour unions during collective bargaining.

The object of collective bargaining is to obtain a contract (an agreement between the union and the company,) and the contract may include a no-strike clause which prevents strikes, or penalizes the union and/or the workers if they walk out while the contract is in force.

The strike is typically reserved as a threat of last resort during negotiations between the company and the union, which may occur just before, or immediately after, the contract expires.

Sometimes a union will strike rather than sign an agreement with a no-strike clause.

Such an action was documented in Harlan County, USA, a video about a United Mine Workers strike.

In some industrial unions, the no-strike clause is considered controversial.

Generally, strikes are rare: according to the News Media Guild, 98% of union contracts in the United States are settled each year without a strike.

Occasionally, workers decide to strike without the sanction of a labour union, either because the union refuses to endorse such a tactic, or because the workers concerned are not unionized.

Such strikes are often described as unofficial.

Strikes without formal union authorization are also known as wildcat strikes.

In many countries, wildcat strikes do not enjoy the same legal protections as recognized union strikes, and may result in penalties for the union members who participate or their union.

The same often applies in the case of strikes conducted without an official ballot of the union membership, as is required in some countries such as the United Kingdom.

A strike may consist of workers refusing to attend work or picketing outside the workplace to prevent or dissuade people from working in their place or conducting business with their employer.

Less frequently workers may occupy the workplace, but refuse either to do their jobs or to leave.

This is known as a sit-down strike.

Another unconventional tactic is work-to-rule (also known as an Italian strike, in italian Sciopero bianco), in which workers perform their tasks exactly as they are required to but no better.

For example, workers might follow all safety regulations in such a way that it impedes their productivity or they might refuse to work overtime.

Such strikes may in some cases be a form of "partial strike" or "slowdown"; while Italian law allows that (no one can be sanctioned for following the safety and/or security rules) such form of strike is "unprotected" in some circumstances under United States labor law, meaning that while the tactic itself is not unlawful, the employer may fire the employees who engage in it.

During the development boom of the 1970s in Australia, the Green ban was developed by certain more socially conscious unions.

This is a form of strike action taken by a trade union or other organised labour group for environmentalist or conservationist purposes.

This developed from the black ban, strike action taken against a particular job or employer in order to protect the economic interests of the strikers.

A sympathy strike is, in a way, a small scale version of a general strike in which one group of workers refuses to cross a picket line established by another as a means of supporting the striking workers.

Sympathy strikes may be undertaken by a union as an organization or by individual union members choosing not to cross a picketline.

In Britain, sympathy strikes were banned by the Thatcher government in 1980.

The Industrial Relations Act 1971 was repealed through the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1974, sections of which were repealed by the Employment Act 1982.

In 2003, there was a Firefighter dispute in the United Kingdom. The armed forces had to provide temporary cover, using outdated machinery.

The strike action was legal under British labour law, although it was condemned by some.

The Code of Practice on Industrial Action Ballots and Notices, and sections 22 and 25 of the Employment Relations Act 2004, which concern industrial action notices, commenced on 1st October 2005.

Legislation was enacted in the aftermath of the 1919 police strikes, forbidding British police from both taking industrial action, and discussing the possibility with colleagues.

The Police Federation which was created at the time to deal with employment grievances, and provide representation to police officers, has increasingly put pressure on the government, and repeatedly threatened strike action.

Methods used by employers to deal with strikes:

Most strikes called by unions are somewhat predictable; they typically occur after the contract has expired. However, not all strikes are called by union organizations — some strikes have been called in an effort to pressure employers to recognize unions.

Other strikes may be spontaneous actions by working people. Spontaneous strikes are sometimes called "wildcat strikes"; most commonly, they are responses to serious (often life-threatening) safety hazards in the workplace rather than wage or hour disputes, etc.

Whatever the cause of the strike, employers are generally motivated to take measures to prevent them, mitigate the impact, or to undermine strikes when they do occur.

Strike preparation:

Companies which produce products for sale will frequently increase inventories prior to a strike. Salaried employees may be called upon to take the place of strikers, which may entail advance training.

If the company has multiple locations, personnel may be redeployed to meet the needs of reduced staff.

Strike breaking:

Some companies negotiate with the union during a strike; other companies may see a strike as an opportunity to eliminate the union.

This is sometimes accomplished by the importation of replacement workers, or strikebreakers.

Historically, strike breaking has often coincided with union busting.

It was also called ‘Black legging’ in the early 20th century, during the Russian socialist movement.

Union busting:

One method of inhibiting a strike is elimination of the union that may launch it, which is sometimes accomplished through union busting.

Union busting campaigns may be orchestrated by labor relations consultants, and may utilize the services of labor spies, or asset protection services. Similar services may be engaged during attempts to defeat organizing drives.