Striking out
I’ve had a client over from the US this week and chatting with him has really brought it home to me what a strange few days it has been. First we elect two BNP members to the European Parliament, despite widespread outrage and condemnation of their policies.
Then our tube drivers go on strike, which although is massively inconvenient for many (not me, god bless Streatham’s surplus of overground stations) does seem to bring out a real stoicism in Londoners. Whatever the city’s faults, its citizens rarely let things faze them and just shrug and carry on with their business in the face of adversity.
Will this stoicism last another 48 hours though? Fighting for bus space is no fun and I wonder how people will view the dispute between LU and tube workers on Thursday evening? I broadly support the right to strike but when tube workers do so the impact is such that I suspect public sympathy will be scarce. Especially when you see that they earn a decent wage (£40K) for a 35 hour working week.
With an estimated cost to business of £100m over the two day strike, what do you think? Justified action or holding bosses to ransom? To paraphrase Alan Sugar I’m going to get me a cushion and sit on the fence. Ask me again tomorrow evening though and I may have shifted to the political right a little.
Tags: Business, European elections, London, tube strike
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Comments (8)
June 10th, 2009 at 8:21 am Posted by Ged
One of the big issues is that the tube drivers don’t have public opinion behind them, if they’d striked the Friday before a bank holiday weekend, maybe things would be different. Stand firm on the negotiations Boris!
June 10th, 2009 at 8:25 am Posted by Hugh McKinney
When we realise that less than 14% of the RMT members voted for the strike and that one of the two drivers were sacked on suspicion of theft and the other for opening the doors on the wrong side of the carriage, you wonder whose interests the RMT are serving.
June 10th, 2009 at 8:49 am Posted by Alison Denham
I don’t know about stoic, but the Londoners I met on my one hour walk today were universally grumpy. Evidently the tube workers on their £40k salaries can afford to lose a day or two in pay, but for many commuters this wasn’t an option, so they had to struggle in to do their far day’s work for a fair day’s pay. No cushion needed here, I think the strikers are selfish and unreasonable.
June 10th, 2009 at 8:53 am Posted by Georgina
The unions sometimes get it so wrong. They’re about as out of touch with public opinion as Brown is. In the current economic situation, people are not sympathetic to the Tube workers, who have jobs, are well paid and only work 35 hours a week.
June 10th, 2009 at 9:15 am Posted by Andrew Knill
I too am sat on the fence on this issue but for slightly different reasons. That reason is I really don’t know who’s telling ‘the truth’. If you believe the London Mayor’s PR machine the RMT pulled out of a last minute deal on Monday night over the sacking of two tube workers. If you believe the head of the RMT speaking on the Today programme this morning they had apparently signed a last minute deal but that deal was pulled by a senior member of the mayor’s office before the strike could be called off. Both sides blame each other but who should we blame. Personally I blame the guy who pushed me out of the way to force his way onto the 521 this morning. As good a reason as either side has given me so far.
June 10th, 2009 at 9:42 am Posted by Ian Glover
Despite the fact that my usual commute was over two hours compared to a normal commute of half an hour I still have sympathy for the strikers.
Workers have the right to strike and go without pay when they do. If they feel the need to strike to get their message across to obstinate management then fair play.
Should we really get so upset about an inconvenience such as being an hour late for work when they are fighting to protect their jobs after the collapse of Metronet?
Is it all about greed and a couple of days holiday - methinks not.
June 10th, 2009 at 12:56 pm Posted by Philippe Pham
Tube strikes? We have them all the time in Paris.
Public opinion over there: divided. Most of commuters would say Metro staff will never happy anyway and we’re victims again while some people would actually support the strikes as a necessary fight against the degradation of lifestyle.
June 10th, 2009 at 12:57 pm Posted by Alison Denham
Ian, you may not be upset about being an hour late for work, but what about the employer who pays you to work that hour? Multiply that hour by every employee in London who was late today and you start to see the wider financial impact of those workers exercising their right to strike. Does your solidarity extend as far as sacrificing an hour of your salary?
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