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If the bosses dont talk...

Get the strikes back on

P

lanned strikes on Friday 13

and Monday 16 February by
more than 20,000 London
bus drivers to win one rate for the
job across the capital have been
suspended by Unite.
The union says this is a goodwill
gesture and is calling on the 18 bus
operators to come to talks at the
conciliation service ACAS.
But bus bosses dont respond to
gestures thats why it was wrong to
stop the strikes.
If there were problems in some
garages, they need to be resolved
by intensive campaigning and
explaining to every driver that they
will gain from winning this dispute.
And drivers need to see a strategy
to win.

Spike

Unite says it will expose Transport for

Londons (TfL) possibly unlawful
interference in the dispute so far.
It is calling on them to sign up to a
neutrality agreement to prove that
they arent trying to spike negotiations
between the bus operators and the
union.
Many drivers will be wondering
what happens next. Many rightly
wanted to see the strikes go ahead. The
decision to suspend comes on the back
of two 24 hour strikes that hit the
headlines and caused chaos across the
capital.
The suspension threatens to break
the momentum the campaign has
developed. We have to push to get the
strikes back on.
The fact that Tory Mayor Boris
Johnson and TfL are up to their necks
in this dispute isnt a surprise. Johnson
is anti-union to the core.
TfL has continually blamed Unite
throughout the dispute, despite
being responsible for a transport
system thats seen bus drivers pay and

job, years on new starter rates with

seniority lost if you transfer to another
company all this will be a thing of
the past if the union wins this fight.

Meetings
Pickets at Camberwell bus garage Photo: Guy Smallman

conditions under attack for years.

Meanwhile the employers rake in
the profits (171 million according to
the last accounts).

Explain

There can be no let up in the campaign

to explain the issues to drivers and the
public.
Managers have lied about the
unions campaign even claiming
at some garages that Unite wants to
level down the wages of senior drivers,
rather than improve the rate for
everyone.
These lies have to be taken on.
Everyone has to be clear that if the
strikes win every driver wins.
This is about much more than pay.
It is about a single set of conditions
across the board.
Hundreds of different rates of pay
across the capital, over 3 an hour
difference in pay for doing the same

Mass meetings at garages, meetings

for union activists across London,
more union leaflets, bulletins and
notices would all help to explain the
issues to all drivers and involve more
members in the campaign and in
further strikes.
Thousands of drivers have struck
and joined the picket lines. Its crucial
for the future of every bus worker in
London that this dispute gets a result.
Unite cannot back off. That means
striking hard to win.

Vote for a
fightback
Were just months away from a general
election. The Tories are set on continuing the
assault on workers if re-elected.
But Labour are also committed to Tory
spending plans and austerity. Unite just
agreed to donate 1.5 million to Labours
election fund but what do we get in return?
More cuts and more scapegoating?
The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition
is standing candidates across Britain who
will stand up for working class people.
We should support them.
Find out more at www.tusc.org.uk

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