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Strike breaking law

I've just written this to the RMT. I think in light of these developments, we're going to need a new approach to industrial action. A way to pressurise bosses without giving them a platform to shout about disruptions to travellers / the economy etc.

It's just a thought, and not a novel one, but I really feel the time has come for this.

* * *

Good morning,

I'm writing very quickly to make a suggestion; for context I am not an RMT member but I am a member of Unison, and it's in a spirit of solidarity that I'm writing.

I don't want to go on and on so I'll come straight to the point: you'll be well aware that transport strikes cause no end of pain for travellers and give the transport company (whoever that may be) and the government a leg-up to some moral high ground. In many ways, the action is counter productive, and you must be aware of that. What you need, is an action that puts pressure on bosses but not on travellers.

Here's the suggestion: next time you strike, run all services as normal and
1. open all barriers for free travel to everyone, all day.
2. provide tickets for travel but do not accept any payments from travellers.
3. make it clear that your aim is to put pressure on the companies, not travellers.

I believe that this will be a far more effective way to focus the argument on what matters, while at the same time gaining huge support from the travelling public and putting massive stress on the companies and government. It will change the dynamic of industrial action, and importantly will prevent bosses and ministers from blaming the unions for ruining travel plans.

That's all I have to say, I respect and support your actions and I hope you achieve your aims. I think as workers we'd do ourselves a great favour by adopting this kind of approach to industrial actions, wherever it is possible.

Best regards and solidarity,
 
mojo pixy said:
I've just written this to the RMT. I think in light of these developments, we're going to need a new approach to industrial action. A way to pressurise bosses without giving them a platform to shout about disruptions to travellers / the economy etc.

It's just a thought, and not a novel one, but I really feel the time has come for this.

* * *

Good morning,

I'm writing very quickly to make a suggestion; for context I am not an RMT member but I am a member of Unison, and it's in a spirit of solidarity that I'm writing.

I don't want to go on and on so I'll come straight to the point: you'll be well aware that transport strikes cause no end of pain for travellers and give the transport company (whoever that may be) and the government a leg-up to some moral high ground. In many ways, the action is counter productive, and you must be aware of that. What you need, is an action that puts pressure on bosses but not on travellers.

Here's the suggestion: next time you strike, run all services as normal and
1. open all barriers for free travel to everyone, all day.
2. provide tickets for travel but do not accept any payments from travellers.
3. make it clear that your aim is to put pressure on the companies, not travellers.

I believe that this will be a far more effective way to focus the argument on what matters, while at the same time gaining huge support from the travelling public and putting massive stress on the companies and government. It will change the dynamic of industrial action, and importantly will prevent bosses and ministers from blaming the unions for ruining travel plans.

That's all I have to say, I respect and support your actions and I hope you achieve your aims. I think as workers we'd do ourselves a great favour by adopting this kind of approach to industrial actions, wherever it is possible.

Best regards and solidarity,
Click to expand...
It's a very nice idea but I think it wouldn't work well for two reasons:

a) a large part of the workforce aren't involved in the collection of money so it wouldn't be an effective show of solidarity

b) the part of the workforce involved in collecting money would not only be committing gross misconduct and putting their jobs on the line in a way that striking doesn't, they would presumably be at work alongside bon-unionised non-striking members of staff which could play out pretty badly (imagine turning up at a station with two members of staff, one insisting you pay and one insisting you don't).
 
mojo pixy said:
I've just written this to the RMT. I think in light of these developments, we're going to need a new approach to industrial action. A way to pressurise bosses without giving them a platform to shout about disruptions to travellers / the economy etc.

It's just a thought, and not a novel one, but I really feel the time has come for this.

* * *

Good morning,

I'm writing very quickly to make a suggestion; for context I am not an RMT member but I am a member of Unison, and it's in a spirit of solidarity that I'm writing.

I don't want to go on and on so I'll come straight to the point: you'll be well aware that transport strikes cause no end of pain for travellers and give the transport company (whoever that may be) and the government a leg-up to some moral high ground. In many ways, the action is counter productive, and you must be aware of that. What you need, is an action that puts pressure on bosses but not on travellers.

Here's the suggestion: next time you strike, run all services as normal and
1. open all barriers for free travel to everyone, all day.
2. provide tickets for travel but do not accept any payments from travellers.
3. make it clear that your aim is to put pressure on the companies, not travellers.

I believe that this will be a far more effective way to focus the argument on what matters, while at the same time gaining huge support from the travelling public and putting massive stress on the companies and government. It will change the dynamic of industrial action, and importantly will prevent bosses and ministers from blaming the unions for ruining travel plans.

That's all I have to say, I respect and support your actions and I hope you achieve your aims. I think as workers we'd do ourselves a great favour by adopting this kind of approach to industrial actions, wherever it is possible.

Best regards and solidarity,
Click to expand...
Further to maomao's post don't suppose ticket inspectors are entirely unionised and they'd have a field day with this.
 
Yeah all that, but...

Essentially, in the light of these new laws, actual 'striking' by withholding labour may (albeit temporarily) become mostly useless. Or maybe not - but either way, more creative, cooperative approaches to hassling the bosses may come to be essential in the near future.

This is just one, half-thought-through idea. I'm pretty sure we can improve on it.
 
mojo pixy said:
Yeah all that, but...

Essentially, in the light of these new laws, actual 'striking' by withholding labour may (albeit temporarily) become mostly useless. Or maybe not - but either way, more creative, cooperative approaches to hassling the bosses may come to be essential in the near future.

This is just one, half-thought-through idea. I'm pretty sure we can improve on it.
Click to expand...
I think you're right. If you look at the history of protest there are lots of things people used to do eg rough music which don't happen now. With the recent change in the law new ways of protesting are needed
 
mojo pixy said:
I've been told by my direct boss I'm not allowed to recommend trainees join a union ffs. I'm supposed to be "neutral". I've let them know how unhappy I am about it and why, but more usefully, today i gave the group a little speech I'm going to continue doing, that went something like,

I used to recommend joining a union but I've been told I can't. So I can't tell you your best options are Unison and the GMB, I can't tell you it costs about a tenner a month, I can't tell you it's a basic self-safeguarding measure in an insecure, demanding job. So won't say any of that.

I wonder how long I'll get away with it :thumbs: but seriously, WTF ?
Click to expand...
Don’t even say you can’t. Just tell the boss that you won’t do as he asked and if he kicks off about it, tell him you’ll get your union involved
 
From the Department for Transport website this morning:


News story

New bill to keep Britain moving during transport strikes​

Transport Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill will ensure some transport services still run during strikes.
From:Department for Transport, The Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss MP, and The Rt Hon Anne-Marie Trevelyan MPPublished20 October 2022

passengers at station

  • law will ensure that transport services keep running during strike action
  • the bill will keep Britain moving, allow businesses continuity of some services and allow passengers to still go to work, school and medical appointments
  • delivers on Prime Minister’s commitment to introduce the legislation within first 30 days of Parliament sitting
The government has today (20 October 2022) taken the first steps to ensure transport strikes no longer grind the country to a halt.
The Transport Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill means, even during the most disruptive of strikes, a certain level of services will still run. This will allow passengers to go to work, attend school and make vital medical appointments and allow businesses to continue to grow the economy.
Click to expand...

As well as the huge impact on people’s day-to-day lives, economists have assessed that the first wave of rail strikes alone, in June 2022, cost the UK economy nearly £100 million, putting extra pressures on business and stopping people across the country from accessing their workplace during a cost-of-living crisis.
Click to expand...

This law will mean businesses and passengers are no longer disproportionately and unfairly hit in the pocket through events outside of their control and the decisions of striking workers and the unions.
Click to expand...

The Prime Minister is delivering on her commitment to introduce the legislation within her first 30 parliamentary sitting days and meets a Conservative Party manifesto commitment to limit the impact strikes have on hardworking people and businesses across the country.
Prime Minister Liz Truss said:
Hardworking people and businesses should not be held to ransom by strike action which has repeatedly crippled our transport network this year.
This legislation delivers on our 2019 manifesto and will not only limit the unions’ ability to paralyse our economy, but will ensure passengers across the country can rightly continue to get to work, school or hospital.
Click to expand...
Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said:
Strikes have affected nearly all of us over this last year – whether that means losing out on a day’s pay at work, having to close your business, missing vital medical appointments or stopping our children from getting to school.
It is vital that public transport users have some continuity of service to keep Britain moving and growing – this legislation will give everyone the certainty they need to carry on with their daily lives.
Click to expand...
The legislation will mean:
  • a minimum service level must be in place during transport strikes – if this is not delivered, the unions will lose legal protections from damages
  • employers will specify the workforce required to meet an adequate service level during strikes and unions must take reasonable steps to ensure an appropriate number of specified workers still work on strike days
  • specified workers who still take strike action will lose their protection from automatic unfair dismissal
The bill will set out the legal framework to allow minimum service levels to not only be set across the entire transport sector, but also implemented and enforced.
Click to expand...


The specific details of how minimum service levels will apply to transport services will be set out in secondary legislation in due course after a public consultation.
Click to expand...


The intention of the legislation is that relevant employers and unions agree a minimum service level to continue running during all strikes over a 3-month period. If such a level cannot be agreed, an independent arbitrator – the Central Arbitration Committee – will determine the minimum number of services.
Click to expand...


The bill will undertake its first reading today. The legislation is expected to come into force on transport services across the country in 2023 and follows similar rules already in place in countries across Europe, including France and Spain.
Click to expand...


Rail media enquiries
Media enquiries 0300 7777878
Out of hours media enquiries 0300 7777878
Switchboard 0300 330 3000
Click to expand...
 
I think a lot of lawyers are going to get rich(er) if this legislation gets passed. Unions have no more power to compel people to work during a strike than their employer does.
It goes without saying that the current shit shower in office hasn't thought this through but I suspect it's more an attempt to scare people in to not striking than a serious plan to alleviate the effects of one.
It also goes without saying I think it's a bad idea but I have a feeling that the 2ltr bottle of milk I opened this very morning might possibly last longer than the current Cabinet.
 
We have a number of strikes in Portugal, both railway workers and teachers have been out this week, before Xmas health were out as well. There's a minimum service level legislation in Portugal set by a tribunal but thankfully it doesn't stop the strikes, less 20% of trains ran over two days . Workers inside or outside the EU are fighting exactly the same battles over the same issues.
 
What an absolute shower of washed-up fools. How can they bring this forward with a straight-face? The whole issue shows them in their true light yet again. They've not an ounce of honour or decency among them; or at least they attempt to demonstrate it at every opportunity.

Collectively, for so long now they have been a force of evil, or damage rather. I'd hope most of them, and all who promote them as economically, socially or morally competent or worthy will at least be forced to own the shit and misery they have caused and represent.
 
Initial thoughts on the anti-strike laws are:

1. In rail the planned legislation is unworkable as the operation of the service is too complex. Minimum staffing levels already exist in the NHS, fire and ambulance service. The legislation might have an effect in schools but others will know better than me. But, in the other sectors nah.

2. If introduced the law is likely to promote more strikes as action can be rolled across days with different workers striking on different days. I understand this has been the experience in countries which have gone down the same route. Instead of a one day strike unions would call 3 and 4 day strikes - with everyone doing a bit - maximising disruption and impact.

3. The dropping of proposed new thresholds before strikes can be called - on their own legal advice - really speaks to how desperate the Tories are and how effective the strikes are. Public support solid, strike funds being built and a generalised strike likely next month.

4. It’s guaranteed that the first time the Tories try to impose this there will be a legal challenge as denying someone the right to withdraw their labour is a fundamental breach of human rights and given the complex sectors they want to impose it in it will be impossible for bosses to impose it in a way that does not promote legal challenge.

5. As someone up thread said Reagan simply outlawed strike action by air traffic controllers and set in motion an onslaught by capital that broke the unions in the US. These proposals are cut from the same cloth, but the conditions - the balance of forces, public consent, perceived political legitimacy - are very different. Even Starmer feels bold enough to oppose the plan and make clear Labour would repeal the law.

All of that said, we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that these proposals are an attempt to wind the clock back to the 19th century and to impose forced labour. A naked act of class war. The unions should be coordinating to hound Tory MPs at all times and everywhere: at their surgeries, in their constituency, in London and via social media. If they want class war, they should be given class war.
 
I am disappointed my union has not urged us to strike in solidarity with other union members next week. Is this not allowed any more or something?
 
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