By a SWT striker What started as a small local dispute at Waterloo has now spread to the whole of South West Trains (SWT) with all bar 5% of trains halted on August 29 as drivers from the RMT and ASLEF went on strike. Picket lines were in place at all SWT drivers depots.
Only a handful of the 1000+ drivers broke the strike. All trains were stopped on most lines with only a handful of trains running on one or two lines. Substitute bus services ran for propaganda purposes but did nothing to dent the massive disruption caused by the successful strike. Further strike days have been called for September 8 and 11.
SWT makes nearly £3 million profit each week. It aims to increase its profits by further squeezing its workforce. For Waterloo drivers, a move to undermine long-term arrangements to get them to and from work wy laxi walen no olner public services are available was the final straw. RMT and ASLEF drivers have held a series of one-day strikes. But these were undermined by managers driving trains on strike days.
Clearly unsafe, this was a breach of previous agreements which set out that managers would only drive trains in dire emergencies to protect public safety.
Despite close collaboration between ASLEF and RMT members at Waterloo, broadening the dispute had been hampered by a failure to co-ordinate between the unions at a higher level. The anti-union laws present many hurdles; overcoming them needs the unions to work together.
Unfortunately ASLEF nationally consistently refuses to discuss its plans with the RMT. Nevertheless, both unions were eventually able to take combined action to oppose SWT's scabbing operation.
SWT is in the last stages of negotiations with the government for a new franchise arrangement. They seem to have decided that a show of strength against the rail unions will do them no harm in their talks. Indeed it looks like they have little to lose.
No one holds them to account on safety. Using scab managers is clearly unsate. This was highlighted on Tuesday when a 12-carriage train was driven into Waterloo -onto an eight carriage platform.
Passengers had to be evacuated through the drivers cab. But, as in previous disputes, it seems that the Heath & Safety Inspectorate will turn a blind eye to these problems.
And they suffer no financial losses. As they have done with every rail dispute since privatisation, the government will underwrite any losses incurred by SWT. Millions of pounds of extra state funding will be channelled into protecting SWT shareholders' dividends.
Drivers on SWT need our support. As well as the company wide strikes, Waterloo drivers are taking more limited action every day, which is resulting in numbers of drivers being sent home each day without pay - even if they have completed most of their shift.
As well as supporting picket lines on strike days we should demand that SWT lose their franchise - they have clearly shown they are not fit to continue to milk profit from their rail monopoly - and return the railway to public ownership and control.
The Railway Inspectorate should be forced to intervene to protect rail safety and stop SWT's unsafe scab working practices.
And the government should be forced to stop intervening on the bosses side every time there is a rail dispute, stopping their additional subsidy to cover strike "losses"