Last year I remember writing about tube strikes iand it was on, off, on, off, definitely on, on, off etc etc. So it's now 2002 and here we go again. London's already been hit by several rail strikes on South West Train so now it's the Tube's turn.
Here's a quick summary from the Evening Standard Newspaper from 21st Feb 2002
"Union leaders today ordered two 48-hour strikes on the Tube - deliberately timed to cause maximum disruption to passengers.
"The first will begin at noon on Tuesday, 5 March and last until midday on Thursday, 7 March. The second will take place from the same time on Tuesday, 26 March, until noon Thursday, 28 March.
"The timing of the strikes means that disruption for the Tube's three million-a-day users is spread over three days in each stoppage - although the strikers will only lose two days' pay each time."
What's it all about? - in a nutshell
This time it's about pay which is the usual complaint although the last one included pay and conditions. Some of those conditions included the lack of kettles to make tea! Folks this is Britain and only in Britain can people go on strike over not being able to make a proper cup of tea (They had hot water in urns but this wasn't considered hot enough to be at boiling point to make the ideal cuppa).
So putting the tea issue aside, Aslef general secretary Mick Rix commented:
"It is time for London Underground to honour the agreement they negotiated last October and the pay increase they promised our members."
The unions a looking for a deal for their members who drive passenger trains allowing them to catch up with those who drive the engineering trains. The passenger train drivers earn £29,000 a year, around £4,000 less than their engineering colleagues. The engineering drivers work mostly at night. London Underground claim that the two driving jobs are very different and deserve the large pay differential. However, the unions are not claiming all the difference but are demanding an extra £1,600, which doesn't seem an extreme demand to me.
Last October a series of planned strikes were called off at the eleventh hour as both sides seemed to reach an agreement. However it looks like they were wrong!
Go To Page: 1 2
