Summary
THE THREATENED strike action by Tube maintenance workers is the first serious test of industrial relations for Metronet, the Public Private Partnership consortium which employs many of them. It has sacked seven men and demoted one following the discovery of empty beer cans in their mess room at Farringdon station. Commuters have enough on their plates with engineering works overrunning, as happened yesterday, without having to endure the sabre-rattling of trade union leaders who call for strike ballots at the drop of a hat. Less than three months ago, Bob Crow and his RMT militants were ready to bring the Tube network to a halt on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve on behalf of a member who claimed sick leave for an injured ankle and was dismissed after being caught playing squash at a sports centre.
This time, Tube maintenance workers have voted overwhelmingly for a series of 24-hour stoppages, starting on 12 March. This is despite the fact that there are strict rules about alcohol being kept on Tube premises, whether or not staff are drinking it, for obvious safety reasons. The union has blamed members of the public slipping into the mess room via a gate on the platform which was not always locked.See the full content of this document
Extract
Carrying the Can
But in that case, why d...
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