On 28 May, 17:04, MIG wrote:
On 28 May, 14:54, rail wrote:



In message
* * * * * Mizter T wrote:

On May 28, 12:38*pm, "Recliner" wrote:
About 10,000 Tube workers have voted to strike on two separate disputes
over pay deals and proposed job losses.

The vote, by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union,
was rerun after London Underground (LU) legally challenged a previous
ballot.

Workers will go on a 48-hour strike which will begin at 1859 BST on 9
June and end on 11 June.

The strike is expected to bring havoc to the Tube network, used by more
than three million passengers a day.

The RMT said the ballot result was "overwhelmingly" in favour of strike
action with 2,810 voting for and 488 against.

Earlier LU had said it believed the issues with the RMT could be
resolved without a strike.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8071423.stm

Is this perhaps the RMT flexing their muscles now that the universally
liked and respected MD of London Underground, Tim O'Toole, has
departed?

As it is a rerun of a previous ballot, I suspect that is unlikely. *IIRC the
original ballot was in favour of stike action.

Assuming the BBC have got the facts correct I can't see any union going for a
5 year deal in the current situation. *The other side is that a 5% pay claim
is also unrealistic. *Sounds like both sides need their heads banging
together.

These things are negotiating positions, which need to be followed by
negotiation. *When the management won't negotiate, they refer to
"demands", but how does anyone state a negotiating position that
couldn't be described by someone else as a demand?

Strikes are generally the result of a management refusal to negotiate,
rather than the expectation of a "demand" being met in full.

Strikes are the result of strikers knowing that they can extract more
by threatening to strike or by actually striking.

In general, tube drivers can extract a lot because management is in a
very weak position.

Normally, if you end up with an intransigent work force, you could
build up stock, determine that strikers have resigned, and recruit new
staff. You can't build stock in a service industry so it's not an
option. So management have no choice but to give in to ever more
extreme demands.