"disgoftunwells" wrote in message



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.

Yes, there's a long tradition in Britain and elsewhere of producers of
highly perishable goods (newspapers, trains, airlines, etc) being held
to ransom in this way. But such strikers can be defeated, as Murdoch and
Reagan (with air traffic controllers) showed. However, it's much harder
for a public transport organisation like TfL to stand up to such
demands. And MEP candidate Brother Crow has no love for either Labour or
the Tories, so he'll be delighted if either/both of them are damaged by
the strike.