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From The Socialist newspaper, 19 May 2010
Bus workers gear up for action
Hundreds of bus workers from East London Bus Group (ELBG) practically filled East Ham Town Hall on Thursday 13 May to attend a Unite union meeting. ELBG is one of London's biggest bus operators employing several thousand workers in east and south east London.
Union leaders said members had seen ELBG notices claiming the firm needed to save £17 million over six months or the firm would fold. But repainting of garage offices and careful tightening of aspects of health and safety suggested the company was preparing a sell-off. Already supervisors had been told their annual pay was being cut by £4,000 and their numbers could be cut by 10-20.
In recent years ELBG's workers have been the most militant London bus workers and have secured the best pay and conditions in the capital. Their dispute last year over pay and conditions has not been resolved, but three separate strike days last November had built workers' confidence.
Thursday's mass meeting had been called in advance of the next pay negotiations on 18 May. At the meeting, without dissent, the negotiating committee was instructed to call a consultative ballot for action if the bosses proposed any cuts in pay or conditions. Nobody opposed the suggestion that the action might be a week-long strike.
Workers from other London bus firms pledged support. If ELBG workers are defeated, others would follow in the "race to the bottom".
London bus worker
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The coronavirus crisis has laid bare the class character of society in numerous ways. It is making clear to many that it is the working class that keeps society running, not the CEOs of major corporations.
The results of austerity have been graphically demonstrated as public services strain to cope with the crisis.
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In The Socialist 19 May 2010:
Action needed to save our services
Workplace news
Vote Roger Bannister in the Unison general secretary election
British Airways: Another intolerable court judgment
Youth fight for jobs
Youth need job creation, not job slaughter
Socialist Party election analysis
Time for the fight of our lives
Socialist Party news and analysis
Building Coventry Socialist Party after the election
Support for socialists Ian Page and Chris Flood
Packed out London meeting looks to fight against cuts
International socialist news and analysis
Initiative for a week of European-wide protests
Italy: ControCorrente socialists support CWI
Thailand's government orders bloody crackdown on protesters
Kazakhstan: "Thanks comrades for support"
USA: Putting forward a Socialist Alternative in Seattle
Marxist analysis: history
The Tragedy of the Chinese Revolution by Harold Isaacs
Obituary
Peter Hadden - an inspiring life for socialism
Socialist Party workplace news
Communication Workers Union conference: Hands off Royal Mail!
Bus workers gear up for action
RMT ballots Tube Lines workers
National Shop Stewards Network conference: International rally planned
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