Sacked for defending union rights

London bus driver

Sacked for defending union rights

Reinstate Andy Beadle now

ANDY BEADLE, the TGWU shop steward for the Peckham bus garage in
south London and a long-standing member of the Socialist Party was
"summarily dismissed" on 28 October. His employers are London Central,
part of Go Ahead.

Bill Mullins, Socialist Party national Industrial organiser

The reason given was that he had produced an "unauthorised notice"
calling on his members to vote against the pay deal being proposed by
the local union official.

His members had already voted against the deal once, this was a
second ballot over the same issue. The fact that Andy had continued to
oppose the deal obviously annoyed the bosses and the local union
official.

To add to the suspicion that this official was more prepared to push
the bosses’ agenda, he then refused to represent Andy at the hearing
where he was sacked. Andy wrote to the regional secretary who then sent
another official to represent him.

Who can doubt that by this time the management was feeling confident
enough to sack Andy with impunity?

But over the weekend, once they got over the shock of hearing what
happened, Peckham bus drivers began to organise themselves and formed a
committee to campaign for Andy’s reinstatement. This is open to all TGWU
branch 1/1401 members, the Peckham garage branch.

Peckham bus workers, aided by local Socialist Party members, spent
the weekend leafleting bus workers in Peckham and widely publicising
what has happened. The overwhelming reaction has been anger and a
determination to get Andy his job back.

Campaign

What the employers have been relying on is the lack of confidence
amongst bus drivers, especially as they witnessed the role of the local
official as he tried to browbeat them into accepting the pay deal.

But as a result of the campaign, the mood is now changing to one of
anger and a determination to do everything to win Andy’s re-instatement.

Peckham bus workers know that this is not just an attack on one
individual but an attack on all of them. The message of the London
Central bosses is: "this is what happens to anybody who speaks up" They
hope to further intimidate and scare the bus drivers into accepting all
that is thrown at them.

The break-up of London bus workers into separate companies has led to
huge differences in the earnings of drivers from one part of London to
another and nationally come to that. The pay deal negotiated by the
right-wing officials would still have left a £50 per week difference
with some other London bus workers.

It is these conditions that are building the intensity of feelings
amongst bus workers. The bosses of London Central obviously thought they
had to act now. By sacking Andy they hoped to nip in the bud the
possibility of drivers’ action over their wages and conditions.

It is now possible that this sacking will be the last straw for many
bus workers, not just in Peckham but wider afield.

Peckham bus drivers have called a lobby of the meeting of reps from
the London Central and London General bus companies (CBC) this Thursday,
3 November at 10am in the TGWU office, 3 Woolwich New Road, near
Woolwich Arsenal station. It wants as many bus workers and supporters as
possible to come down to the lobby and demand that the reps get behind
Andy and fight for his re-instatement and ensure that the union does all
in its power to see this happens.

Protest to Peckham garage: 020 7639 1326. London Central buses: 020
8646 1747, fax : 020 8640 2317. [email protected]. Messages
of support to: [email protected]


Life on the buses

Sacked – for my union activity

I AM a Peckham bus driver and the TGWU union rep for the garage. At
least I was until last Friday. When I came out of the meeting with the
garage general manager, no one would believe I’d been sacked – "You’re
joking!" I had to show them the piece of paper, "Decision of
disciplinary hearing … It was decided to summarily dismiss from the
employ of London Central Bus Company Ltd. (ie without notice)".

Andy Beadle

Everyone is beginning to see what this outrageous decision is about.
My "gross misconduct" was to properly represent my members as their
elected shop steward. It’s always been hard to win very much as rep but
I’ve always tried my best.

My crime was to believe in union democracy. I’m always talking to my
members to understand their concerns. I hold meetings – too many
meetings, according to my convenor – to hear the wishes of bus workers
so I can try and help them.

If I can be sacked for "an unauthorised notice likely to bring the
Company into disrepute", it’s lucky they don’t hear what drivers say to
me about the job and the company every single day. They’d have to sack
us all!

And what’s this about an "unauthorised notice"? The notice was fully
authorised by the union branch and branch committee. Our TGWU 1/1401
branch is an independent union. We don’t need management’s approval for
our notices. The bosses have stopped us sticking our notices on the
union notice board in the garage canteen. Now they want to stop us
giving out leaflets to our own members. Why are they so scared of free
speech and democracy?

Clean record

I tried to warn drivers I might be sacked but I was laughed at. They
keep a big thick folder on every driver but I’ve got a clean record.
Eleven years as a driver here, four as union rep. Never late for work.
Not been sick much.

And when it comes to obeying their rules everyone thinks I’m
obsessive … anal in fact! The engineers say I don’t do a pre-service
check on the bus, I do an MoT. I’m even nice to passengers. There’s only
one reason I’ve been sacked and that is clear – my union activity.

If they can sack the union rep for trying to do what his members
want, what chance does anyone else have? That’s why I’m confident I’ve
not only got the backing of my members but the union leaders will be
forced to support me. If the bosses get away with this, it will badly
damage the union.

The mood among Peckham drivers is they are stunned. They know this
must stop. But how? That is why we’re demanding the backing of the whole
union. I’m putting in an appeal. But given the rough justice I’ve got so
far from this firm, we must be ready to take it further.

The TGWU could use this opportunity to turn defence into attack. Bus
workers are part of a community of low-paid workers of all races in the
capital. A victory here would make many think maybe they should sign up
for the protection of a union.


North Staffs/South Cheshire buses

Striking for £8 an hour

FIRST BUS drivers carried out their fifth one-day strike on 29
October in North Staffordshire and South Cheshire. They’re demanding £8
an hour to give them parity with drivers in other areas. Increasing
their pay to £8 an hour for all 400 drivers involved would cost less
than £5,000 a day.

Andy Bentley, Stoke on Trent

First Bus, however, say they "can’t afford" to pay this increase. But
they make around £50,000 profit every day and, like all privatised bus
companies, get a share of the £1.5 billion of our public money paid to
them every year in subsidies!

There’s a simple way that First Bus can clear up this matter. They
should be made to open up their books to inspection by bus drivers,
their trade union representatives and local people so we can see where
all the profits are going.

Privatisation has been a disaster for bus companies’ employees and
the paying public. A handful of former bus managers, shareholders and
accountants have grown wealthy whilst workers suffered earnings loss,
longer and more intensive hours of work and pensions deterioration.

Bus drivers once enjoyed wages 7% above the average male earnings,
now they are 13% below it. Meanwhile the travelling public suffer
ever-deteriorating services and rising bus fares.

Bus companies should be taken back into public ownership and run and
managed by those who best know and understand the industry – bus
industry employees themselves supported by representatives of local
communities. This would allow bus workers’ and passengers’ interests to
be taken into account.


Thousands back bus workers

STRIKING DRIVERS left the picket line to join the Day of Action
organised by Stoke Socialist Party in Hanley on 29 October. We launched
a petition in support of the First Bus driver’s demands and attracted
hundreds to sign it.

We also gave out leaflets calling for £8 an hour without any strings,
for First Bus to open their books for inspection and demanding that the
privatised bus companies are taken back into public ownership.

At times our campaign stalls were besieged by people wanting to show
their support. Almost 2,000 people have already signed our petition and
on the day 110 copies of the socialist were bought.

North Staffordshire workers are notoriously low-paid. First Bus
drivers are leading the struggle for a decent minimum wage. Victory for
the drivers would be a victory for all workers in the area.

We are calling for:

  • £8 an hour without any strings for First Bus drivers
  • First Bus to open their books so drivers can see where the massive
    profits are going.
  • Take the privatised bus companies back into public ownership.

Sheffield wants its buses back!

ONLY TWO days after South Yorkshire ‘First’ bus company announced
another bus fares hike, the We Want Our Buses Back! (WWOBB) campaign
protested to local government minister, David Miliband.

Alistair Tice

‘First’ are raising fares by 15-20% on 19 November. This is the
fourth fares rise this year! Prices have gone up by 36% in the last 18
months. As this news spread on Saturday (front page story in the local
paper), the WWOBB campaign stall became swamped with irate bus-users,
already angry at previous fare rises and cuts in bus services.

‘Sheffield First’ (a council/private quango with the same misleading
name as the bus company!) launched their City Strategy on Monday with
Miliband and council leaders in attendance. WWOBB campaigners lobbied
the city dignitaries saying "First buses makes Sheffield Last for public
transport!"

Whereas Sheffield once boasted a cheap fares policy and had an envied
bus service, since Thatcher’s de-regulation and privatisation in 1987,
our buses have become the most expensive and passenger journeys have
fallen by two-thirds!

Labour council leaders keep ‘threatening’ First, but have done
nothing apart from agreeing a few voluntary and ineffectual "Quality
Partnerships". Meanwhile, ‘First’ who nationally made £107 million
profit last year, and in South Yorkshire had a 15% profit rate, keep
putting fares up.

Such is the anger at this latest fares rise that WWOBB are
considering organising a city-centre demonstration on Saturday 19
November. Pressure is growing for First bosses to have their licence
withdrawn, on the council to re-regulate Sheffield bus services, and to
force the government to re-nationalise public transport. We want our
buses back!