We don’t simply follow our union leaders

Published: 23 September, 2010

• FOR a councillor, Jonny Bucknell displays a naively simplistic view (Letters, September 16) of both fare-paying public transport users and industrial relations.

Bob Crow didn’t call the strikes, there is no mechanism in the trade union movement for the general secretary to do that. Strikes come from the members, and only after all other avenues have been explored. Trade unionism is about collective bargaining and preservation of rights. 

We don’t simply follow our leaders blindly. We also don’t take losing money over a strike lightly. These are tough economic times, as Cllr Bucknell should well know.

From a passengers’ viewpoint, does he really think that he’s serving the people of Camden by effectively saying that it’s OK to close tube stations if there aren’t enough staff?

There have been plenty of opportunities to avert the strike action, but even post-strike, Boris and Brian (Johnson and Coleman) didn’t do much to help Londoners by allowing Tory members of the London Assembly to walk out of a debate, cutting it short.

Conservatives need to change their attitudes towards industrial relations or they’ll continue to set this country back every time they blindly ignore the fact that ordinary workers have enforceable legal rights.
Richard Ellison
Duke’s Road, WC1

Strike-day polemic

• LIKE Councillor Jonny Bucknell I tried to travel on the Northern line on strike day. 

Although the line was running, Belsize Park station was closed.

I have always held Belsize Park up as an example of how a tube station can be friendly and helpful. 

So I went back the next day to wonder why it was closed.

I wished I hadn’t bothered. 

A member of staff launched into political polemic about job losses, and I politely ducked out of an argument.

A lot of those people who struggled to work would be very pleased to have a guarantee of no lost jobs, in return for doing something a bit different.

Bob Crow is just handing London Underground a future excuse to cut jobs. His job and pension are, of course, secure.
Barry Fox
Belsize Grove, NW3