Leeds Bus Workers Win Round One

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Leeds bus workers go back to work today (Wednesday) after a six week strike stopped cuts in bus services and staff being carried out.

The six week strike ended with the bus workers going back on the old schedules and Leeds Metro management defeated in their attempt to break agreements over the change of services.

But the victory is only the first round in the campaign. Union officials, ACAS and management are to start talks on the basis that now schedules will be introduced on July 2.

Flight to Leeds

Larry Smith, TGWU National Passenger Officer, flew to Leeds to conduct negotiations.

The return to work gives him a dangerous opportunity to deflect the bus workers from their determined fight. Already. the local official, Allison, has appeared on TV to say that new schedules will operate from July.

But stewards determined to fight all cuts in staff and services will have been strengthened by this victory.

For more than a week ACAS had been trying to find a way of selling the deal to the bus workers. Their first effort was rejected bv 800 votes to 300 last Wednesday (May 17) and they finally concluded that unless the company backed down, the strike would continue.

An attempt to mobilise clerks at Leeds Civic Hall to stage a demonstration against the strike ended in miserable failure when only eight protestors turned up.

Moves had been building up to black petrol to private companies carrying out scab work during the dispute and approaches were planned to other bus companies in the West Yorkshire Metro area asking for supporting action.

Despite a series of vicious articles in the Yorkshire Evening Post and the Yorkshire Post "proving' that the strike would reduce the need for buses, businessmen were being hard hit by the strike, spending tens of thousands of pounds each week ferrying people to work.

Shopkeepers in the city centre were also losing money.

To build on this success strike leaders must be shifted from their conception that the fight is confined to stopping the new schedules.

The workers have proved how effective united action can be.

Management requires the new schedules in order to impose cuts, in services and jobs.

This must be brought out clearly by a direct appeal to workers in the public sector - in NALGO, NUPE and the GMWU -who are facing similar cuts.

There must be joint strike action to defeat the cuts.