Busmen in Strikes to Stop Cutbacks

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Virtually all London bus garages were involved in one-hour lightning strike action last week. At Holloway garage all runs stopped from 8.30 to 9.30 on Monday.

This action has been •ganised unofficially by London branch represen¡atives in response to the Tory GLC's plans to drastically reduce schedules, sath immediately and again = che autumn.

Although the plans have = zen in the air for some time, == official action has been ==pared. There have been no =egotiations with management.

This week's lightning aton was intended to force e initial step of talks with management, which have now *een agreed for Tuesday.

The management presents the cuts as an "improvement in service"

They maintain that by formalising the effective cut of 10% understaffing, transferring to one man operation buses and reducing runs and the length of route the service will be more 'reliable'!

Transport workers fear that the package will include reduction of overtime, an end to rest day working-both of which will cut their already miserable take home wages and mean a reduction in future availability of jobs.

The danger now comes from within the union itself.

TGWU bureaucrat Larry Smith is already preparing to betray through talks on "productivity deals' with management.

The task facing bus workers is the preparation of an all out struggle which will go beyond one day protests and leaflets aimed at winning 'public sympathy' , and lead to the complete shut down of The three week strike by Leeds bus workers in defence of a written mutuality agreement has now been made official.

The strike was sparked off by management moves to cut services in west Leeds and impose new schedules without prior agreement of union leaders.

Conceded Though union representatives have conceded that the THE DUSES IONAY 4 NexT N CUTS MiNIsr KN all London a programı and improv s out for Transport ar e to defend services.

Leeds Metropolitan Council has the right to decide the level of services, they took action to defend the mutuality agreement.

A TGWU branch ballot registered a 95% response, in which a majority of members gave a mandate for strike action if management refused to honour the agreement.

On Wednesday 3 May mass meetings will be held in the rest of the West Yorkshire Metropolitan district, in which one day strike action in support of the Leeds depots will be proposed.

The rail unions have shown their support by preventing the running of extra services or extra coaches on trains.

Though the strike is centred on the breaking of this agreement the real issue is the cuts, through which the Tories are trying to save £400,000 in the West Yorks Metropolitan area-of which the Leeds share is half.

The Tories are determined to carry through these cuts. The manager in charge of scheduling has even gone off to Scotland on holiday in the midst of the dispute.

The attacks on bus jobs goes alongside comprehensive cuts. Thousands of jobs in local authorities have been frozen in the Leeds Metropolitan area.

The bus workers must call on NALGO, NUPE, GMWU and NUT members to join with them in a common struggle against the cuts and for restoration of full services.

There must also be a Regional levy of TGWU members to help the strikers who now receive only £6.50 per week strike pay Workers at the Rolls Royce plants at Parkside and Ansty in Coventry returned to work on Monday after voting to accept a deal worked out by ACAS.

Under the deal the management agreed to pay a 9.8% increase and drop strings they had attached to their original 9.7% offer.

They had been insisting that a 12-month freeze should be imposed on upgrading claims but these can now be pursued.

During the dispute management attempted to reintroduce the issue of piecework into the wage negotiations.

Changeover

Some 300 workers at Parkside have yet to go over to Measured Day Work, and management were claiming that the gap between the 9.7% offer and the 10% claim should be held back to finance the changeover.

Under the deal now worked out, ACAS officials