On Overtime Pay-London Buses cntd...
Vngelis
I must insist that VN Gelis gets his facts right. Then he might be able
to address his political problems with immigrants (Letters, November
30).
He says: "The TGWU has a specific policy of agreeing to the
recruitment of workers on lower wages or not doing anything to stop
this". What "specific policy"? In what document or on what
website is this to be found?
Of course, the "specific policy" of the TGWU and all unions is to
totally oppose all this, as is the logic of their position as
recruiters of oppressed workers. In fact, they have launched specific
campaigns against this very thing. You may claim that they do not do
enough, but that is a very different matter.
As for the News Line piece of November 15, VN Gelis says: "Newsline
[sic] recently reported that eastern European workers are on £7 an
hour instead of £10.63 [the correct rate is actually £10.33] at the
Holloway bus garage." News Line did no such thing.
What happened was they interviewed a driver who apparently said his
name was Robert Chang (there have been instances of drivers giving the
names of others to reporters to avoid victimisation or to target others
in this dispute) on the Willesden garage picket line on November 14 and
after a number of good points the paper quote him saying the following:
"They employ Polish workers, pay them £7 an hour and then take three
of those pounds for accommodation," adding, "he alleged" to cover
themselves (www.wrp.org.uk/news/1693).
This is one of those wild rumours spread by those who resented the
employment of a large number of Polish drivers at the end of the summer
in garages throughout London because this reduced overtime
opportunities. I had to scotch such rumours in my own garage to defend
the Polish drivers on more than one occasion. It is totally, utterly
and completely untrue and to repeat such a thing as fact in this
distorted form without checking is disgraceful.
Gerry Downing
London
Overtime Pay
In response to Gerry Downing's point (Letters 7th December) I
reported what was stated in Newsline. Gerry seems to argue that the
report is a lie. It might well be. But his next assertion essentially
that immigrant labour isn't recruited on lower rates of pay and that
unions have a specific policy of ...ensuring all are on the same rates
of pay is just pure fantasy! He clearly lives in another city, one
where bosses aren't openly recruiting in Eastern Europe (British job
centres opened eg. in Poland) and as far afield as... N. Africa for bus
drivers. The EU-Bolkenstein directive has been passed and is in
operation almost everywhere, from Irish ferries... to City cleaners.
I have a T&G leaflet which states the following 'every worker has the
right to come to London looking for work'. A copy can be sent to him.
A capitalist law states that an oversupply of labour leads to workers
being forced to work for less and less. This is clearly the case in
whole industries in London, where union leaderships actively scab on
their members eg. Gate Gourmet. Workers require overtime pay when their
wages don't match their daily needs. Defending the bus management in
its open border recruiting policy is the T&G's role. Gerry seems to
be agreeing with it, by pretending it doesn't exist.
VNGelis
N. London
Vngelis
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/dec2006/sril-d14.shtml