A Unite activist at Lea interchange spoke to the Socialist
As we go to press, Unite members at Lea Interchange bus garage in Leyton, East London, are preparing for strike action on 12 and 13 December.
Following a powerful industrial action ballot, these workers have secured a massive mandate to fight against the victimisation of their union reps and aggressive management practices.
“The mood in the garage is tremendous. 15 more people have joined the union just yesterday. We’ve gone from being a small group of members to 93% density. In April, when a fresh layer of activists took office, they started to organise and take up the issues that were affecting members. We were recruiting and having consultative ballots on various workplace issues. That was the start of the victimisation. We had reps targeted. We did lots of leafleting and meetings to make members aware that it wasn’t just reps being targeted but an attack on the members too. When the rep was suspended, we balloted, and got a 98% ‘Yes’ vote, and got over the turnout threshold.
“There’s about 450 drivers in this garage and we’ve now got about 400 members. Management reinstated the rep with a final written warning. But when he returned to work he faced hostility from management on his first day back. It’s a clear example of how workers in the depot are treated.
“Workers want a change in management. All we are requesting is to be treated fairly, with dignity and respect. Management have been slow on pay negotiations; pay should have been sorted in the middle of the year. Other London bus companies and garages have made offers. Lea Interchange is one of very few garages left in London that still hasn’t agreed a pay rise and implemented it.
This dispute isn’t about pay. But workers understand that we can negotiate to get a pay rise, but with this management our jobs are not secure if we have a union without a voice. But now if they do change management, they’ll be thinking twice before they move on reps in the future.
“This has also sent a shockwave throughout London buses. Since privatisation, I think this is the first time there’s been a successful legal ballot on victimisation. Reps across London buses are now saying, we can stand up too. The companies do not want this to be a precedent, their biggest fear is of it spreading. This has raised the confidence of workers, they feel they have power in their hands through democratic action.”
Attacks on reps are not an unhappy coincidence. Private operators are making profits from running what used to be publicly owned bus routes. All private operators try to cut off fighting trade unionism in the garages.
Bus drivers throughout London work too many hours for not enough pay, and with worsening terms and conditions. Unite must step up its fight for:
- A living wage and shorter working week for all bus workers
- Common wages and conditions, demands to be decided by London-wide meetings of reps
- London buses to be brought back into public ownership, with workers’ control and management