Devon and Cornwall strike hits hard

Drivers at First Devon and Cornwall walked out today, in the first of two strikes over low pay. The action was well supported, with some big picket lines (photo shows Plymouth garage). First has called in managers to drive buses on some routes, but they said most of their services will be disrupted or cancelled altogether.
A spokesperson for the RMT said drivers had "had enough" amid meagre pay rises and the removal of overtime. Phil Bialyk, regional organiser for the RMT South West, said the dispute had rumbled on since April. "We took a strike ballot and had a very clear mandate for strike action," he told The Herald. "Last-ditch attempts for talks floundered and our drivers felt enough was enough."

Unhappy
Drivers were unhappy with the offer of a one per cent pay rise this year – and a proposed 2.7 per cent pay hike next year, he said. But Mr Bialyk added: "The real sting in the tail is new contracts that are coming to light in Cornwall." He said First had proposed new deals which would see drivers' sick pay reduced – and overtime pay scrapped. "We would sometimes be expected to work 45 hours a week," Mr Bialyk continued.
Another strike is planned for 9 November and staff will not work any unscheduled overtime or on rest days on 11 and 17 November. First employs 675 people in Devon and Cornwall. Of the 300 who took part in the RMT ballot, 85% voted for strike action.
http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk

Isle of Man: strike ballot over lay offs and pay cut

Bus drivers on the Isle of Man will be soon be balloting for strike action as the Manx government tries to slash drivers’ wages by up to £3,000 a year. Civil servants have instructed the employers, the government-owned Bus Vannin, to cut the budget for buses by £300,000, despite the fact that the self-governing Isle of Man is recession-free with an annual growth rate of four per cent.
After the drivers refused to accept the wage cut, the employer laid them off the week before last – and said they'd have to reapply for their jobs on the new contract. The wage cut takes the form of a removal of paid lunch breaks. The new contract would also increase maximum driving time from 3 hours 45 minutes to 4 hours 10 minutes. Up until this latest attack, the basic salary of drivers was about £24,300, but could be boosted by overtime.

Rejected
Unite national officer Bobby Morton said: “Our members are realistic and are prepared for a fair negotiated settlement – Unite has even offered to go to binding arbitration with an independent third party chair, but that has been rejected out-of-hand by the intransigent employers.
“Our members feel that they have been targeted for pay cuts, while the civil servants at the government’s Department of Community, Culture and Leisure, who are the puppeteers behind this, recently had a pay increase."
http://www.unitetheunion.org

Bolivia: strike against property seizure law

Bus workers in Bolivia walked out on a one-day strike yesterday. They were protesting against a proposed law that would allow the state to seize private property linked to illegal activities. In the capital La Paz bus services ground to a halt.
Franklin Duran of the Bolivian Drivers' Federation said the strike was being adhered to by 90% of drivers, except in the eastern province of Santa Cruz. He said the strike would be escalated unless the government drops the proposed law, which Duran said could expose unwitting bus and taxi drivers to loss of their vehicles if drug traffickers used them to get around.
Bolivia is South America's poorest nation. It is also thought to be the world's second-largest producer of cocaine, after Peru.
http://www.brecorder.com

Algeria: strikers win with militant action

Bus and tram workers employed by the Algiers Urban and Suburban Transport Enterprise (ETUSA) walked out on indefinite strike on Tuesday. They were demanding a minimum salary of 18,000 DA, the resignation of the director general of ETUSA – and even the resignation of the leader of their union, who they feel is in the pocket of management.
They returned to work on Wednesday afternoon, having won a significant pay rise, and the resignation of their union leader, Mr Boutebba. He was extremely unpopular, and workers reacted to his departure with joy. 2,000 union members had signed a petition demanding that he go. One striker said "This is a real victory for us – after we got rid of this rotten man we can move forward on all our demands."
Their pay rise takes their basic salary from 12,000 DA to 14,250 DA, backdated to May. Many strikers expressed scepticism over the new pay offer, and said it still wasn't enough. A return to strike action is not ruled out.

South Africa: court orders strikers back to work

Johannesburg, South Africa
240 Rea Vaya drivers who went on indefinite strike on Monday returned to work yesterday. They were striking for a pay increase of R3,000 (£213) a month. The Labour Court in Johannesburg granted PioTrans, the operator, an interim injunction against the strike.  Employers and the union will go to the Labour Court on November 15 for a final ruling on the matter.
http://www.sowetanlive.co.za

Strike dates for First Devon and Cornwall

RMT today confirmed two strike dates and further action short of a strike. This followed a big vote for action in a dispute over pay. Members voted by almost 85% for strike action and by over 90% for action short of a strike.
The strike days are Friday 26 October and Friday 9 November. In addition, union members will not work any any unscheduled overtime or rest days between Sunday 11 November and 11.59pm on Saturday 17 November.
The action follows the rejection of this year's long overdue pay offer. The company's current pay proposal is self-funding – meaning it would have no cost impact on the company and ring-fences their profits.
It includes the loss of paid walking time, the removal of time to do a visual "walk round" check when taking a bus over mid shift and the dilution of the sick pay benefits. This follows on from the removal of the final salary section of the pension scheme, already implemented despite fierce union objections.
http://www.rmt.org.uk

Arriva drivers win discrimination payout

Two Arriva bus drivers have won compensation for discrimination at an employment tribunal; the men said that they were threatened with dismissal because they had worn high visibility vests which had their union logo ‘RMT’ written across them.
Mr Farr and Mr Graves had worked out of Arriva’s South Croydon garage. Both men were members of the RMT. When they wore high-visibility vests with the RMT logo, they were ‘harassed, disciplined and threatened with the sack’.
Both men raised claims of discrimination to the employment tribunal. Speaking at the hearing, the men said that colleagues had often worn non-Arriva vests, some of which carried racist messages; one was said to have worn a swastika on his. However, none of their colleagues had ever been disciplined, they said.
The employment tribunal ruled that Mr Farr would receive £7,000 compensation and Mr Graves would receive £9,000. It said: ‘The purpose of the acts complained of was to penalise the claimants for being members of the RMT and/or to deter them from taking part in the RMT.’
Speaking after the verdict, RMT General Secretary, Mr Crow, said: ‘Arriva had no problem in tolerating bigotry and fascist messages but was not able to tolerate the three letters ‘RMT.’
http://www.ukemploymentlaw.co.uk

Algiers: bus workers strike for pay, to kick out their boss, and their own general secretary

About 800 workers employed by the Algiers Urban and Suburban Transport Enterprise (ETUSA) walked out on indefinite strike on Tuesday. They are demanding the rigorous implementation of their contracts (which would mean a substantial pay rise) and the resignation of the director general of ETUSA.
The strikers include bus drivers, tram drivers, ticket collectors and mechanics. They are also unhappy with their UGTA union. They staged a sit-down protest outside the union HQ this week, demanding the resignation of the general secretary.
The strikers complaints about their working conditions include the lack of an affiliation to a social security scheme, contracts limited to a maximum of three years, and vindictive sackings by management of union activists.
The strikers say their low pay is actually illegal. Their basic salary is 13,000 DA, but the law says that the minimum salary of public sector workers should by 18,000 DA. One protestor said "We've knocked on all doors for many years, and never got any response. We are fed up"