Brian Souter vs the public interest

A good piece from Kevin Maguire in today's Mirror:
 
"Bullying bus boss Brian Souter is a road block who needs bypassing to give passengers a better ride. The megabucks Stagecoach ­motormouth drives hard on the ­Thatcherite Right and is chucking his toys out of the pram over plans to impose order on routes in Tyne and Wear.

Taking poison
Souter, who together with his sister is worth an estimated £730million (the pair are 118th on the Britain and Ireland Rich List), claims he would rather “take poison” than swallow bold plans to control fares and routes in the public interest, therefore reducing how much he profits from travellers.
Grim threats to shut depots and sack crews, hysterically denouncing councillors as “unreconstructed Stalinists”, is the crazed reaction of a bus bandit behaving as wildly as the greedy energy fatcats who menacingly predict power cuts unless they’re allowed to continue ripping off customers.
Souter’s ticket to El Dorado is paid by northerners on his buses who he ­scathingly mocked as the ­“beer-drinking, chip-eating, council house-dwelling, old Labour-voting masses”.

Cowboys
Only time will tell if the tycoon is prepared to cut off his nose to spite his face. But I hope the five councils of Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland and South and North Tyneside don’t buckle under Souter’s legal threats. I hope they stick to their guns and use their ­transport arm Nexus to restore order to the costly cowboy free market created by privatisation and ­deregulation a quarter of a century ago.
Ever since a public transport free-for-all was given the green light by Thatcher, bus fares have soared across the country and companies have cherry-picked routes, running them for huge profits instead of public services.
In Newcastle, Stagecoach ran the number 18 all day, seven days a week until 2010, then it scrapped evenings and Sundays because it wasn’t making money – forcing Nexus to subsidise Arriva to take over off-peak hours so Byker and Walker in the city’s deprived east end weren’t abandoned.

Chaos
In the national chaos, the great British bus success is a London which Thatcher exempted from her deregulation fatwa – so city hall chiefs continue to set fares and routes. Passenger numbers have almost doubled in the capital over a period when, I’m told by experts, they’ve fallen 19% in rural areas and plummeted an average of 45% across ­conurbations such as Greater Manchester, Merseyside, West Midlands, a built-up area of Yorkshire and Tyne and Wear.
I travel regularly on buses in London and occasionally in North East England and I can assure you buses are better in the Big Smoke. And if a Souter predicting bus Armageddon thinks that Tory Mayor Boris Johnson is an ­“unreconstructed Stalinist” too, then that’s the ­belly-aching ­multimillionaire’s problem. 

Public vs private
The bus battle playing out in the North East is a ­microcosm of the wider debate about public services and the national economy, of the value of ­regulation and public ownership. Privatisation and deregulation works for loaded Souter and energy fatcats. But we need to build an economy and a country for the masses who pay the bills."
http://www.mirror.co.uk

Walsall: bus company prosecuted over death of worker

A bus company is being prosecuted for failing to ensure the safety of workers after a mechanic died when he was crushed between two vehicles at a Walsall depot. Lee Baker suffered brain damage following an accident at the National Express West Midlands garage in Carl Street, in October 2011. He died in hospital four months later.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has launched court proceedings against West Midlands Travel Ltd. The firm is accused of three counts of contravening a health and safety regulation. The allegations relate to failing to make a suitable assessment of health and safety risks which employees were exposed to, inadequate supervision and giving relevant information about the movement of vehicles.
The case has been listed for Walsall Magistrates Court on January 27 and no pleas have been entered at this stage. National Express West Midlands is the trading name of West Midlands Travel Ltd.
http://www.expressandstar.com

Genoa, Italy: wildcat transport strike spreads

Workers at AMT, Genoa's public transportation company, are striking over new austerity measures and plans to privatise the operator. Workers from garbage and maintenance companies have joined the striking bus drivers in solidarity. Despite snarling traffic jams and other inconveniences, unions report widespread support among Genoan residents and other city workers.
http://www.gazzettadelsud.it

The strike has been taking on a national significance, with groups of workers from other regions joining the protests in this city of 600,000 people. As the local employers refuse to negotiate, the workers are determined to escalate. They are planning a demonstration in Rome next week. Andrea Gamba of the CGIL union said "The assassin of public transport is here in Genoa - but we've got to go and find the boss who sent him. That's why we must go to Rome, with delegations from all over Italy."
http://genova.repubblica.it

Stagecoach tries blackmail with threat to axe 500 buses

Stagecoach chairman Brian Souter has threatened to axe hundreds of buses if councils go ahead with takeover plans. Souter, who is one of Britain’s richest men, has said he will not work for a council-controlled bus network in Tyne and Wear.

'Stalinists'
He said he would rather axe 500 Stagecoach services and close depots than let councils have a say. He hit out at the “unreconstructed Stalinists” on the region’s transport authority as they prepare for London-style bus powers.
Under council-backed plans transport group Nexus is putting together what is expected to be the UK’s first Quality Contract, in which only buses with a council-contract can operate. The plans would introduce a similar system to that in London, in which Stagecoach operates at a profit. All buses would be branded the same, with local authorities setting fares, time tables and routes.

Call in the lawyers
Nexus came up with the plans amid concern the current bus network did not do enough to justify a multi-million pound council subsidy. Bus companies have consulted lawyers on fighting the plans, which Nexus said could be in place by 2015.
In the North East Labour has backed the bus plans, with Wearside MP Bridget Phillip leading a campaign for better bus services. She said: “From the start, Stagecoach’s opposition has been characterised by scaremongering and negative tactics. Under Quality Contracts, they would be free to bid to run routes exactly as they do in London. Mr Souter’s sole concern is to defend his inflated profit margins in the region. We need a bus system that works in the best interests of local people.”
http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk

Metroline: rep suspended after raising safety concerns

Bosses at Metroline’s Willesden bus garage in north west London have suspended Unite union rep Robert Chung after he raised safety concerns. The disciplinary action could result in his dismissal. 
Robert refused to go back on the road during the storm that hit Britain two weeks ago after a falling tree narrowly missed his bus. Local trade unionists rightly point out that Robert acted as many union reps would to ensure safety. Unite members at the garage told Socialist Worker that they believe Robert is being victimised because he is an effective union rep.
Brent TUC has pledged full support for Robert and described the actions of management as “inhuman and vindictive”. It organised a solidarity protest at the garage on Friday of last week as the Unite rep faced a disciplinary hearing. The hearing decided to adjourn until 18 November. Unite members at Willesden garage should insist on a union mass meeting immediately to discuss how they can defend their rep and their union.
http://www.socialistworker.co.uk

Network Warrington workers to vote on new offer

A three-day strike for a pay rise by workers at Network Warrington buses was called off on Sunday of last week. The firm says the dispute is “settled” but workers will have to vote on any new deal. The bus drivers and support staff are members of the Unite union. They previously rejected a proposed deal with no pay rise but a £200 lump sum. They struck several times in September and October.
http://www.socialistworker.co.uk

Strikes at First Worcester & Hereford cancelled

Strikes set to take place today and tomorrow have been cancelled. Unite has agreed to hold fresh talks with bus operators First, with the stoppages now scrapped. Walk-outs were planned for nine days during November and came about after 90 per cent of Unite members backed strikes.
http://www.worcesternews.co.uk

Dublin Bus: drivers to reballot on action

Drivers represented by Siptu at Dublin Bus are to ballot again next week on industrial action following their decision to reject narrowly (by a margin of 51% to 49%) the latest proposals on cost-saving measures at the company. The operator is to implement a controversial cost-cutting plan from Sunday 17 November, a move which could trigger confrontation with drivers.

Mandate
In a statement to members at Dublin Bus earlier this week Siptu’s traffic committee said that although an earlier mandate for strike action was still valid it would be appropriate to reaffirm it “due to the changed and serious nature of the circumstances that are now in existence.”
It said these circumstances included the narrow rejection of the cost-saving proposals, the fact that the other union representing drivers in Dublin Bus had accepted the measures and the requirement for maximum unity of drivers in any campaign against unilateral changes to their working conditions.
The ballot on whether to take strike action in the event that Dublin Bus implemented the cost cutting proposals will be held on Tuesday 5 and Wednesday 6 November.
http://www.irishtimes.com

Siptu represents around half of the 2,300 drivers at the State-owned transport company. Drivers represented by the National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU) voted to accept the latest proposals. Other grades of staff at the company, among them workers represented by SIPTU, have also agreed to accept the deal. 
http://www.herald.ie