Maltese government deems strike illegal

Malta

Arriva drivers have been directed to stop working at 8pm today by their union, but the government is insisting that such industrial action is now illegal. The Transport Ministry says that public transport has been redefined as an essential service – akin to healthcare and the police. The redefinition limits the industrial actions that can be done: a basic service has to be maintained at all times, regardless of any industrial disputes. The ministry said that it would not tolerate the a reduction in the frequency of scheduled services by more than half while industrial action is taking place.

The General Workers’ Union has announced the action over drivers’ working schedules, stating that the existing “long and inhuman” rosters remained unchanged despite its numerous attempts to resolve the matter. 

http://www.independent.com.mt

Abdul Omer loses employment tribunal

Abdul Omer Mohsin, the sacked trade union convenor and bus worker, is back in hospital after being taken ill on Sunday. He had previously signed himself out of hospital to attend his employment tribunal, which took place in Watford last week.
The tribunal revolved around disputed accounts of a meeting at Abdul Omer’s workplace. The judges accepted management’s account of proceedings rather than Abdul Omer’s and upheld his sacking.
Abdul Omer maintains that he was removed from his job in April 2010 because of his trade union activities. He played a prominent role in a pay campaign at London Sovereign buses. His legal team, which was provided by the Unite union, are considering whether there are any grounds on which to appeal the verdict.
His workmates have refused to elect another convenor and have made his case part of their wider pay campaign. Drivers at both Edgware and Harrow garages have voted to ballot for strikes over his sacking.
It is difficult for workers to win at employment tribunals. Of 47,900 unfair dismissal claims between April 2010 to March 2011, 4,200 won at a tribunal. In only eight of these cases did the tribunal order reinstatement.

http://www.socialistworker.co.uk

Stagecoach to use scabs to break Yorkshire strike

Four days of strikes are planned by bus workers in Yorkshire if a pay dispute is not resolved by Friday. Unite members at Stagecoach South Yorkshire could walk out on Friday, the following Monday, and 2 and 3 December. Barnsley, Rotherham and the Dearne Valley would be affected. Stagecoach said more than 100 relief drivers would be drafted in from other areas to replace the strikers on those days.

Abdul Omer employment tribunal begins

Some two dozen supporters and workmates of sacked Unite union convenor Abdul Omer Mohsin gathered outside his employment tribunal, which started in Watford on Monday.
Abdul Omer was sacked by bus company London Sovereign in March last year. He had played a leading role in the Unite union’s campaign to win better pay.
Yassim from Sovereign’s Harrow depot was at the lobby. “We think Omer is being victimised,” he told Socialist Worker. “He’s our elected convenor and we need to support him.” Abdul Omer’s tribunal is expected to run until Friday.

http://www.socialistworker.co.uk

Portuguese transport workers strike over austerity

Public transport services are severely disrupted across Portugal today as workers strike over government austerity measures.
Not a single subway station in Lisbon was open this morning and no trains were scheduled to run before 10am. Bus services in Lisbon and the northern city of Porto stopped running at 10am. Maritime transport services in Lisbon are due to be affected, and most train services across the country are heavily disrupted.
The government has said it will implement the austerity programme in return for the €78bn bailout it received in May from the EU and IMF. Private sector employees will be requested to work 30 minutes more per day, VAT will rise, and health and education budgets will be slashed. Portugal's two main unions have called for a general strike on 24 November.

http://www.rte.ie

Wildcat strike hits Detroit

Detroit, Michigan, USA

Over 100 bus drivers refused to go out on their routes Friday following an altercation between a driver and a group of passengers the previous evening. The driver was treated for his injuries and released from a local hospital.
The unofficial strike forced the cancellation of many routes. It took place under conditions of a near collapse of public transit in the city due to budget cuts. Pasengers have faced the elimination of routes and waits of long as three hours for a bus.
These conditions have fueled friction between passengers and drivers in a city already rife with social tensions due to massive unemployment and pervasive poverty. However, in the wake of the walkout the only demand raised by the drivers union, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 26, was for increased policing of transit routes, including random police boarding of busses.
http://www.wsws.org

Stagecoach and National Express: revenues up

Strong growth abroad helped offset weaker demand for bus services in the UK at National Express and Stagecoach. National Express said revenues were up 7 per cent at Alsa Bus and Coach services, its Spanish bus operator, in the nine months to the end of September. Revenues in its North American school bus business rose 10 per cent in the period. National Express expanded in the US in September, paying $200m cash for Petermann Partners, an Ohio-based bus operator. But the robust performance in Spain and the US compared with more modest revenue growth of 2 per cent in the UK bus operations.

Stagecoach

Stagecoach said it had seen 12 per cent revenue growth in North America in the five months to the end of September. The company’s fastest growing regional business is Megabus, a service based on the budget airline model. Megabus is thought to have profit margins of about 20 per cent in a market where it competes directly with domestic airlines offering shorthaul flights. Stagecoach reported growth of 2.2 per cent in the UK.

http://www.ft.com

Support Abdul Omer at his employment tribunal

Supporters of Abdul Omer Mohsin, the sacked Unite union convenor at London Sovereign buses, will mount a protest outside his employment tribunal on Monday morning next week.
Abdul Omer was sacked by Sovereign in March last year after playing a leading role in Unite’s campaign to win better pay on London buses. Unite is funding his legal representation at his tribunal, which lasts from 7 to 11 November.
Abdul Omer’s case was boosted last Saturday when drivers at Edgware, Sovereign’s main bus garage, voted unanimously to ballot for strike action over his sacking. Drivers at Abdul Omer’s garage at Harrow voted for a similar motion last month.
Left wing Labour MP John McDonnell has also backed his case, saying, “We need trade unionists like Abdul Omer if we are to protect our members’ jobs, wages and conditions.”
Lobby the employment tribunal: 

Monday 7 November, 9am to 10am, 

@ Radius House, 51 Clarendon Rd, Watford WD17 1HU

http://www.socialistworker.co.uk