June 8, 2010
A Tube strike is never met kindly by London's long-suffering commuters, however one that comes in the height of summer can be a blessing in disguise. So perhaps disciples shouldn't be too upset that Tube maintenance workers have voted in favour of going on strike (again).
Bob 'Crowbar' Crow, leader of the RMT union, is flexing his muscles again, ordering comrades to walkout as soon as they change the biscuits in the staff canteen. To be fair, bosses have replaced custard creams with Rich Teas - always a controversial move.
Only joking, Guru is sure the strike is about something very serious like pay or jobs, but it seems barely a month goes by without Big Bad Bob stirring up trouble and workers downing tools. Can you imagine being the HR director sitting across the negotiating table from Bob Crow, spitting blood and tub-thumping? At that point you arer probably thinking: "Why did I choose to work in HR?"
In an interview with the Times earlier this year, Crow described himself as a "communist-stroke-socialist". Among his convictions are that Britain should become a republic; that Tony Benn, the former Labour cabinet minister, should be its elected president; that his hero Arthur Scargill was "the best trade union leader we have ever seen"; and that all privatised companies should be renationalised.
Safe to say, not Guru's ideal dinner party guest. Still, if there are summer Tube strikes, the capital's sweaty commuters might actually be thankful for once.
Bob 'Crowbar' Crow, leader of the RMT union, is flexing his muscles again, ordering comrades to walkout as soon as they change the biscuits in the staff canteen. To be fair, bosses have replaced custard creams with Rich Teas - always a controversial move.
Only joking, Guru is sure the strike is about something very serious like pay or jobs, but it seems barely a month goes by without Big Bad Bob stirring up trouble and workers downing tools. Can you imagine being the HR director sitting across the negotiating table from Bob Crow, spitting blood and tub-thumping? At that point you arer probably thinking: "Why did I choose to work in HR?"
In an interview with the Times earlier this year, Crow described himself as a "communist-stroke-socialist". Among his convictions are that Britain should become a republic; that Tony Benn, the former Labour cabinet minister, should be its elected president; that his hero Arthur Scargill was "the best trade union leader we have ever seen"; and that all privatised companies should be renationalised.
Safe to say, not Guru's ideal dinner party guest. Still, if there are summer Tube strikes, the capital's sweaty commuters might actually be thankful for once.
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