A motion passed at the Young Liberals Summer Conference yesterday criticises Lib Dem MPs for their comments over the RMT strike action. YL believe that the action was justified.
Their motion said:
(Conference notes)…
The recent industrial action taken by the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) was aimed at, amongst other things:
Tackling fire and rehire;
Protecting against compulsory redundancies;
Seeking to protect the safe running of the railway by maintaining staffing
levels;The industrial action was held with the support by 89% of members balloted.
There has been a recent controversial response to the RMT strikes by the Federal Party, including:Munira Wilson MP on the BBC (26 June 2022) stating the government should be
“working with the army and others to put contingency plans in place if these
strikes are going to continue”;
Daisy Cooper MP on Sky News (26 June 2022) stating “I don’t agree with the
rail strikes”.
The motion called for ongoing support and joint working with the Lib Dem Association of Trade Unionists, offered support for the RMT action, opposition to MPs’ comments and support for the current RMT action and other strikes in certain circumstances. The motion recognised the contribution of many Liberal Democrats to trade unions.
The Conference also debated (amongst many other things) fair work for young people and the abolition of pay and social security awards related to age.
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4 Comments
I trust the MPs are also monitoring the feelings of all trade unions who are considering strike action. The workers hsve not had good pay rises for some time.Equally monitor the feelings of the public re they also are feeling the cost of living,they may be sympathetic to the unions.
I think that our leader and most of our MPs are plain wrong about the rail strikes. Instead of attacking the Trades Unions, it would be far more Liberal to attack the government for not allowing network rail to strike a deal. The strikes are a direct result of the inability of Network Rail to negotiate a deal, whilst at the same time trying to cut thousands of jobs. As a life long Liberal AND trades unionist I support the railway workers in trying to get a better deal than they are being offered as a result of government intransigence.
Avanti West Coast has suspended sales and cuts timetables due to ‘acute staff shortages’; it appears that it’s services depended on staff working ‘high levels of overtime’ and working on their ‘days- off’…
The company, which pleads poverty, predicts “significant” further progress in its 2023 earnings and reported an adjusted operating profit of £226.8 million pounds for the year ended March 2022, compared with a profit of £220.2 million a year earlier…
Any company that relies on ‘staff goodwill’ (extra hours) to operate can’t grumble when that good will is lost through it’s own inaction in negotiation..
As for the government; IMO they are hoping that continued strikes will lose the current public support and pave the way for even more draconian reductions in employees’ rights..
A strong Party can accomodate differences in policy within its ranks. If we get an even more right wing Conservative PM then workers’ rights will be at risk. Public sympathy is important during any strike. Let’s hope mangement can act responsibly and offer a deal that is credible, fair and long-term. We’re all in it together are fine words but I doubt whether this government has a sufficient grasp of fairness to make them more than that.