“What’s needed is a general strike”
Warning strike at Berlin urban transit operator BVG
The strike by Berlin transit workers coincides with the greatest ever social cutbacks in Germany.
The London Bus Rank-and-File Committee and the Socialist Equality Party are calling for the reinstatement of London bus driver David O’Sullivan, sacked for upholding workers’ rights to health and safety during a pandemic that has claimed the lives of more than 60 bus workers in the capital.
The death rate among London bus drivers is three times the national average, with the families of those killed demanding answers.
In London, Berlin, Paris, New York, Sao Paulo and India, bus and transport workers are fighting back. O’Sullivan’s sacking is a test case for the rights of key workers everywhere. Join the campaign today!
O’Sullivan, 57, was sacked on February 3, after he sounded the alarm over the spread of COVID-19 infections at Cricklewood bus garage in north west London. The rate of fatalities among London bus drivers is three times the national average, with the families of those killed demanding answers.
The strike by Berlin transit workers coincides with the greatest ever social cutbacks in Germany.
The union announced Tuesday that a planned “go-slow” measure would be “postponed” for further negotiation with the state Labor government. This was clearly designed to undermine a rally by workers covered by the Electrical Trades Union.
Because of their crucial position in the global economy, dockworkers would be among the first to face layoffs and job cuts during the trade war that President Donald Trump is preparing with the assistance of the International Longshoremen’s Association.
Rank-and-file workers soundly rejected the previous TA in August by a vote of 68 percent, in a major rebuke of the the Association of Flight Attendants and its president, DSA member Sara Nelson.
Management at Berlin’s BVG local transit company has decided to postpone the reintroduction of front boarding. Drivers must ensure front doors remain closed until they agree it is safe.
The massive “no” vote registered at Park Royal, Stamford Brook and Shepherds Bush speaks to a growing mood of opposition to Unite’s record of collusion.
The refusal of Unite to outline the deal and organise a ballot can only mean that what is being proposed is so toxic that Unite is working frantically on how to sell it to the Go North West drivers and to prevent an angry backlash.
“We are not cattle and will not be sacrificed to protect the profits of the corporations and banks who have made a financial killing during the pandemic,” states the resolution passed by the London Bus Drivers Rank-and-File Safety Committee.