New year, same mess
Ah, joy! The unions are up to their shennanigans again, holding London Underground and travelling Londoners to ransom. Having negotiated an agreement after striking over new working practices twelve months ago, they're now back in dispute, over the very same changes they agreed to back then. Union talking heads on the media claim that the strike is about safety concerns over the implementation of the new rosters, and nothing whatsoever to do with job security or pay scales.
Question: If it's about safety, how come the practices were safe to agree to 12 months ago, but not now? If (for instance) the events of July 7th last year are colouring their thinking, how come it has taken the unions this long to do something about raising the issue? How come it had to wait until the New Year weekend for industrial action? Call me a cynic if you like, but it's pretty obvious to me that the whole aim of the process was to inconvenience the public, screw yet more job concessions from management, whilst getting themselves a New Year off into the bargain.
