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IN THE NEWS
Page 16
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Stuart Thomas gives us his regular round-up of the way the newspapers have covered the transport industry this week.
Shaun Brady is not
having an easy time. As general secretary for rail union Aslef he has quickly acquired a reputation as a human bulldozer in his no-nonsense approach to getting rail employees better working rights. Ironically, this now comes at the expense of his own workforce.
Just before Christmas The Guardian revealed farcical going-ons when an Aslef caretaker was suspended shortly after Brady took office, only to be reinstated when it was realised the employee in question was in charge of the keys to the office so the brothers were locked out.
Now it seems he subscribes to the adage that its one rule for his members and another for his staff. The Independent reported a letter he dispatched threatening to sack anyone who went on strike, as well as withdrawing their union (GMB) recognition and hiring a "scab" workforce on lower pay. You might think this is a bit rich coming from a man whose union has masterminded several recent walkouts on the rail network; this kettle obviously ignores colour taunts from the pot.
Brady was quoted as saying he was forced into this situation in order to provide seven-day-a-week protection to members who "would not thank me for failing to deal with them".
All unions walk a thin line between improving workers' rights and keeping the public on side. Knee-jerk reactions like this do nothing for their reputation as serious organisations stubbornly preventing big companies from riding roughshod over the humble worker, Where's the solidarity?