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 fight for a genuine pay rise and parity is not only a fight against the profiteers of Stagecoach, Metroline and First Bus, but also against the leadership of Unite and the Labour authority’ entrenched relations with the private operators.
In appealing to Trump, the union chiefs have aligned themselves with the would-be dictator, who is preparing to deploy troops all over the country, including New York City, to crush resistance in the working class.
Trump told Fox News that Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena asked him to send troops to Memphis, St. Louis and Chicago, three cities critical for the rail industry.
A strike by transit workers in New York City, the center of American and world finance, would raise the critical issue of the entry of the working class into the fight against dictatorship.
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.
