Government have only been in power a matter of weeks. I think it’s incumbent upon people to give them a little space to work through these talks so both sides are comfortable. That’s only fair.
Labour, particularly Louise Haigh, have gone to great lengths to emphasise their keenness to reset industrial relations. It looks as though they are doing their part as I’m sure the RMT are. Things have been abysmal under the Conservatives and the fact we have offers being balloted on ASLEF and extremely positive noises surrounding the RMT talks is demonstrative of a sea-change in progress. I don’t think anyone can argue that we’re not in a much better place than 3-4 months ago. This needs to be acknowledged and celebrated.
I understand people’s frustration but a little more patience is all that’s required and I’m sure it’ll be resolved soon.
The good news is there’s been no bad news. It’s also worth looking back on the ASLEF thread. There were a few vocal dissenters who were posting their frustrations on the morning of the ASLEF offer being announced, then suddenly the confirmation of the offer landed later that same day!
One last point. It’s imperative union members stand in solidarity. It’s a commonly banded about word but its significance in these negotiations is often under appreciated.
Governments and their negotiating teams operative in relative silence, offering few clues whilst maintaining a professional and discrete persona. It’s absolutely imperative that we the union members adopt the same tactics. Support your local reps who in turn back the senior negotiators. Posting criticisms on public forums is perhaps counterproductive and encourages others. This is exactly what any opposing negotiating team want to see and only serves to increase their bargaining power at the expense of the unions.
Smile all…… nearly there
