Almost 30 traffic wardens in Belfast were sacked today after taking unofficial strike action earlier this month.
traffic warden
The wardens had taken the wildcat action at the start of April over pay and conditions, including their rotas and sick-pay. The wardens were initially suspended by bosses, but today were sacked. Those involved make up one-third of Belfast's traffic wardens.
According to the employer, NCP, until new staff are recruited, existing staff will cover the shifts. NCP are contracted to enforce parking restriction across Northern Ireland, and have said they "have a very good relationship with Trades Unions in Northern Ireland and will continue to work with unions representing their members - but we cannot support illegal action of this kind".
The company also said the unofficial strike action disrupted the delivery of a 'public service'. The sacked workers join the increasing numbers of unemployed across the UK.
Comments
Couldn't they just have a
Couldn't they just have a good will strike and refuse to give out tickets?
Who? The remaining
Who?
The remaining employees?
Or the initial strike?
Im not sure they have any
Im not sure they have any other duties than giving out tickets, so thats what happened in effect I guess.
Oh yeah good point. Yeah
Oh yeah good point.
Yeah what other duties would they do? ;)
Well, I suppose they liaise
Well, I suppose they liaise with cops on some things, they also patrol and sometimes just move cars along instead of ticketing them if theyre parked where they shouldnt but theres someone in them. Maybe they refused to go out on their 'beats' as well??
Well I would have imagine
Well I would have imagine they didn't go out at all on the strike day.
Shit that's heavy stuff!
Shit that's heavy stuff! Have they just gone without a fuss?
No sign of any action being
No sign of any action being taken by those sacked, nor solidarity actions by other workers.
That's sad news, I imagine
That's sad news, I imagine that they must have been terminated "with cause" so there's no sort of compensation for them. Was it only a third of the total traffic wardens involved in the wildcat strike, or were those third fired as an example to the rest?
The ones fired were the only
The ones fired were the only ones involved in the wildcat strike, and had been suspended initially.
It seems not all of those
It seems not all of those who walked out were even in favour of the wildcat, but went along with the majority vote. NIPSA, their union, has vowed to do "everything in its power" to overturn the sackings, whatever that means.
Im not sure if the 26 sacked were all on one shift, but clearly the remaining workers are not taking any action in support of them.
Quote: Couldn't they just
Mmm Ive often suggested a similar tactic by other workers, such as transport workers refusing to collect fares or retail workers refusing to collect the price on anything essential (although the latter would obviously have to be in large enough numbers that it would be unprosecutable, because they'd call it complicity in theft)
Forum discussion about this
Forum discussion about this story, including comments from one of the workers here:
http://libcom.org/forums/news/traffic-attendant-wildcat-strike-belfast-20052009
I guess because they are
I guess because they are workers I should be having some feelings of solidarity towards them...however, the "traffick wardens" in Melbourne are a bunch of arseholes with quotas of tickets to hand out. I hold a parking permit and I'm currently disputing several $57 fines for parking within my Permit bounds.
I generally see them as fucking scum who are the proifteering henchmen for the councils who employ them!
if they have quotas to meet,
if they have quotas to meet, it's hardly the traffic wardens that are profiteering scum so much as their employers
Riot_Queer if by
Riot_Queer if by 'profiteering' youre meaning that they get some kind of commision or bonus based on the tickets they hand out, that isnt the case for the ones here in Belfast. And whether you 'like' Traffic Wardens or not (and I dont, particularly, Ive had more unfair tickets than I can remember) is a moot point. The point here is that they were sacked for standing up for themselves, with the employer using anti-union legislation. If it can happen to them unopposed, it can happen to people in a 'likeable' job tomorrow.