London Underground Strikes
The ongoing strikes in the London underground are beginning to make political waves.
London Mayor - Boris Johnson - has begun to question the legitimacy of industrial action based on a low turnout of union members.
Boris is suggesting that a threshold should be crossed - perhaps a turnout of 50% - in order for strike action to have the protection of the law.
The underlying issue is whether trade unions genuinely represent the views of their members - or are they really just representing the views of a much smaller group of union activists - who bother to vote.
A complex issue in some ways - but the debate has started and won't go away.
Meanwhile the ongoing action has inspired a plethora of strike related jokes on the Internet - here's my favourite:
Why did the Smarties cross the road?
Their tube was on strike.
London Mayor - Boris Johnson - has begun to question the legitimacy of industrial action based on a low turnout of union members.
Boris is suggesting that a threshold should be crossed - perhaps a turnout of 50% - in order for strike action to have the protection of the law.
The underlying issue is whether trade unions genuinely represent the views of their members - or are they really just representing the views of a much smaller group of union activists - who bother to vote.
A complex issue in some ways - but the debate has started and won't go away.
Meanwhile the ongoing action has inspired a plethora of strike related jokes on the Internet - here's my favourite:
Why did the Smarties cross the road?
Their tube was on strike.
