“It is a scandal that workers who have made pension provisions and planned for the long-term are taking the hit for a financial crisis created by the reckless and greedy actions of the spivs and speculators from the banks and business sector,” Bob Crow.
C
harismatic, passionate and arguably one of the successful leaders in his field, yet deeply controversial and widely despised, Bob Crow is nothing if not divisive.
For many, especially small business, Bob Crow is a national figure of hate. His Rail and Maritime Trade Union last year brought travel chaos to central London, a body blow to many SMEs already battered by the recession. But Crow is unapologetic about the impact of industrial action and impervious to the personal attacks from the media, business and the general public.
What is undeniable is that Bob Crow has a track record of success. The current economic stagnation may have looked like fertile ground for a revival of the trade union movement but most have failed to capitalize. Most that is, except Bob Crow, who since taking charge of the RMT in 2002 has grown membership by 50% from 57,000 to more than 80,000 at a time when other unions have been in decline.
If Bob Crow was a business leader would he be hailed the best in the business? If representing your members best interests is the true measure of a successful trade union leader, then Octobers announcement of a new pay deal for London Tube drivers which sees average salaries increase to over £50,000 a year, is an endorsement. But it is at a cost. The inflation- busting award hammered out by Crow comes at a time when millions of both private and public sector workers are facing pay freezes and polls suggest public sympathy for union pay deals is dwindling.
Crow himself has himself been under attack for a series of pay rises and generous perks. He may claim to “have more in common with a Chinese labourer than a City stockbroker” but Crow’s package rose by more than 26 per cent from £107,691 to £145,548 in the four years up to 2009. His penchant for expensive meals in London’s Mayfair sits uncomfortably with many of his peers and angers millions especially hard hit small businesses who have endured 14 strikes since he took office in 2002. His response to those who criticize his pay package is characteristically unapologetic, “I have never caused a crisis in Britain. The bankers did.”
A card carrying socialist, he speaks of cuts as an ‘attack on the working class people’ and pins their plight firmly on the chest of the capitalists in government, banks and business. Whilst public opinion may reluctantly be behind the government’s austerity strategy, Crow is not phased by the publics lack of support for strike action. He feels no sense of responsibility to the travelling public nor to small business and places blame for strike action firmly on the doorstep of London Underground.
19 15 entrepreneurcountry
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60