Attack on union is just like the 1980s

The recent attacks on the railway maritime and transport (RMT) union workers has so far mirrored what happened leading up to and during the miners’ strike back in the 1980s.

The Tories are in power and they will do whatever possible to smash a strong union fighting for its workers’ rights, even after passing the anti-trade union bill through parliament to try and make it as difficult as possible for its members to strike, which is a fundamental right in this so-called free country.

What happens when you have a private company like Southern Rail, whose prime objective is to appease its shareholders and make them as much profit as possible at the expense of its staff and customers? The price of rail travel is on the rise, now more than ever, but the service is in continual decline and the people who pay for this money-hungry industry are people like you and me, the everyday people.

I won’t make out I use the trains weekly or even monthly, but I can’t be a bystander when attacks are being made on working class people just for the sake of greed.

Ticket offices are constantly being replaced by machines, the food and beverages cart have been removed and next to go is the guard, which would mean the train will only be occupied by the passengers and the driver.

This is not only a public safety issue, but an employment one as well.

If the government keeps cutting public spending, services and jobs, and they keep letting private companies put profit before priority, where are these people going to find work and what do we pay our taxes for? How can they treat their work force