HULL BUSMEN wANT CHRISTMAS AT HOME by Ray Edwards
As we apprnoach the season of "good will to all men," one section of a city's workpeople are faced with a situation which is far from a spirit of "good will", The Transport Department of Hull, Yorkshire, has always prided itself on operating a service 365 days of the year. However this year it is faced with only being in operation for 364 days. The reason for this loss of one day's service is that the busmen want Christmas day off,
The first move for Christmas Day services to be withdrawn and the day granted as a holiday was made by the busmen as long ago as February this year. Since making this first approach the busmen's representatives have experienced the frustrating and hunilitating situation of being shunted © between the Transport Manager and the Transport Committee of the City Council in an effort to get a settlement. On each occasion that they have met either of these bodies they have been unable to make any headway due to the lack of participation on the part of the other side, Only once has a concrete propo-= sal been made, and it must have been obvious even to the Transport Manager who made it, that it was wholly unacceptable to the busmen.
In October a report was published in the local press giving details of a meeting between the Transport Manager and the Transport Committee, At this meeting members of the Transport Committee were reported to have said thit, "the busmen cannot just take the good and leave the bad points of the job," also that, “the bus service as operated on Christmas Day is a social service, and people need it for visiting families and friends and it would be wrong to deny them this at this festive time of the year by withdrawing the buses,"
Perhaps one should point out that these statements were made by "socialist" councillors, and that the City Council is "socialist controlled" and has been for many years. This is what strikes the hardest blow, when members of a trade union have to fight long and hard for only a small conce~ ssion against so-called "fallow socialists,"
What the councillors forget when talking about "three weeks holiday", is that one of these weeks is made up of days in lieu of Bank Holidays worked by the busmen., Also to say, "the busmen cannot take the food and leave the bad" contributes nothing to solving the immediate problem, nor the long-tern problem of shortage of staff. It is up to such people as these very councillors to make the job more "good" than "bad" in order to attract more staff. As for the pitiful plea that "Christmas Day services represent a socia service," these same councillors should bear in mind the fare increases and cuts in services inflicted upon the traveling public over the past few years. They cannot, as they have done in the past, claim that the Transport Department is 2 trading undertaking and as such must p»y its way, and in order for it do do this take economic steps to correct any deficit, and then when it in some spurious way suits them claim it is a social service,
However, the Hull busmen have now decided for themselves what is to be done about Christmas Day working, A resolution has been adopted detern ining thet in 1964 they will enjoy the festive season with their families and friends. One feels that this is one time when there will be no need for pickets to be posted.
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