work discipline

there was a time when any lateness at work,or problem on the production line was met with immediate dismissal by employers.then with then growth of trade unions and other forms of struggle workers were able to hit back and redress the balance,in a country like this,britain.

then as capitalism develops some forms of class struggle become institutionalised and fills out the detailed corners of the metaphorical and literal social space.simple class lines often tend to be turned into more complex processes and procedures

this seems to be the case in relation to work discipline.currently there are some interesting examples.

in the last few days the rmt(rail,marine,transport?)union is calling for two periods of strike during may and june in support of 2 members fired by London Transport.In turn this has led to the tory minister of ytansport and the tory mayor of london calling for legal controls to bring and end to vexacious strikes,claiming that the union has jumped to coclusions prior to the industrial tribunal hearings.i do not doubt that this militant union with a relatively militant union has its own reasons for calling these strikes.i might take a guess that this is in defence of 2 members for their trade union activity,and to concentrate the mind of the industrial tribunals which are not known,along with the employers for their defence or support of their own staff.in addition i would suggest that such long and complex procedures when institutionalised act functionally in appearing to be fair whilst increasing the chances of fidning diurectly or indirectly in the interests of employers.how many workers can afford or"hang on"whilst waiting for such procedures?

my second example is more personal and i do not make the comparison at the level of active industrial support.over recent years i have found myself a subject of the DDA/Disability Discrimination Act,which requires employers to consider in the round the circumstances of their employees with disabilities and make appropriate adjustments.whilst this is progressive,it is also another toothless poodle in being weaker than either disabiliuty or workers organisations would want.

i am ambivalent.i find it difficult to come to terms with my own againg and decline in health,and whilst it offers me some help and respite at work,it also allows the employer to intrude into areas of my privacy that i find difficult and resent.for example it can ask about the health conditions,their mamnangement and then whether that treatment is effectively managed.i resent this and feel it to be intrusive of my privacy as well as much more focussed on myself in away that seems obsessive.i would argue that this does not require employers to instruct workers to comply with what used to be private but has the same effect in simply opening up the issues for perusal.

i also find it difficult to come to terms with my aging and decline,and to learn a new outlook on the politics of disability where a general,professional level of sensitivity previously sufficed.

i would also argue that we live in times where despite the disguise,more areas of our lives are openn to question and more "ideas"in the community seem open to conflict.

i note this morning an item on shiraz socialist website about the disciplining of a student and then the academic who came to the students support,when the former was disciplined for accessing/reading an al-quaeda traininbg manual available on apublic website.again,i am also aware that my own employer now has a protocal it expects its employees to adhere to about being an ambassador of the service beyond and outside working hours-which seemns to require us to prsesnt the service positively,to behave appropraiutely to it,not to criticise it and to advocate positevely for it.

described this way it seems to be an adrupt intrusion but i suspect that we are luled into seeing such demands as ordinary,reasonable and natural by a social environment and the social relations in which they occur.

yet beneath this we live in times when everything whilst up for question needs to be met with thoroughgoing criticism that demystifies the appearances we are constantly confused by.beneath that appearance are some lines.these arfe times when we need two choose sides with our eyes open.i belive that revolutionary ideas of socialism and marxism provide the sterring wheel to the motor of change which is the worfing classl.the self activity of and ivestigation of experience by that class are the basic building materials of understanding our own alienated predicament and the starting point to building the world we have to win.

lost
06/05/2011

an industrial tribunal,to my surprise has today found in favour of one of the two workers in london transport.

i awaut a positive second result.

meantime militant trade union sabre rattling has done no harm.and the employers,if they are tfl remain=theft,fraud and lies