Boxing Day Tube Strike

Is this a good idea? Unions exist to get the best deal for their members by bargaining collectively. Tube drivers want to be paid triple and get a day in lieu for working on December 26th. So will going on strike on Boxing Day get drivers these concessions?

No. It's pretty certain that they won't. Tube bosses have seen off quite a few strikes recently and they're unlikely to buckle over this one. The reason? The public has very little support for the strikers. Why would they? The strikers cost businesses in London millions of pounds. They cause misery for millions of people who are trying to get to work or to see loved ones. This strike could upset what is one of the most important days of the year for retailers. 

I do understand that the drivers want these concessions. But I think that unions have lost perspective on what should be cause for a strike. You really can't expect to have all, or even most, of your demands met: you are not in charge. Going on strike is a nuclear option. It should only be used in the most extreme circumstances. This really is not one of those circumstances. Neither was it when the London Underground management chose to restructure the staffing at tube stations. That was their prerogative. 

If you go on strike too often then your management will simply think you're being unreasonable. And so it will stand up to you. And once it has realised that it can do that, and that when it does the public does not blame it but blames the unions and the strikers, then they will never give in to strikers. And your most powerful negotiating tool is rendered useless. 

This is even more pertinent because unions managed to continue striking even when the economy was in good shape. Now that it isn't, and the Government's cuts are about to hit the public sector, we're probably about to see more strikes. These would be a lot more effective in changing public opinion if unions were able to convince people that they only went on strike for serious reasons. But because of strikes like the one on Boxing Day they won't have the effect they might have done.