I think the time is right to have a look at the RMT London taxi branch, as they seem to be collecting quite a backlog of gaffs and blunders on their way to isolation, obscurity, and eventual disbandment!
The RMT never miss an opportunity to mete out criticism, and expend most of their energy in a negative way. It’s beginning to look like they only support issues that they themselves have decided are in the best interest of the betterment of their own cause.
Their only real achievement has been to develop a tribal culture among trade organisations, pitting cab driver against cab driver and creating animosity within our trade.
They have made numerous attacks on various figures in our trade in an attempt to undermine their positions, in a cheap effort to manipulate cab drivers opinions to swell their membership figures and placate their own sad little egos.
Internet propaganda is their weapon of choice, (
) as it doubles as a psychological tool for manipulation purposes and can also be used as blunt instrument to cosh anyone that gets in their way.
The few dedicated members the RMT London taxi branch have are convinced that their beliefs are righteous, and the methods they have adopted are justified.
They view other trade organisations as rivals, and treat them as so; they constantly make vicious and divisive comments on the internet, then they have the audacity to complain that the members of these organisations will not support initiatives that they are known to be part of!
So let’s have a little peek at the RMT’s last 12 months in business:
A committee member stands down after a fracas in the street and embarrassing disclosures of his involvement to an online minicab booking website.
An unsuccessful stalking campaign targetting Bob Oddy, General Secretary of the LTDA, resulting in the police being called.
A chairman who is as elusive as Howard Hughes, who has a regular spot in Callsign mag . The DaC board of management openly accept PH as a legitimate business partners! (The RMT have been known to use the expression, "guilty by association." I wonder if their own chairman qualifies.)
Numerous copy and paste campaigns that never receive replies.
Urinate in a bottle demo, and I’m told the bottle of choice after much debate at a monthly meeting of the RMT was an old style glass coke bottle. It was chosen because you can hold the neck easily with two fingers and the opening is generous, for ease of access!
A vice chairman who gets his picture in the paper for a demonstration that has nothing to do with the cab trade. A man that complains about everything and anyone in a position he could never attain. In fact truth be told, Bob Oddy has a better statistic for turning out on night-time cab trade issues affecting drivers than this long distance activist!
A joint venture with the GMB, seeking a public enquiry into the PCO, and the need for partitions in PH vehicles to enhance the safety of mini-cab drivers.
RMT 40 hour a week working directive.
A Rep at the airport who wants to sue the world. (
Wonder who?)
And to top it all, the editor in chief of their own propaganda website TTT, tweets away on twitter about the replacement marshals at Tiger Tiger being a waste of time, space and money; without noticing one of them in fact is a member of his own organisation, the RMT! The very union that has been bleating and belly-aching about the lack of organisation at this venue. The new marshals allowed a Lorry to park, unchallenged on the rank at Tiger Tiger, while they drank tea in the back of their own cab parked at the head of the rank!
On a more serious note, I would like to say a little about Mr John Mason:
The appointment of John Mason as the (Director of Taxi and PH) is the first of its kind at the PCO, and in my opinion, probably the best thing that has happened in its long history.
Finally we have a person in charge with not only business acumen, he also has strong administrative skills. In a relatively short time in office Mr Mason has made bold and concerted efforts to make changes to our industry that his predecessors never had the notion nor inclination to do. Mr Mason is the right man, at the right time that we need desperately to help us bring our industry into this century!
It’s looking very much like the RMT are done licking their wounds after Mr Mason’s recognition rebuttal. Once again the RMT fail to embrace the need for change, and have started more nastiness, as conflict is the ONLY thing they understand. First the accusations of incompetence, no doubt will be followed up by some sort of character assassination. They do love a bogie-man in the closet to complain about!
If you had a problem and you had to attend the Public Carriage Office, would you really want to be represented by people like these?
Not me.
Re-produced with permission from the NissenHut Blog spot.
