Bob Crow is dead

Love him or loathe him it's always sad to see someone leave this planet so young. He was only 52.

He was one of the last old school Trade Union leaders. 

Rubbish Mista.

He may have been a Millwall supporter but he always worked hard for his members and stood up for them - the RMT's membership increased by 20,000 under his leadership. He was doing a good job, you see.

If a boss or CEO slashes jobs or maximises profits, or enriches an elite; or turns an enterprise around, he is a hero. But when a union man does his job, which is to stand up for his members and get the best for them, he's a villain? How does that work? Just double standards.

And the people, apart from his friends, family and members, who will miss him most are Fleet Street's finest. He has provided hacks of all political shades with loads of great copy over the years.

I guess it depends on which (and I use the word advisedly) "newspaper" you read. Probably not the description from Socialist worker?

Can't say I know much about him, but 52 is way to early to leave.

Basically as Kevin alluded to all the time there is capitalism there will be a NEED for unions.

2013 OLYMPICS

By threatening to screw up all travel unless his already overpaid drivers get a big fat bonus.

Mista H

I know, the 2013 Olympics were cancelled because of Crow and his union. Fortunately we had an Olympiad in London in 2012, so nobody really noticed.

+1 Kevin 

I'm a Telegraph reading died in the wool right winger & I do not like his politics - period !!!

But despite his ability to get my blood boiling at times I admired his dedication & his unchanging straight down the line fight for his members.  People like him do actually balance the various sides of industry.  He may have been one of the more vocal "old school" union leaders,  but he played it straight & was a deal making negotiator, not a confrontationist.  

Bob Crow worked for the ordinary people against the elite who worked for themselves.

Two contradictions in terms in one!

+1

And to all the other positive comments above.

steve

One of the last of the old-style trade union leaders. Whenver I heard hi on the TV he reminded me of that old sketch in 'Not-The-Nine o'Clock News' which took the mickey out of trade unions leaders and their negotiation techniques. But I also admired the man for fighting the cause of his members. If asked that old question: who would you want in a trench alongside you? you wouldn't go far wrong in picking Bob Crow.  As formidable an opponent as he was an ally for his members.

Oh, and the world will be somewhat more boring without him. RIP 

I liked him, he made me laugh. He often came over as a bit of a twonk but so do most people in public.

As I understand it, like many adept politicians, he said one thing in public whilst trying to achieve something else in private. I believe much of the public bluster and rhetoric was to garner support but he figured out how the world really works a long time ago, unlike many other Union men or politicians of the past and present I feel. He was just capable of maintaining a balance and knew how to set the bar high so he could 'accept' what appeared a bit of a compromise but was really what he wanted all along.

I rarely got the impression he wouldn't stand by his convictions.

I think Boris and he are actually quite similar in many respects and made a good 'team', ying and yang if you like.

Jamie-good points

If I was in the Union I suspect I'd have loved him as a clearly dedicated man who worked for his members but as an outsider I thought he appeared boorish and unreconstructed. Oddly I think about the same of Boris!

No matter-the shame is that we should still talk of industrial relations as us and them, bosses and workers, an adversarial contest.

Fifty two is no age either.

He was just a pussy cat really.

Don't think he would have liked being thought of a 'fat cat', though. 

Happily never read newspapers, not since about 1990. 

52 really - I'm stunned. I only met him once and that was quite a few years ago but I thought that he was considerably older than me.

I thought he was very pleasent when I met him.  

Enhancing your 'red' credentials there Chris. 

I agree he looked older than his years. 

Call me old fashioned, but the nasty, vile pieces of work are the one's who have ....

Screwed our pensions (Equitable Life et al ....)

Screwed endowment policy holders (life insurance companies)

Fiddled the LIBOR rates (bankers)

Fiddled the FOREX rates (bankers)

Been fined huge sums for money laundering (big banks)

Paid no UK tax for years (any number of big multinationals)

Used LLP's to hide/launder dirty money (accountants etc)

Made vast sums from pyramid schemes (at least he's in jail)

Split Capital Trusts anyone ?

PPI mis-selling ......

Boiler room scams

Subprime mortgages

I could go on Ad infinitum but I think you get the picture.

I think the icing on the cake is the people doing these things rewarded themselves handsomely using the mantra, you need to pay well to recruit the best.

I think history has shown all these people were good at was conning the rest of us.

Top bloke. Didn't always agree with him, but he could always justify his position.

Chaps

Bob Crow was a pain in the bum but you had to admire him because he was paid by his union to serve the members and he did it very well.

He was living proof that extreme lefties are similar to extreme righties in the sense that he maximised the monopolistic powers of his members to bring things to a grinding halt and in return he got them very highly paid and secure jobs. In that sense you have to award him 10 out of 10 for achievement.

However as a socialist he may have fallen flat. The high wages of his members had to be paid for by passengers, many of whom are poorly paid and struggled to pay their fares.  Therefore his members were living a good life due to their muscle power and all the other poor devils who wanted to travel had to fund it by paying higher fares and the occasional inconvenience of a strike.

Never the less, he did his job well and for that he has to be admired. He had a public bluster but also a very sharp brain and he knew when to back down as well as when to push and that is what negotiating is all about.

Also to state the blinding obvious, 52 years is way to young for anyone to go, we are all entitled to our three score years and ten.

I just feel sorry for the person who will replace him, he will be a very hard act to follow.

Regards

Mick

Good post mista P

Mista H

From what I know of the RMT, Crow was something of a moderate (he was certainly no political extremist). Thanks to the work done by their late General Seretary, the RMT is now very powerful. His successor may be someone far further to the left than he, but lacking his negotiating skills, deal-making ability and political/media nous.

No wonder Boris and his mates were falling over themselves to pay tribute to him - he was a known quantity and someone they could do business with. This may no longer be the case.

Could be rough times ahead for Boris, the Tube bosses and London's hard-pressed commuters.

On another note, given the Tube's vital role in keeping the capital moving, I fail to see why passengers should have to bear the brunt of rising costs through escalating fares.

Perhaps all those banks, City firms and large service industries who do so very well out of London and Londoners could pay a levy which could help fund the transport system. After all, those members of their staff who don't have access to chauffeur-driven cars would find it a bit difficult to get into work without the Tube.

Oh wait, that would require political action from our craven political class, and mean spreading burdens  fairly and more evenly, which means it'll never happen...