RMT Picket Line
Gloucester 18.8.22
We initially numbered thirteen or so outside the station,
Not so much a last supper at lunchtime,
As a selfless stint on the picket line,
To protect services for the public,
And people's jobs, pay and conditions of service –
And so much more.
An Aussie railway guard shared his baking:
A tray of home cooked ANZAC biscuits,
A connection with Gallipoli in 1916:
ANZACS and the Gloucester Regiment
In solidarity. A melancholy
Echo of a melancholy past.
Members of the public passed by on the pavement,
Leaflets were politely proffered and accepted
('Thanks very much.'
'All the best. Solidarity.’),
And what did they read as car horns tooted support?
'£300m PROFIT for companies who operate trains
£949m PROFIT for companies who own the trains
£235m PROFIT for companies who repair the tracks
80% of profits go to foreign owned companies
On average, the rail companies are making £500m a year in profits'
So, there is a magic money tree after all!
But for the already well heeled, heated and fed.
If only we could take control of that tree
And invest in jobs and services.
More and more car horns hooted in support,
Cheerful waves were given,
Thumbs were raised in solidarity:
It is uplifting when lives are interconnected:
Individual lives fuse in a community
Of widening collective empathy.
Up above the busy roads and traffic junctions,
The sun beat down again and the wind blew hot again,
After the rain and floods of two days before;
Gulls squawked and circled above the station.
On the pavement, Steve worked hard leafletting,
His tabard was emblazoned thus:
'7 million and me living in fuel poverty' -
For the focus here at the picket line
Was wide and vast and selfless:
Banners for Unite, XR, Insulate Britain,
Save our Seafarers, Trans Gloucester,
Gloucester and District Trades Union Council:
The struggle here today is not just for
A properly funded and controlled railway system,
But, also to protect the environment and climate,
For this struggle is your struggle too;
And the climate's struggle, and the Earth's.
By supporting the workers today at the RMT picket line,
You are also supporting the Planet.
It's that important:
Planet not Railway Profit.
Planet not Railway Profit.
