Review - The Navigators

During the campaign unions will be screening 'The Navigators' - a film about the impact of contracting out on the British Railways.

Ken Loach

How can you show a workforce the truth behind managerial doublespeak when the promise of big bucks is wooing them from their collective ideals?.

All the HR department's nasty little tricks are laid bare in this raw offering that never bothers whitewashing for the sake of its audience's comfort. It is funny only as long as the workers can maintain their good humour and the audience's discomfort grows along with the workers' realisation that they have been robbed of their job security.

By this stage the message being relayed to the workers is clear: play management's way or face the rest of their lives scraping below the poverty line.

The Navigators follows the story of British Rail workers in 1995 at a time when the public utility was being privatised or, in the words of the HR manager charged with the task of breaking down the workforce, "entering a new era of change".

Nothing to worry about here, he assures. Because although the "concept of a job for life is gone" there is still "work available for those willing to compete for it".

Generous redundancies and the promise of extra dosh for coming back as contractors sees many make the leap. For the rest it is a case of needing to jump before they are pushed.

Either way the reality of their new "competitive marketplace" soon hits home. In order to make their bid more attractive the new contractors must underbid each other. Corners are cut and sacrifices are made. More hours must be worked and the workers need to put their lives on the line in order to meet unrealistic deadlines with the minimum of time and expense.

Meanwhile they must meet all their own expenses - including equipment and transport - they lose their sick pay and entitlements, and still they are living hand to mouth.

The only thing that can save the day now is the workers themselves. But what hope have they got when the only information they are being provided with is being fed down from people whose only priority is profit?

And how far are they really willing to go to put food on the table and keep roofs over their families' heads?

Even if they find another way, is it all too late?

There is nothing new about the situation these rail workers find themselves in. Millions of workers find themselves in the same situation every day of the week. But what is new is having the story told in full.

This movie does not talk down to its audience. It knows there has been enough of that already. Rather it responds to the lies that have already been told by showing what the reality means for workers.

The Navigators is so realistic it sometimes feels more like a documentary. Certainly it is a genuine thriller. But it is also highly entertaining and full of laughs.

The rail workers are blessed with a down to earth sense of humor and dry wit that is more than a match for any managerial staff on a plight to pull the wool over their eyes. Like the workers, its audience relies on this humour to get them through the tougher times.

But this movie never forgets that the larger issue of greedy corporates sacrificing workers in favour of short-term profit is far from a laughing matter.

4 out of 5 stars (scary because it's true)

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