Rail strike next month?

[holyzombiejesus]

I've checked and whilst the info may be incorrect, it seems that there are still some services running on the strike days. This would mean I could get in to work. Would this be akin to crossing a picket line?

[Fambo Number Mive]

Apologies to the previous poster, I don't have an answer to your question.

Loose Women panalists are to the left of Starmer on striking

[lauraxsynthesis]

I've checked and whilst the info may be incorrect, it seems that there are still some services running on the strike days. This would mean I could get in to work. Would this be akin to crossing a picket line?

Not equivalent but not great solidarity.

I'm delighted I don't have to go into the office Tuesday because of the strike. On the other hand, the discussion confirmed my suspicion that one of my colleagues is a tory or a fash or something gross. Only one, mind.

[Fambo Number Mive]

As the bullshit by the mainstream media over the strikes is increasing

[greencalx]

Just the one signaller?

Looks like teachers and nurses are also agitating, and I think the civil service unions are getting restless too. All quite reasonably in my opinion, but I fear things are going to get bloody.

[Kelvin]

Good chance I won't be able to attend my friend's funeral due to this. All trains and replacement services are either cancelled, booked, or unlisted. Will just have to see what's available on Sunday.

Obviously still support the strikes, but can't pretend I don't selfishly wish it was another time. On top of everything else, I'm worried the friends and family, many of whom I know well, will think I'm a complete cunt for not attending. 

EDIT:  Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned this. I obviously do support the strikes despite the unfortunate timing.

[holyzombiejesus]

Unison had a ballot relatively recently and didn't get the required % of returned ballots to make whatever the result was enactable. Imagine paying union fees and opting to give them to Unison and then not even bothering to return a strike ballot.

[bgmnts]

Obviously it's shit but this HAS to happen sadly. Unless society fully fucks up as a result of these people not working, then they won't get their fair do. When you have a few thousand billionaires out there that could easily fund all this with no skin off their nose, there is no excuse. People have to get it into their heads.

[Goldentony]

give trains tits IMO

[Gurke and Hare]

give trains tits IMO

Hello, I'm the producer of Question Time, would you be interested in appearing on Thursday's show.

[druss]

The BBC has an article stating how almost every train worker earns more than nurses. Train drivers around twice as much. Can someone explain to me why this strike is justified? I am fairly sure that nursing is a harder job than pressing stop and go.

I'm generally supportive of strikes but I think I am ignorant around this one so could do with some education.

[SpiderChrist]

As the bullshit by the mainstream media over the strikes is increasing

[SpiderChrist]

There you go

[druss]

Rail travel assistants - £33,310 - includes ticket collectors, guards and information staff
Rail construction and maintenance operatives - £34,998 - they lay and repair tracks
Rail transport operatives - £48,750 - includes signallers and drivers' assistants

All more than nurses. I'm sure they want more money, I also want more money, but those figures are decent so I still don't get it.

Again, I'm lifting these figures from a BBC article so I am sure there is another angle, I just haven't found it yet.

[SpiderChrist]

https://www.rmt.org.uk/news/rmt-statement/

It's easy if you try.

[Pink Gregory]

Surely the take away is that nurses aren't paid enough, rather than railway staff are paid too much?

Also it's a diversionary tactic to say that it's all about pay, it isn't.

Also, the NHS doesn't have a particularly militant union with a history of winning disputes (I assume the majority are Unison or some othet public sector union?)

Also also, where the railways are fully privatised, the profiteering of those private companies is going to be absolutely off the chain; while staff suffer job cuts and get their pensions raided, travellers are subject to higher and higher fares and fewer services.

[Pink Gregory]

https://www.rmt.org.uk/news/rmt-statement/

It's easy if you try.

"It has to be re-stated that the source of these disputes is the decision by the Tory Government to cut £4bn of funding from our transport systems - £2bn from national rail and £2bn from Transport for London."

"As a result of this transport austerity imposed by the Government, the employing companies have taken decisions to:

Savage the Railway Pension Scheme and the TFL scheme, cutting benefits, making staff work longer, and poorer in retirement, while paying increased contributions.

Thousands of job cuts across the rail networks.

Attacking terms, conditions and working practices in a form of internal fire and re-hire.

Cutting real pay for most of our members through lengthy pay freezes and below RPI inflation pay proposals."


"Every worker in Britain deserves a pay rise that reflects the cost-of-living crises. All working people should have the benefit of good negotiated terms, conditions, working practices and occupational pensions that will ensure their living standards in retirement."

[Zetetic]

Surely the take away is that nurses aren't paid enough, rather than railway staff are paid too much?

Also it's a diversionary tactic to say that it's all about pay, it isn't.

Also, the NHS doesn't have a particularly militant union with a history of winning disputes (I assume the majority are Unison or some othet public sector union?)

RCN and Unite I'd we're talking nurses specifically, I believe.

Problem is that a) industrial action ballots in "important public services" have high turnout requirements, b) striking kills patients too immediately and leaves remaining colleagues to deal with this and c) given b, striking can put you in a difficult situation regarding professional registration.

Strike action by nurses in NI is a significant counterexample in recent years. (Strike legislation is different there - I'm not clear on how this affects e.g. turnout requirements.)

[katzenjammer]

Surely the take away is that nurses aren't paid enough, rather than railway staff are paid too much?

'If train drivers get paid less (or better still fired) I can feel better about my own shitty salary' seems to be the attitude of a lot of people

[SpiderChrist]

'If train drivers get paid less (or better still fired) I can feel better about my own shitty salary' seems to be the attitude of a lot of peoplecunts.

[Pink Gregory]

RCN and Unite I'd we're talking nurses specifically, I believe.

Problem is that a) industrial action ballots in "important public services" have high turnout requirements, b) striking kills patients too immediately and leaves remaining colleagues to deal with this and c) given b, striking can put you in a difficult situation regarding professional registration.

Strike action by nurses in NI is a significant counterexample in recent years. (Strike legislation is different there - I'm not clear on how this affects e.g. turnout requirements.)

The extent of anti-union legislation in Britain isn't exactly well known.  I certainly don't know the first thing about it.

[Fambo Number Mive]

The BBC has an article stating how almost every train worker earns more than nurses. Train drivers around twice as much. Can someone explain to me why this strike is justified? I am fairly sure that nursing is a harder job than pressing stop and go.

I'm generally supportive of strikes but I think I am ignorant around this one so could do with some education.

Other people have explained why this isn't about train drivers' pay, but I wanted to comment that I imagine being a train driver is a very hard job -  you have to concentrate really hard for hours. It's not a job I would be able to do. Also, you are by yourself for a lot of your shift so I would imagine it's a very lonely job.

Also the proposed plans to cut 2,500 maintenance jobs will affect railway safety for everyone. When I travel I want the railway to be as well staffed as possible and the staff to be as well paid as possible.

[Fambo Number Mive]

Good chance I won't be able to attend my friend's funeral due to this. All trains and replacement services are either cancelled, booked, or unlisted. Will just have to see what's available on Sunday.

Obviously still support the strikes, but can't pretend I don't selfishly wish it was another time. On top of everything else, I'm worried the friends and family, many of whom I know well, will think I'm a complete cunt for not attending. 

EDIT:  Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned this. I obviously do support the strikes despite the unfortunate timing.

I don't think it's selfish to be annoyed about the effect the disruption has on you, you can still do that and support the strikes. Very sorry to hear that it will affect you going to your friend's funeral. I would imagine that the friends and family will be aware of the rail strikes so won't think you are a cunt for not attending.

[Blumf]

Also the proposed plans to cut 2,500 maintenance jobs will affect railway safety for everyone.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potters_Bar_rail_accidents#2002

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) report released in May 2003 found that the points were poorly maintained and that this was the principal cause of the accident
...
Initially after the accident, Jarvis claimed that the points' poor condition was due to sabotage of some sort, and that its maintenance was not to blame. No solid evidence of any sabotage has ever come to light, and the HSE report found that other sets of points in the Potters Bar area showed similar, less-serious maintenance deficiencies and the poor state of maintenance "probably arose from a failure to understand fully the design and safety requirements".

[Sebastian Cobb]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potters_Bar_rail_accidents#2002

This feels like it's what Loach predicted in The Navigators.

Fucking bollock bastards!

[greencalx]

Government threatening to bring in agency workers to break the strikes. Don't even know where to start with that, but briefly, given there's a labour shortage just now (and it's hardly like there's hundreds of qualified signallers twiddling their thumbs) I can see this costing a lot more than the 5% pay rise that RMT would probably settle for.

[Mrs Wogans lemon drizzle]

"Workers should "think and reflect" before asking for pay rises, £575,000-a-year Bank of England chief Andrew Bailey told MPs on Monday."

What is the union looking for?  7%?  If everyone got a 7% pay rise, wouldn't we all be fucked becuase of the impact it would have on inflation?

[Goldentony]

anyone else whinges about this being about pay they need to film themselves eating spoonfulls of wet sloppy human shit out of a potty

[Buelligan]

Well said.

[Kankurette]

Given the amount of shit train drivers have had to deal with because of COVID, I'm not surprised. I remember there were quite a few trains being cancelled due to staff shortages last year.

Good chance I won't be able to attend my friend's funeral due to this. All trains and replacement services are either cancelled, booked, or unlisted. Will just have to see what's available on Sunday.

Obviously still support the strikes, but can't pretend I don't selfishly wish it was another time. On top of everything else, I'm worried the friends and family, many of whom I know well, will think I'm a complete cunt for not attending. 

EDIT:  Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned this. I obviously do support the strikes despite the unfortunate timing.

If there's absolutely no way you can get there, I'm sure they won't think you're a cunt. It's not like you wouldn't be there in normal circumstances, right?