Tube strikes during GCSE and A levels exams.

At least it’s only London though, it’s not like the strikes all over the country, I guess.

Disrupting adults is bad enough but disrupting kids during their exams is disgusting

dd1 is mid GCSEs.. Her school has a large catchment over east and north London. It is stressful and it will affect her. She normally gets the tube and train but will have to take a bus. But because everyone else is driving, the North Circular is a nightmare, half the buses don't stop as they're too full. It's not that simple. I can wfh and drive her but still have to take traffic into account. This is just one story of many. @PinoirNot I'm assuming you don't live in London.

@SarahAndQuack why are you making this all about you & your niece?

The OP has been very clear - the strikes start next week. She can't be 'taking it all in her stride' because it hasn't happened yet.

Not all school commutes are equal. Some kids can walk/cycle/get a bus/get a lift instead. Some kids will be completely screwed and have to set off extremely early which is understandably not what they want when doing important exams.

Schools certainly won't be telling them 'not to worry too much'. If they miss or are late for the exam that's it until retakes. The schools don't get to change the time or delay them.

How you can't have a conversation about something wider than your niece is mind boggling.

I really don’t think anyone who is serious about doing well in an exam would be doing a “sleepover” with friends…. It’s a time for maximum focus.

i agree it is disruptive. My dd has some uni exams to get to and it’s going to impact all students in her year as the exam venue is some distance away from the uni.

They are greedy gits

I agree with you OP. Exams are stressful enough for teenagers without adding a strike into the mix. Alternative modes of transport are often crowded or unavailable (all public bikes in the area in use, for example).

Around here the council in all its wisdom has decided to resurface the roads around a large secondary school, closing the roads from 8 to 5. Those roads were nowhere near the worst local roads so why they have decided they must be done now I have no idea.

The trains were on strike for several periods when my kids were doing GCSEs and A levels. It's really tough on the kids - they are anxious enough, without having to worry about getting to exams in time, and then having to take ages to get home again.
We're in S London so don't really have a tube line near by, but you can always tell when they are striking because the buses and trains are much more busy as those that use them later in their journey have to find alternative routes.

Bring on the driverless trains

It’s interesting that the MN Massive supports strike action by anyone until it affects them.

With more people wfh, they had to find a demographic that would be overwhelmingly inconvenienced by it.

I thought the poster who commented about the 70 K was joking by the way

Also isn't the current strike about changing shift patterns rather than money?

@OrangeJellySnakes oh don't worry

I cried when it took me just under 4 hours to get home once. I think I was about 45. I did actually give up and go to a pub at that time so it wasn't the whole journey was four hours - there were lots of upset people in the pub!

oh, and I had to comfort a young lad who was sitting on the floor of the Tube station crying from exhaustion, he told me, he was a tradie and had been working a very long shift. He actually ended up being led away by two staff because he was in such a state, poor guy. That's when I gave up and went to the pub!

I don't have to go into London very often now. This strike is impacting something that I really need to do, but I'm not even going to attempt doing it! I'm obviously fortunate in that I have a choice.

I had hoped that things had got better since more people can work at home. Maybe they haven't.

Maybe we could use that argument next time the teachers go on strike..."well there are parents earning less than you so just accept it". Bet that'll go down well.

I don't know that I disagree with you about the reasons for them striking. But I think it's a bad precedent to start insisting strikes should be toothless.

It happened with universities and it made me really uncomfortable - lecturers were striking (for what I think, looking back, were absolutely valid reasons), but people kept adapting the 'strike' so it wasn't really too damaging, and as a result, they just weren't taken seriously. I value the fact we live in a country where workers can protest and I think it's important it doesn't get watered down.

I was really badly affected last strike. I have mobility issues and couldn’t get a bus as the queues were really long and there were no taxis and no Ubers. I nearly cried and I’m a 53 year old woman. They are massively impactful

Where I live, teachers are striking for a week - barely a month ahead of the national university entrance exams. It was announced months ago, nothing was done about it (I think the government didn’t believe they were that serious).

Thankfully, the families I meet seem to be directing their frustration at those in charge, and not at the striking collective (the teachers).

Yes University exams are also affected. It’s tricky if you can’t get a taxi in. I live 90 minutes away from my university (train, tube, tube) so it makes it a bit much.

Via bus, I just checked, is 155 minutes without any waits. So 2.5 hours.

Honestly I have no sympathy for them. The unions oppose every effort to modernise so we have an antiquated system run by overpaid workers. I thought with the last pay raise they got when Labour first got into power got the avg train driver to like £120k per year? Or maybe that was British Rail?

You're definitely missing the point of the strike.

Surely most students live close enough that they can find other ways there without using the tube. For example, there are plenty of buses, and most students will also have working legs. Legs can be used to walk to places such as schools and colleges. Legs can also operate bicycles. Bicycles will allow people to get to where they need to be too.

It’s your right not to agree with the strike, but pretending not to understand it, or claiming that this disproportionately affects a small sector of society when in reality it doesn’t, isn’t helping anything.

The real victims of the strike are the people who can’t afford to miss work and will have to travel 2-3 hours to their minimum wage jobs staffing the Prets and the Tescos across central London so people can get their uninspiring lunches.

😂😂😂

My understanding is the last strike wasn't too bad because most members aren't out on strike

Really hope this gets cancelled

Have they been on strike at exam time before? I suppose they must have. It needs some traction on social media, I think. They might then delay it till after exams!

YABU for thinking the tube drivers striking give a shit about anyone but themselves.

I don't think it is ever considered what events or other things are happening. Other than to make it weekdays not weekends, perhaps.