To want to know if the ruddy rail workers are striking or not?

[AbsoluteGonk]

Booked half term trip to London for DS, DN and me. Then heard about the proposed strike. Tried to cancel tickets but was told I had to wait until Monday to see if the strike goes ahead!

Anyone have any idea?

Yy viking.

The engineering work that now cannot be carried out over BH weekend will still need to be done...causing yet more disruption.

Let's not forget the financial penalties that Network Rail will pay to the train operating companies as a result of the cancelled services and engineering work. More money to pay out = fewer pay rises in the future.

Yet more weight to the argument that striking achieves fuck all.

contractor , the staff striking in this instance are employed by the infrastructure provider. Not the train companies. Falling revenues impact the latter more significantly.

With the one day strikes the customer still pays (if using season ticket) and doesn't get service.

That's not true. Season ticket holders can apply for compensation.

Opening the ticket barriers wouldn't have any realistic effect. The majority of people travelling will be on season tickets or will have paid in advance, or will be honest and will buy tickets anyway. I'm afraid that striking is realistically the only tactic any union has, and they are fully entitled to use it. Remember that the people striking won't be paid.

Good for them. Up the revolution! We need to get to work but will drive to a tube station and hope for the best. Beeping picket lines all the way

National rail employees have been receiving pay rises when other parts of the public sector have been in pay freeze and the private sector has had pay deflation. They have now been offered a £500 lump sum this year, inflation pay rises for the next 3 years and no compulsory redundancies before December 2016.

Sounds pretty good to me.

But you can't blame them
For wanting a better deal just because others have it worse. It's up to other workers to fight for a fair wage for themselves, not for national rail workers to
Do nothing about theirs because it's better than some.

And how many of the union members actually voted???

NETWORK Rail. Not National Rail...

The ballot turnout was 60%.

Does anyone have any information about the current pay and conditions for RMT members? I know that tube drivers have an insanely generous deal (funded by gruesomely high TfL ticket prices which are a massive burden for low-paid workers) but am not sure of the situation for Network Rail employees.

I work in the public sector where pay has been frozen or maximum 1% increase for years so am not inclined to be sympathetic, but want to hear the facts before passing judgement.

These people who are striking are not poorly paid , they have an average wage of around £60,000 plus overtime, some are on £100,000 plus.I get that they are valuable etc but and its a huge but many people haven't had a pay rise for years and there is very little sympathy for those who are complaining about the sort of deal they are being offered .

I am huge,y annoyed I have a conference to get to on Tuesday , no way to get there , may try driving but the traffic will be awful.

I'll be stuck in the north..have had to book hotel for another night.
No sympathy whatsoever.

Those who are interested in the pay and conditions and previous pay rises compared to other sectors as well as RPI may wish to have a look at this

It outlines exactly what has been offered...and rejected.

Thanks outtolunch and RatPig. Ugh, it is as I suspected.

I do think unions have a wider social responsibility rather than just to their members, especially when their work affects the wider public so significantly. There are so many unions fighting really hard for their poorly paid and badly treated members - the RMT must know that behaviour like this will push the government to tighten strike legislation even more, making it much harder for genuinely mistreated workers to raise a protest.

To quote from the link:

'This offer was made in the context of pay for these 25,000 staff having increased eight times more than workers in the public sector – such as teachers and nurses – and double the pay for private sector workers, as seen in the table below'

Lots of tube lines won't be running either.

What is their pay? Do we know?

The above just goes to show that this strike is NOT about pay.

It is utterly political. Don't forget the RMT have a new leader who needs to make an impression on the new government...

ottilia The offer applies to 25,000 people so it's impossible to summarise their pay. The link in my post up thread sheds light on the context of the offer.

I agree with you contractor. I will work from home on Tuesday so no disruption to me but DH will have a nightmare trip into LB. How fair on him is that??

It's the unions being unhappy with the election, isn't it.

I can't work from home, I have to be physically present and I won't get paid if I'm not there.

No happy.

I don't think it's necessarily 'unhappiness'. Undoubtedly a tory government is not great for trade unions, but I'd bet my mortgage that we'd be having this strike no matter who won on the 7th May.

It's about the unions flexing their muscles to the government.

That's not the point RatPig

The point is that they have the right to strike.

And those who have shitty conditions do not.

So, let me see, unions are a good thing because they stand up for those who don't have much power.

The strike screws me over massively. But fundamentally if employees feel that strongly that they don't want to be locked into a four year deal then that's fine! I wouldn't! Pegging pay to inflation when it is negative - who wants that!? So it is an awful deal.

We have so few protections as employees in this country and seem to roll over and take it. I really don't get it.

Then we turn on each other and say - well you're not as bad off as me so let's all be under paid and over worked.

Why not have ambition and say, we want everyone to have a decent standard of living with decent pay and conditions?

Nicely put, Iggly.

"I have it hard, by God, I'll make sure so will you." What is hate about?

Some people's holiday plans are inconvenienced. Yet you expect sympathy but offer none for others striking for a better living.

Well said Iggly