Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Disgusted at the amount of people jealous of tube drivers pay

313 replies

Itsawd · 12/08/2015 18:35

They do a job dealing with the public, unsociable hours and god knows what when they get a jumper. We should congratulate them on doing well, not look at them with green eyes.

Its a free market so if anyone wants a job as one they are welcome to apply!

OP posts:
DopeyDawg · 12/08/2015 20:07

Yes: turning up to meetings: tick
paying Union dues to keep union going: tick
voting in ballots: tick
standing shoulder to shoulder: tick

That enough?

I remember my Mother making up food parcels for the Kent miners on strike. And I remember them giving US food parcels a few years later.

The miners suffered greatly and eventually went back to work (those that still had jobs). Many printers lost their jobs. My H is well aware that his job can be taken by one of the many newcomers to the city at any time.

It's not exactly a position of power to bargain from, is it?

Whatthefucknameisntalreadytake · 12/08/2015 20:10

Dopey I'm genuinely sorry if I posted having got the wrong end of the stick.
I would love to ask more about what is going on for your husband to understand it better but this probably isn't the right place and also I'm going out now, didn't want to just bugger off without saying sorry though.

Nonnainglese · 12/08/2015 20:13

So highly inconveniencing millions of people, who have absolutely no way of influencing the Unions or anyone else, to get what you want is fine?
Not a single thought for those who have to get to work, hospitalappointments, or anything else, just a 'stuff them' attitude.
I haven't seen a single public campaign or other step taken, just straight into mucking up people's daily lives.

Makes me sick.

And yes, I'm working as a nurse, paid £34000 after 35 years in the job, 12 hour shifts, finish nights at 8am and back to work on days 24 hours later (my day off) and on rotas of 8 nights every 30 days, so like hundreds of other nurses, and hospital workers, I do know what it is like.

Thanks to these strikes I'm having to pay for taxis to and from work, money i can ill afford.

Themoleandcrew · 12/08/2015 20:19

Night tube was announced long before it was even discussed with staff. First we heard about it was in the press. 'Negotiations' started in April. Management spent the first few months not even turning up for meetings. They have barely even spoken to the union reps. The only way to get them to even talk was to strike. Nobody wants to inconvenience people. Nobody wants to lose a day's pay. The blame should lie squarely with the management who have as yet failed to table a semi decent offer. The pay deal was part of a separate issue, our previous deal had ended and management decided to bung the pay negotiations in with night tube. The pay rise offered was crap, but it would have been accepted if we could do so without settling the night tube issues. All they need to do is agree to work with the unions to make the roster changes fair. But they don't want to. They want to say here is your roster, do it.

CaspoFungin · 12/08/2015 20:31

I read that since the last strike they have offered the drivers to only work one in 3/4 weekends, able to opt into night shifts and an extra £250 if they do. But they still aren't happy with these conditions. I supported them at first and I agree it's not a race to the bottom but they are loosing public support by not realising how good they have it.

DopeyDawg · 12/08/2015 20:33

Whatthefuck - apology accepted. Thank you for offering it.

KevinKnowsImMiserableNow · 12/08/2015 20:34

It's a class thing, isn't it, the jealousy?

As in "how dare working class people who haven't been to University and do what is essentially a manual job be earning the same amount that a middle class person with a university education would earn working in an offce."

The horror!

Themoleandcrew · 12/08/2015 20:35

Not sure where that offer has come from. I get emails from both the rmt and Aslef and our local reps send text messages after every meeting at Acas. I've not heard that.
What have they offered everyone else? Or is this all about the drivers again?

Themoleandcrew · 12/08/2015 20:36

Oh and for the record I have two degrees. Loads of the younger staff have been to uni.

NCISaddict · 12/08/2015 20:46

I'm a paramedic and earn £26k, I have a degree, work shifts (mostly 12 hour ones), have had 3 roster changes imposed in the last 2 years and in the last week have had 1 day off in 10 days, have dealt with the death of a baby and of a colleague in traumatic circumstances. After each event I got a cup of tea, a hug from a colleague and back to work dealing with the worried well. It's my job so I have to get on with it and, for the record, I love my job and can't imagine doing anything else.

You bet I'm envious of tube drivers salaries and benefits. I don't think the answer is to say well, our salaries should go up to their levels, tax would have to go up by quite a large amount to cover it so I would effectively be paying for my own pay rise. We don't do it purely for the money.

Themoleandcrew · 12/08/2015 20:50

You see there are lots of jobs which pay less and are arguably more worthy. People don't become nurses for the money. People work on the underground for the money. If it paid less, most of us would be doing something else.

KevinKnowsImMiserableNow · 12/08/2015 21:05

"People don't become nurses for the money. People work on the underground for the money. If it paid less, most of us would be doing something else."

I agree with this. I don't have any issue with tube drivers pay.

I'm a special needs teacher on an appallingly low salary - I used to earn £50k in a job I hated. I wouldn't change my job now for anything and I don't begrudge anyone else earning £50k.

Silvertap · 12/08/2015 21:09

I'll freely admit to being jealous of those hours. But then dh has worked 30 hours in the last 2 days alone. We'd consider 35 hours part time!

MoreBeta · 12/08/2015 21:09

A comparison that might shock you is that a Senior Lecturer in a university gets paid about 50k. Typically 3 -4 years unpaid doing a Phd followed by 6 years of hard work lecturing hundreds of students running courses and producing world class research.

Tube drivers with few academic qualifications get paid as much as a highly qualified lecturer in a university!!

Something is out of whack.

Justanotherlurker · 12/08/2015 21:18

I'm not jealous of the money, I think all these strikes are losing public support though and when automisation begins to take hold you will find there will be a lot of public support for it.

In my opinion in can't come quick enough.

ImperialBlether · 12/08/2015 21:21

I agree, MoreBeta.

KevinKnowsImMiserableNow · 12/08/2015 21:21

Ah, MoreBeta's post sums up the attitude I was talking about earlier.

maddening · 12/08/2015 21:26

Not jealous of their pay but think they are paid enough and that the shift requirements are not out of line with that pay in the slightest.

longfingernails · 12/08/2015 21:49

Automate the trains, sack the drivers. Machines don't strike.

Themoleandcrew · 12/08/2015 21:55

You do realise that driverless trains will not prevent striking. There will always need to ja a person on the train. Whatever their job title. They will be entitled to strike. Managers can strike, station staff can strike, maintainance staff can strike, controllers can strike.
The comparison with other careers is irrelevant. Let's compare is to other train drivers. Cross rail and london overground get paid more, and Eurostar drivers are on considerably more. Most other operating companies pay their drivers wages in the same region. It is the goon rate for the job.

AnneEyhtMeyer · 12/08/2015 21:56

The last industry that held people to ransom was the printers. They had it amazingly good for a while, but then their jobs were lost to computers and automation. Tube drivers will find the same happens to them sooner rather than later. Driverless trains are already in the pipeline. A lot of the trains have automatic braking already.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/driverless-tube-trains-see-inside-tfls-new-london-underground-fleet-9785034.html

Themoleandcrew · 12/08/2015 22:07

Do you have any idea how much it will cost to bring in 'driverless' trains. Stations will need platform edge doors, new trains cost in the region of 15million each, the signalling and control systems need to be upgraded. There will still need to be a person on the train, whatever job title they are given. DLR train captains don't actually earn much less than tube drivers, and they are unionised. Lets remember that the new tory government had cut funding to tfl. Who is going to pay for this? It is estimated that driverless trains will save approximately 30% of the drivers wage bill. Nowhere near enough to pay for the upgrades. So where will the money come from? Higher fares, that's where. Be careful what you wish for

Binkybix · 12/08/2015 22:15

Hmmm. I'm not jealous because I earn more.

I do feel as though further strike action would be unreasonable at this point. I also read the new offer re rosters and that drivers will have the option to opt out. If that is true then they don't have my sympathy at all.

I also don't see the need to only advertise internally.

AnneEyhtMeyer · 12/08/2015 22:20

You are parroting what the union is telling you, Themole.

The technology is already there. They admit in the short term they will have an operator on board, but that is not a long term necessity.

The argument about barriers is not true either. Automatic braking is already a reality (DH worked on it years ago) and there will still be platform staff.

longfingernails · 12/08/2015 22:22

Several world cities have automated trains. London should be the pioneer in smashing the unions, not playing catchup.