to be pissed off at the tube drivers for going on strike....

[ihateminecraft]

I've got the week off and have planned special things for the dcs including a theatre trip (tickets booked and paid for months ago) and another day out in London with friends, both of these things fall on the worst days of the strike.

Too pissed off for words........

I read somewhere (can't remember where, sorry) that the last open recruitment for drivers, in 2008 I think, was objected to by the unions. I also understand that the drop out rates for external recruits may be higher although the person that told me this (a tube driver) didn't have any evidence for this claim. If the latter is true, I guess it could be a reason for internal recruitment depending on the impact it had. Although you'd have to think that a better recruitment process to try to manage this might be the better way forward.

Open recruitment is going to be a magical solution though. They have been trying to and succeeded in cutting station staff for a long time now. So quite a large pool to recruit from and with a lower training cost involved as internal staff have a base operational knowledge

Isn't! Not is going to be sorry

The strike is based on more than just night tube and drivers though.

A whole plethora of issues need to be agreed on today. Lots of talks going on.

I feel entirely let down by TfL to be honest.

I generally support the strike. But I am out of pocket, through no fault of my own, I pay for a yearly travelcard and get no refund when the service is not provided because of strikes, because TfL state that it "is out of their control". So TfL are profiting from the strike as far as I can see, the tube staff aren't getting paid, season ticket holders (who must be a majority of the tube users on weekdays) are still out of pocket, and TfL end up in the money, knowing that it won't affect them long term because there isn't a realistic alternative for most tube users.

I also understand that the drop out rates for external recruits may be higher although the person that told me this (a tube driver) didn't have any evidence for this claim

Yes, someone on MN also mentioned this recently. If I recall correctly they didn't have any evidence to back it up either, but I'm a bit surprised an actual driver wasn't able to offer any. I've also been trying to find unbiased data online, but like everyone else I'm struggling with the sheer quantity of the stuff flying around on the subject - it really isn't easy