To not understand what the RMT are in a snit about?

[Sistanotcista]

Going to try and post a link to this article, but it might not work. This is the important extract: “If you earned, on average, £44,000 a year, wouldn’t you put up and shut up just now and thank your lucky stars that you’re fortunate enough to have a job which pays at least ten grand more than the UK’s median annual income of £31,772 (to the Office of National Statistics).”

Why on earth are they striking for better pay? I get that we would all like more (of course!) but their salaries seem pretty fair. What have I missed?

Yes, the median UK wage is crap, wages aren't, in general, keeping up with inflation or the rapidly rising cost of living, but perhaps we should all scrimp along, grateful that we can just about afford most things. Or, maybe they're doing what more people should be doing and saying no to the usual British attitude of shutting up and putting up.
I earn a hell of a lot more than £44,000 for a job which although much more senior, is much less stressful with hours I can more or less choose myself. I'm behind them if they feel they're worth more than what they're being paid for the amount of work they do.

I agree too, you do a very important job and you absolutely deserve a pay rise. Good luck with the strike action.

Maybe strikes will incentivise the government to get inflation under control then, hopefully it will be by autumn anyway.
but the skill shortage isn’t going anywhere they predict that we will have full employment until 2025, A natural consequence of this will be wage inflation which given most of us have an actually had a relative pay rise since 2008 is frankly long overdue.

The point has been made several times: passenger numbers are down post-Covid and are unlikely to return to previous levels.

It's currently costing us all, as taxpayers, a lot of money to keep things going as they are. If they want much increased wages it will come at the expense of jobs being cut to match the cuts in passenger numbers.

🤦🏻‍♀️

I guess you're also hoping for even bigger tax increases to pay for it, too.

This. A million times this.
Fellow railway worker here

Well said.

The issue isn't whether people are or are not striking.

The issue is far more deep seated and go back to wages not come wrong the cost of living and the increased cost of living.

And we won't get a solution all the while we are governed by people who think if it's illegal to do something - you just change the law.

Until a government has a policy and can win an election in that policy for long term solutions we are all going to have to do what we can. Therefore I support the RMT for doing what they think is best.

Ah yes the cut in passenger numbers - yet still the complaints of overcrowding not enough seats. Yes wfh has probably meant a cut in numbers but this hasn't transferred to better conditions. Plenty of staff still having to have time off (like everywhere else) due to covid or covid symptoms has meant less carriages, less trains, and this will continue to be a reality if they make redundancies.

Well given that we pay a percentage of our wage is our in tax and national insurance again that will be a natural consequence.

I have been on a tube train where this happened. The driver’s voice when he announced that we had to evacuate was really upsetting. The whole thing was horrible. I think they deserve to be paid very well.

They're exploiting the fiscal incompetence of people running the country in order to broker a better deal for their members. We could all do likewise, if we organised ourselves. Who is responsible for your wages being lower than a train driver's? The train driver? Or your employer?

Wow. What a nasty individual you are. Do you even know any train drivers, you know, these people who you've just called greedy bastards for no reason other than what you've read in the Daily Mail. Try educating yourself a bit more. Oh, and try not to be so unkind to others

It’s a joke. They are taking advantage of the fact that the railways are an essential monopoly in some parts of the country. They are paid way more than paramedics or nurses. The unions always say it’s about safety but it never is.

The fact that their industry is a state funded monopoly is why they have disproportionate bargaining power. It costs us all in a lack of efficiency and high ticket prices.

I used to work in fund management. The pay was way higher and much of it based on ability to bullshit.

You shouldn't believe everything you read in the Murdoch Press.

Although most of your money goes to the European owners who subsidise their own railways with it.

Then the government needs to talk to them. That's literally the job of government. And they need to address all their concerns - pay, redundancies, security and fire and rehire.

This from a BBC article:

"The TSSA is demanding a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies for 2022, no unagreed changes to terms and conditions, and a pay increase which reflects the rising cost of living.
It said NR staff last had a pay rise between two and three years ago, although it varies between grades, and also worked throughout the coronavirus pandemic as key workers."

I'm not even in your country, but i can find some info from the union's point of view. Some people hold very narrow views about worker's rights, and only complain about the inconvenience to themselves.

If it were not for labour unions, you would be sending your children down the mines at the age of 12, and buying your food at the company store.

Tell me you base you're entire world view on the first 5 articles in the daily mail without telling me you base you're entire world view in the first 5 articles in the daily mail.

Speaking of which I noticed they were reporting on the median salary of rail workers the other day, wonder why they deviated from the usual average salary they like to trot out, couldn't possibly be to try and reinforce their narrative could it? 🤔

Finally as others have said repeatedly but slower since so many are having great difficulty understanding this it... is... not... train... drivers... who... are... striking!!

I do feel sorry for everyone affected by the strike but the vast, vast majority of railway workers are on way less than the very good salary always quoted by the media and their conditions are terrible. Saying that all the railway workers are on a great salary by quoting a driver's salary is like saying that anyone who works in a care home is on the same wage as the owner of the home.

My Dp works on the railways and has been verbally and physically assaulted at work, has had to talk down potential suicides and liase with the police to clean up remains of people. He Monitors incidents on board and at other stations and calls out the BTP to deal with anything that passes through his area. Has to deal with medical emergencies, signal failures, delays, cancellations, staff shortages - all of which he has absolutely no control over and gets him even more abuse from disgruntled customers. He also gets randomly drug tested.

As part of job he is also expected to work rest days with no overtime or extra pay in order to keep everything running.

They have had 3 staff leave recently and they are not recruiting to replace them. Their plan is, apparently, to have no manned stations in the whole county so his job is at risk in the next few years. Many days he is on his own dealing with all the incoming/outgoing trains and with anything that occurs on platform or anyone who needs assistance. It's an impossible task.

And all for a salary which is less than my manager at work (retail), when his job can sometimes literally be the difference between life and death.

So, yeah I absolutely support the strike!

@Sallycinnamum
Spot on ! Do you remember Bob Crow, the RMT leader who died a few years ago? I remember an argument during a radio programme, where a presenter asked Bob how he could justify train drivers being paid so well, and why he wasn't representing nurses and doctors, to push for NHS staff to be paid equally well. Bob replied that although he thought NHS staff should be paid more, it was not his area of knowledge, and he he asked the radio presenter how much he earned ! Bob's knowledge of the railway network and the responsibility of the train drivers was excellent, but the stress he was under to constantly justify the RMT members' wages may have led to his heart problems. Rest in peace, Bob.

I'm impressed by a union that is actually protecting the interests of its members. That is what it is supposed to do. I wish other unions would step up and do the same. It might be inconvenient, but what is the point of a strike if no one notices.

My husband has had very similar experiences. From someone trying to cut their own throat on a train, to dealing with epileptic seizures, to comforting drivers who have just literally watched someone smash across their windscreen.

The BTP are a joke and less likely to turn up than the local police.

Hes due as a witness in court as he was assaulted by a young person. One of several staff assaulted which is why charges were actually bought.

Coupled with practically no covid safeguards enforced or allowed to be enforced on trains. Not being allowed to sell tickets on trains for almost two years despite having to be crowded on them with countless others not wearing masks. So no revenue for the company because they weren’t allowed to sell, and yes he caught covid at work and yes him and I were seriously ill.

Now people don’t want to pay for trains. They keep saying passengers numbers are down. Locally they aren’t - ticket sales are down which is totally different. Unlike London there’s no enforcement for tickets in Scotland. Staff are constantly verbally abused. Last time I was on a train the guard told me he was racially abused. They report it and no one does anything. Seriously. Nowhere else would you be subjected to the level of abuse rail staff are while often effectively line working with no support.

There's some people on this thread I strongly suspect are among the verbal abusers in real life.

And yes many of these jobs are safety critical. Do you have any idea how dangerous trains are and how little it takes for it to go wrong? The fact it doesn’t is massive testament to the work force and the training.

ears of pay freezes are unfair. Job losses put the safety of the public at risk. Managing Directors, Chief Execs are not subject to pay freezes.