What the f*** do the RMT think they are playing at.....

[fuming12]

So, the RMT are striking for a pay increase....during GCSE's. The poor kids who use the train to get to school are going to be left up the creek without a paddle, but no, a £44k average salary is not enough and they have decided to hold the country to ransom for more money.

There are 4 (possibly more) GCSE's being held next week and probably many a-levels too, schools are already warning that if pupils are late the exams will have to start regardless.

They cancelled trains that got kids to school during the pandemic, they are paid above average.

I would actually like to see the RMT fail, and be called out, on this one, AIBU? They are a disgrace.

I am a union supporter generally, but this is greedy in the extreme and smacks of extortion to line their members pockets at the expense of the general public. Higher wages = higher fares.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimney_Sweepers_Regulation_Act_1864

www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/livinglearning/19thcentury/overview/coalmines/

This. This is exactly what I was gonna say!

Not really. The strikers can make their point without knowingly ruining children's' futures.

This doesn't contradict my point, which was that if you're trying to be disruptive you try to be disruptive to as many facets of society as possible. If that includes education then more the merrier. The moral dimension is a separate matter.

(You raise an interesting point about brexit though - before the referendum the union did support it, arguing it would increase workers' rights, which shows they're just as idiotic as cabinet members.)

Regardless of our views on the strike and or the cause of rail workers, I wonder if the number of Covid infections will go down this week and maybe next?

Maybe try the Covid board? should be more info there

Balalake judging by the coughing and spluttering on my packed bus this morning I think covid infections might go up rather than down!

Mind you I don't care about covid. I care about how I'm going to get home from work tonight with no trains or tubes. If the buses are packed it's a very long walk.

How can any company agree not to lay off staff, or carry out modernisation, meaning job cuts, the strikers do realise that any increase will mean costs will rise, it’s a never ending circle

FFS, you think its fine for kids to walk UP TO FIVE MILES, do a 2.5 hour GCSE and walk home....

The whole point of this thread is the RMT are disadvantaging the least able in our school system. Those with parents who can't or won't take them, those that can't afford taxis or coaches, as well as disadvantaging the rest of us.

I would have a HUGE amount of sympathy if the Amazon warehouse workers were to strike, or lets say the ASOS uk staff for example.....I have zero sympathy for RMT.

I would have a HUGE amount of sympathy if the Amazon warehouse workers were to strike, or lets say the ASOS uk staff for example.....I have zero sympathy for RMT.

The good thing about being a powerful union is that your sympathy is irrelevant.

I don’t think people understand unions, politics, industrial action or how the workers rights movements benefits all in the least tbh.

Op mn is probably the least receptive place on this issue but they did cover your concerns on R4 so it is being talked about at least

Really Sleepless? I look forward to reading how your HUGE sympathy for the workers you mention is of any benefit to them and how it improves their working lives and wages. You know what they need? Yes, well done, that's right. A UNION. Unions were formed by workers in similar circumstances. HUGE sympathy helped not one jot.

FFS, you think its fine for kids to walk UP TO FIVE MILES, do a 2.5 hour GCSE and walk home....

yes I do in the circumstances if that’s the difference between getting a GCSE or not and frankly I find it bizarre that you don’t and are getting so wound up about it. I’m getting the impression you don’t walk anywhere to find that such an affront.

I would have a HUGE amount of sympathy if the Amazon warehouse workers were to strike

is it the amount of walking they have to do?

Bah! Apologies @sleeplessness England. My bad tempered response addressed to you in error instead of @fuming12

I would have a HUGE amount of sympathy if the Amazon warehouse workers were to strike, or lets say the ASOS uk staff for example.....I have zero sympathy for RMT.

At least they would get a day off from picking tiny violins and clown costumes off the shelves. Whatever would some folk do….?

And some of us did walk 5 miles to school and sit an exam and walk back so think on. An age ago for sure but it happened.

Some of us have worked hard all our lives - for the powers that be to want to fiddle with our pensions, have us carry so much responsibility on a pay that isn’t keeping up with inflation (or nowhere near) essentially wanting us to work more for less.

The railway has to move forward and technology will eventually take the strain but at the preset time it still needs boots on the ground.

Here though is an example of a union being too powerful....

If they succeed, fares will rise and fewer people will be able to use the trains/will chose to move work where they don't require them. Then the jobs are gone anyway.

The past couple of weeks has been an education for some (although wilful ignorance perseveres on this thread and others)

Nonsense. Take Avanti as an example. Propped up by covid money apparently but still paid shareholders £11 million of that in dividends.

follow the money properly. If you think it’s going to the staff who are abused physically, verbally and sexually regularly on railways, who work all sorts of anti social hours regularly to make sure the networks keep running, and who worked all the way through covid at risk with the public in a way the teachers unions refused to entertain, read some more.

FFS, you think its fine for kids to walk UP TO FIVE MILES, do a 2.5 hour GCSE and walk home....**

I used to walk 3 miles to and from school fairly regularly. In historic terms, it's not that long ago that most workers would walk that sort of distance to get to work (because car ownership and train fares were out of reach to ordinary workers).

When did people get so precious about using their legs? Walking a few miles is not going to kill an able bodied person.

Do you also post threads about employers being "too powerful"?

Because far, far more people are inconvenience or disadvantaged by powerful employers than ever have been by unions. Employers will also go one step further than just inconveniencing you and will actively fuck you over.

Worth noting that polling suggests the majority of the working age population supports the strike: www.newstatesman.com/chart-of-the-day/2022/06/where-does-public-opinion-stand-on-rail-strikes

Eye opening to see that we already subsidise rail by £1.41 per English passenger journey up to £8.34 per passenger journey in Wales.

As no one wants to pay extra fares or more in tax, how exactly are the higher wages being demanded by the RMT, who always come across as massively resistant to future proofing the industry, going to be paid for especially as I can't see rail numbers going anywhere but down thanks to the increasing adoption of WFH?

All I'm seeing the RMT doing is making the case for automation frankly.

I understand how unions work. I'm in one of the largest. I also understand economics. TFL and the rail companies have had their revenues decimated by the pandemic. They're being further eroded by more people choosing to work from home. Higher wages will mean higher fares and I and many others can't afford them. We're all facing a higher cost of living, not just them. I fully support an increase but not at the level they're asking.

I don't support the strike. I won't forgive for what they're doing to working class Londoners today. The people who pay their wages. They are selfish fuckers.

Eye opening to see that we already subsidise rail by £1.41 per English passenger journey up to £8.34 per passenger journey in Wales.

If they succeed, fares will rise and fewer people will be able to use the trains/will chose to move work where they don't require them. Then the jobs are gone anyway

Thats capitalism for you. If companies can’t pay their staff enough to travel to them or recruit from a local pool then that’s market forces.

keeping wages low (through in work benefits) and living costs high, which is where we are now, just means plebs can still afford to get their jobs that serve the upper classes but not actually live in their communities. If train fares spiral out of reach of another tier of society then thats a different issue.

A group of workers seeking to protect their livelihoods aren’t the problem here.