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.

👏🏼

Someone unthread mentioned they get paid to strike.

In my sector we don't. Do we know if the RMT workers will?

I support it anyway.

Everyone that calls them a selfish fucker because they rely 9n them is completely missing the point!

The same privileged people always moan that strikes are immoral. Strikes are supposed to cause chaos or they are pointless. If there was a better way of protecting workers pay and conditions then I'm sure the strikers who face losing pay due to strikes at a time of financial pressure would take it. Blame the government, blame the bosses - why not direct your anger at them OP? Oh of course they deserve their pay - and the richer you are the less you have to fight just to stay even.

Outside London the amount of school kids this affects must be tiny most kids don't catch a train to school.

Let's not do half measures now.

Why? I think our future generations shouldn't have their exams f'ed up by a load of overpaid militant unionists....

These are the same kids they left hanging by cancelling trains during the pandemic.

Imagine thinking those exams will mean anything in the future we're heading into.

Is that you, Boris?

I am on the fence. I support the right to strike. It does not affect me at all as I can wfh. I think the strikes mainly affect low wage workers who cannot wfh and no one takes that much notice.

Come on be realistic. Times move on - many, and it future most will buy tickets online, do we really need to pay someone to sit in a box issuing tickets? No, we will pay someone to code the website where you buy tickets.

Times change, things move on, the jobs that were done 50 years ago aren't the jobs of today and today's jobs are not the jobs of the future.

They certainly matter to the DC that are currently taking them and are going to become even more stressed by this.

Parents know it's coming. They need to find alternative ways to get the kids to school.

People do not have to put up with being treated poorly by their bosses for the sake of other people's kids needing to get to school.

It's a week.

Get over it.

So let's all just sit back and let our massively wealthy overlords keep on paying us less and less, yeah?

It's not a fucking race to the bottom - in fact, whenever a worker gets more money for their labour, they enourage the rest of us to stand up and get paid more. As it should - because we are worth nore.

Good on the RMT for protecting their members in a way the rest of the chicken-shit unions don't dare to.

Save your anger for your bosses who take all the bonuses for your hard work, whilst not giving a shit - and pointing at 'them out there' taking your cookie when they took the other 9.

If only NHS workers had had the guts to strike years ago, you might not be waiting for 24 hours in A&E.

Too right. The entire country should gear up and mobilise because a small number of its citizens are taking exams.

Nope @Againstmachine plenty of kids outside of London rely on the train network to get to school. School catchment areas in some case are massive.

I agree with the strike but this cohort of kids have had such a rough ride over the last few years I really don't think waiting a week or 2 would have made much difference to the RMTs message.

I agree. This year's kids have been totally up against it. More than any other year taking exams. They don't get predicted grades. Are mostly sitting on sub tuition due to covid.
Any other week. It's bonkers.

Well the heads of unions certainly aren't short of a pretty penny.

Mick Cash, the RMT’s former general secretary, took home a total remuneration of £163,468 in 2020, including £1,432 in car benefit. Steve Hedley, former RMT senior assistant general secretary, had a total remuneration of £94,016, including £2,945 in car benefit, in the same year. Former RMT assistant general secretary and now the union’s general secretary, Mick Lynch, had total remuneration of £118,450 in 2020.

Do you know, interestingly I'm not just thinking of my own children - I am looking the many children who rely on public transport whose parent can't get them to school, you know as they work?

My kids are on a train which probably carries 300-400 to various schools - NONE of those trains are going to be running Tues-Fri. One train in one direction.

If only NHS workers had had the guts to strike years ago, you might not be waiting for 24 hours in A&E.

Well unless there was cover, an all out strike would cause deaths. * *

If fares go up much more they will do themselves out of a job permanently.

Wages up = fares up.

Bring on the self-driving buses and trains.

Why? I think our future generations shouldn't have their exams f'ed up by a load of overpaid militant unionists

why would they be fucked (there’s no need to be twee) up? There’s plenty of notice to organise alternative transport to important engagements/appointments/events.

if any child misses their GCSE exams due to rail strikes I’m willing to suggest that’s down to the adults in their life being shit tbh. I know of literally zero people who attend a school or exam centre only reachable by one mode of transport.

Councils have have plenty of notice of the train strikes.

If they haven't put on buses for school kids to get to exams and school then they are the ones failing them.

The train drivers have no responsibility towards education.

I say that as someone who works in education.

Poster did say that was the wrong info and apologised.

This strike is because they're trying to drastically cut station staff. They're trying to make changes to how duties are structured including making night tube compulsory which many tube staff were never in support of (you should have seen the state our friend was in after being assaulted in the night on the platform - it's a skeleton staff at night as it is, and he was lucky rail maintenance heard it).

They can't keep us safe if they're put into positions where they can't even keep themselves safe, because of cuts. Because the public expects a round the clock service at budget costs. They're slowly automating more services, at the cost of several people's jobs, which is great but for a traveller like me who relies on a wheelchair it's quite daunting.

I really do wish people looked for the right sources of information before taking to the forums armed with duds.

But you’re arguing that trains are so essential large swathes of children will miss exams? If that’s the case then the trains aren’t going to be deserted are they?

or is it you’re prone to hyperbole?