Christmas train strikes

[Darthwazette]

AIBU to wish the train strike situation could just be sorted out?

Theyve just announced strikes right over Christmas. My family were coming to stay with me and now they can’t. I’ve had to cancel so many visits and trips since these strikes began. I wish they’d just reach an agreement already.

The train companies refusing to come to a reasonable deal with the unions.

Making both the passengers and their employees miserable at Christmas whilst maximising their profits.

On the plus side someone playing scrooge at Christmas is traditional

The government
Corrupt and inept Lords in the House of Lords
Greedy energy companies who won’t redistribute their profits
Tone deaf employers who won’t pay a decent wage and enforce adverse T&C

They all make ordinary people miserable at Christmas

Wakey !Wakey! Stop complaining about unions and turn your attention to the ineptitude of the corporate world

I’m afraid that public anger and disappointment is more likely to be focused on the unions than on the ‘train companies’.

Wakey !Wakey! Stop complaining about unions and turn your attention to the ineptitude of the corporate world

The irony of somebody like you trying to educate me about ‘the corporate world’.

No. Mike Lynch is soared in popularity as he demolishes the press and explains articulately when interviewed. Several polls attest he has gained popularity and traction for the RMT

Like me?
shall I put me whippet down whilst you tells me the ways of the world

I think that you should stop ranting and stop trying to stifle any debate. We’ve heard your views repeatedly already.

I like him a lot but thought he was known as Mick?

You seem to misunderstand the premise, posters consistently post their pov
one can post as often and with the same view, and should you chose to challenge it, feel free
So, yes , I will repeatedly assert my view, and you can of course assert yours
If you chose hyperbole and insults to add interest to your post,that is also up to you
I doesn’t need to resort to name calling, it’s basic

My autocorrect is changing Mick to Mike

The irony of telling someone they are stifling debate whilst also trying to dictate whether or not they can post 🙄

Oh I see.

He's great at dealing with the press being disingenuous. Got a lot of time for him. Just hope he doesn't turn into a disappointment in the myriad of ways these men often do.

I also think they should be required work longer hours, particularly given their pay levels.

Most pay is not nearly what is reported in the press. With a commute - the day for me is 15 hours. Longer if there is disruption.

The working day does not stop when the job finishes for the day. Many care for relatives.

If people understood how often people go the extra mile to keep the railway running.

A longer day? A longer working week/month/year? When would you like people to sleep? Rest? Really rest?

Or would you be content with people being too exhausted to concentrate after 3 or 4 hours of sleep?

The responsibility is taken seriously. More than you will ever know.

So commuting and caring for relatives now counts as working time? Really??

And does that only apply to rail workers as most people commute, and many workers are also parents.

Yet the opinion polling shows a majority is in support of striking workers.

The public are not stupid, they know the country is in a bad state, they know people have not had a pay rise in many years, they know shareholders are creaming off profits, they know the government should be resolving the issues.

These things are not static YouGov updates show a move away from union support

But also greater number strongly oppose Christmas strikes than other options 32% to around 19% for others

Good post. And for rail which is now private too but public sector culture the reduction in demand isn’t acknowledged.

Anyone who has worked in private sector in a sector that contracts then expands depending on the climate knows the process for a drop in demand.

The main reason demand has not picked up post-COVID is lack of reliability. Humans are not idiots, if they have to be at a meeting they have to be at a meeting. Lines connecting to airports for example - they live and die on their reliability.

We have a workforce crisis in this country, expecially in skilled roles. Train drivers have seen their working conditions worsen and can now earn more as HGV drivers - it does not take a major % reduction in staff to start seeing gaps in timetables.

You can't have a good railway without investment and you can't keep demand up unless you have a good railway. The UK privatisation experiment has failed. We can all see it, the railways are a testament to policy failure.

If your railway is both expensive and unreliable it would be irrational for customers to stay. But it will nto be cheaper or more reliable after these proposed changes.

The government is not on the side of the passenger, until that changes we are stuck.

The main reasons people are wfh were linked below, from ONS

Better work life balance
Fewer distractions
Quicker to complete work
Improved well being

From employer perspective
Increased well being / higher productivity and lower carbon at top / reduced overheads

Same ONS reported this is more significant in higher earners - or those who commute and are a core customer for rail

The Govt does... they could settle this but don't want too.. Ken Clark explained why in a recent R4 interview, it will set the bar for other pay disputes... so keep this one as low as possible.

Passenger numbers are not as low as the Govt says and in any any case, pay didn't go up when numbers were higher did it?

Have we learnt nothing from the Airlines who laid off workers, when usage low... passenger numbers picked up and they had no staff... & pay is a separate issue from demand.

Though maybe it should n't? NHS demand is super high, so i expect.. based on your logic.. the nurses should get their 19% rise... no it doesn't work that way does it.... in Toryland its one way as per normal.

No, the public certainly are not stupid. They are smart enough to know when a union has deliberately chosen the worst time to strike, for selfish reasons. Most will realise that until inflation is under control, any pay rise will be quickly swallowed up.

I wonder what an opinion poll taken on 23 December would say? Canvassing people who have had to rearrange their Christmas plans and can’t see their families after two years of pandemic, all because one group of people want to hang on to an advantageous pension and are resisting changes to staffing levels in little-used ticket offices. A group that didn’t have to strike at Christmas but have chosen to do so, and to hell with everyone else.

As for the ‘shareholders creaming off profits’ thing, which we’ve heard regularly on this thread, you understand that that is what shares are for, right? To deliver dividends. Mostly to asset-backed pension funds. You know, the type held by ordinary people who don’t have access to the very generous rail pension schemes. On what grounds are you suggesting that the dividends paid to shareholders of the TOCs are excessive? What’s your benchmark? Show us your evidence base.

You’re applying some pretty strange logic there. Have you realised? I’ll explain just in case.

Who said that low demand for an industry = low pay rise and ergo high demand = high pay rise? Not me, nor anyone else on this thread.

No, the statement was that industries experiencing shrinking demand should not expect to keep the same number of people employed when revenues are down. So to repeat the statistic quoted by a PP, when your revenues are down to 70% of what they were three years ago, no business should expect to retain 100% of its staff.

What you are saying is illogical.. according to you strikes at xmas will wreck public support? So why would the unions choose this time period then?

Any time of year is bad for the public..., xmas, easter, school hols summer.....

Govt has chosen not to settle.

I don't think UK pension funds are going to have too much of their diversified funds in Dutch Govt and German industry... do you?
Pensions tend to have large bond/Gilt holdings and who wrecked them?

Although the funniest thing about these posts is the conviction that all of this is the fault of the government. Some of it will be, but can you see that claiming that ‘the government’ have forced the rail unions to strike at Christmas just makes you look silly? The choice to strike at that time was made by the unions. Own it.

I was in London earlier this year, whilst the tube workers were striking. I had a pre-booked meeting that I could get to by walking two miles from Euston, and it was my choice to go anyway, but I saw the poor sods who were queuing at bus stops in the rain for packed buses. They were the people who work in shops, hotels, kitchens and hospitals. Not well paid and probably only paid when physically present. Were they expected to rejoice at the tube workers striking? Congratulate them for protecting the rights of the common man (whilst looking after their own pension interests, naturally)? Really?

Liz Truss did more harm to the economy and pensions than the unions ever have. Her poor financial judgement cost the economy billions estimated to be £30 to £35billion
Christmas strikes will achieve maximum impact and media coverage to highlight dispute, so in fact it optimum
Maximising union leverage is sensible to gain prominence and coverage

Its a bit like driving the highways gritting van. You’ll naturally chose winter to strike,for maximum impact.

workers will naturally agitate for pay and T&C