Tube strikes during GCSE and A levels exams.

[Shoola]

Striking during GCSE and A level exams when so many young people use the tube to get to school and college seems really harsh. Long and uncertain journey times will cause way more stress at an already stressful time. I think they could have supported young people a bit more and picked a different time.

I don't know that I disagree with you about the reasons for them striking. But I think it's a bad precedent to start insisting strikes should be toothless.

It happened with universities and it made me really uncomfortable - lecturers were striking (for what I think, looking back, were absolutely valid reasons), but people kept adapting the 'strike' so it wasn't really too damaging, and as a result, they just weren't taken seriously. I value the fact we live in a country where workers can protest and I think it's important it doesn't get watered down.

Maybe we could use that argument next time the teachers go on strike..."well there are parents earning less than you so just accept it". Bet that'll go down well.

@OrangeJellySnakes oh don't worry

I cried when it took me just under 4 hours to get home once. I think I was about 45. I did actually give up and go to a pub at that time so it wasn't the whole journey was four hours - there were lots of upset people in the pub!

oh, and I had to comfort a young lad who was sitting on the floor of the Tube station crying from exhaustion, he told me, he was a tradie and had been working a very long shift. He actually ended up being led away by two staff because he was in such a state, poor guy. That's when I gave up and went to the pub!

I don't have to go into London very often now. This strike is impacting something that I really need to do, but I'm not even going to attempt doing it! I'm obviously fortunate in that I have a choice.

I had hoped that things had got better since more people can work at home. Maybe they haven't.

I thought the poster who commented about the 70 K was joking by the way

Also isn't the current strike about changing shift patterns rather than money?

It’s interesting that the MN Massive supports strike action by anyone until it affects them.

With more people wfh, they had to find a demographic that would be overwhelmingly inconvenienced by it.

Bring on the driverless trains

The trains were on strike for several periods when my kids were doing GCSEs and A levels. It's really tough on the kids - they are anxious enough, without having to worry about getting to exams in time, and then having to take ages to get home again.
We're in S London so don't really have a tube line near by, but you can always tell when they are striking because the buses and trains are much more busy as those that use them later in their journey have to find alternative routes.

I agree with you OP. Exams are stressful enough for teenagers without adding a strike into the mix. Alternative modes of transport are often crowded or unavailable (all public bikes in the area in use, for example).

Around here the council in all its wisdom has decided to resurface the roads around a large secondary school, closing the roads from 8 to 5. Those roads were nowhere near the worst local roads so why they have decided they must be done now I have no idea.

They are greedy gits

I really don’t think anyone who is serious about doing well in an exam would be doing a “sleepover” with friends…. It’s a time for maximum focus.

i agree it is disruptive. My dd has some uni exams to get to and it’s going to impact all students in her year as the exam venue is some distance away from the uni.

@SarahAndQuack why are you making this all about you & your niece?

The OP has been very clear - the strikes start next week. She can't be 'taking it all in her stride' because it hasn't happened yet.

Not all school commutes are equal. Some kids can walk/cycle/get a bus/get a lift instead. Some kids will be completely screwed and have to set off extremely early which is understandably not what they want when doing important exams.

Schools certainly won't be telling them 'not to worry too much'. If they miss or are late for the exam that's it until retakes. The schools don't get to change the time or delay them.

How you can't have a conversation about something wider than your niece is mind boggling.

dd1 is mid GCSEs.. Her school has a large catchment over east and north London. It is stressful and it will affect her. She normally gets the tube and train but will have to take a bus. But because everyone else is driving, the North Circular is a nightmare, half the buses don't stop as they're too full. It's not that simple. I can wfh and drive her but still have to take traffic into account. This is just one story of many. @PinoirNot I'm assuming you don't live in London.

Disrupting adults is bad enough but disrupting kids during their exams is disgusting

At least it’s only London though, it’s not like the strikes all over the country, I guess.

Some children. And they will cause as much disruption as possible, that’s the point.

Not the same though, is it. Tube drivers are massively overpaid. They are completely out of touch. It's just greedy.

Teachers strike because governments refuse to fund schools enough to actually do the job. They strike in the interests of the children.

Walk, cycle , drive, bus, overground train.

Annoying for sure but doable

Have the “just get a bus” commenters waited in a massive queue on strike days while bus after bus after bus goes by without stopping, because they’re already full? Because that’s what happens to me (living in zone 3) and I haven’t got the stress of an exam to get to.

Oh my God
Nobody on this thread thought of that!!! And no, I did not consider walking several miles as it tends to be quite problematic with a spine injury, even if it's old now, 4 miles is about as much as I can manage.

On the wild off chance that people are reading and wondering how practical that is, if you live in an outer zone, the answer is not very. The only advantage I had was there were fewer people trying to get on the bus in to central London

On the way home, waiting till 10 pm was the only feasible thing

If I had continued being mostly office based, then I would have spent all of the evenings in the pub I suppose. But then a lot of people can't afford to do that.

Last time I had to go into the office on a strike day, I got up an hour early & caught a bus three stops before the one I normally use. The bus filled up very quickly & long queues were left standing.

I ended up walking most of the 7 miles home afterwards.

Edited after reading @EmeraldRoulette’s post to add that I’m lucky that I’m capable of doing that. Also forgot to mention that once I got off the bus in the morning I had to walk the last 2 miles.

No thank you.

On tube strike days the nearest overground is rammed
the streets leading to it are gridlocked to even get to it to
buses are over crowded
if you live in zone 5 or 6 and need to get to zone 1 or 2 you need the underground

Your niece has been told not to worry too much if she misses her exams? What a very privileged life she leads that this is not of grave concern

Oh well.

Maybe people will realise that these people do a hugely beneficial job, that is important and carries huge safety risks, and that’s why they’re striking for better pay.

Behave, they are massively
overpaid for the level of skill involved. Their compensation is above some airline pilots!

in answer to OP, they are selfish twats and ought to be replaced with driverless tech. That won’t happen though because a Labour London mayor would never do anything to unionised jobs, so they’re allowed to hold the capital to ransom whenever they feel like it .

They are really well paid tbf