Rail strikes will impact students returning home for Christmas

[Whippet]

Strikes announced for 13-14 and 16-17 December. DS was due to come home on 15th, but we know already it will be shit on the day between.
Fortunately DH has said he will go and get him (and bring back any of his friends who live near us).
His girlfriend however was in tears last night as was also due to travel the length of the country on 15th, with a family party on 16th, but now isn't sure what to do and whether she can make it (last strike she got half way, then had to turn back).

Also, this week they've had lectures cancelled due to uni strikes, and they have assessments in two weeks' time.

I just feel really sad for them.

Oh no. DS1 is supposed to be coming home on 16th and has already booked his ticket. We are meant to be getting DS2 from school, picking DS1 up from the station and heading straight up to his sister's for the weekend as we're helping her with something important. Shit. This is going to be difficult. DS's University is 4 hours South East of us and DD lives 4.5 hours drive North. No idea what we'll do now.

@MrsAvocet

It'll mean extra expense, but booking a coach ticket might be the answer. Even if one is a wasted fare, it might be worth the cost to keep the rest of the plan intact. Even if he can't get exactly the same journey, he might get close enough for it to become possible to pick up.

He needs to do it now before everyone does.

But if can't get one, then he needs to be absolutely ruthless in asking round to see if anyone is driving or being picked up (not necessarily all the way, just near enough). and beg for a lift.

We've certainly had our DC's friends hop on - saying they're happy to be dropped off somewhere convenient to us, from which it's possible to continue their journey home. (But DH is a soft tough and usually takes them all the way)

Thanks @Ethelswith I'm just looking for coaches now. Unfortunately we live in the middle of nowhere and he doesn't know anyone at University who lives anywhere near us.
I've found a National Express coach that gets him within an hour of home though, but it leaves at 5 oclock in the morning unfortunately. Beggars can't be choosers though so I will probably book it. I've never travelled by coach however and Nationsl Express is the only company I've heard of. Can anyone recommend others?

Now considering a flight for DS direct to the airport nearest DD's home. Ridiculous really and not something I'd normally do on environmental grounds, but it's significantly cheaper and more convenient to do that than for him to get the coach home. He just has to figure out how he gets to the airport now, but there's probably a bus or he stands a reasonable chance of someone being able to give him a lift that far.

These strikes are really messing my dd around too. She's actually coming home a little earlier and uni have agreed to do the last day all online so that students can travel home. Mind you hers is a small uni 🤷‍♀️

Last time they were striking she had a mock exam and had to be there. We live in the next city over and it's 40 mins on a train for her, so she commutes instead of living there. She has a disability so manages better at home too. But when they strike it means either a 70 pounds taxi ride or 2 hours in buses to get there.

I hope they can strike a deal soon!

can't they just come home a couple of days early?

I'm sick of all these strikes. Do they think everyone else is getting massive pay rises?
Not a student or a parent of one, but the strikes look as if they'll affect my and DP's attempt to get to the airport for our anniversary trip away, and our trip to our friends' place in the country for Christmas.
No sympathy left for them.

Well given that there are strikes planned for 13th and 14th as well, 15th is likely to be complete chaos so coming home before the strike action effectively means coming home a week early. That's quite a high proportion of a University term, and it's not like they're at primary school, watching videos and doing nativity plays - my DS has lectures and labs right up until the last day, including assessments in some topics in the last week. So no, he can't easily come home early.

Direct your ire to the companies that operate these services and this government. They’re running them into the ground.

The people who strike don’t get paid and these workers will have lost a lot of pay. The fact they are prepared to do so shows how pissed off they are.

My son is coming back on 8th, I'm glad he's not trying to get back a week later.

Given the fact that lecturers are striking too, it might be worth the kids coming back earlier than planned. But it will depend on whether they've got Christmas socials or similar planned.

My dad's a retired head teacher and never went on strike despite working through many questionable governments and situations. He was very pissed off a lot of the time, I can assure you, and he did direct his ire at the government; but he also kept going to work, because he didn't want to leave kids and their families up shit creek.

Times have changed

Teachers and nurses at the food bank, staffing levels dangerous, mental health issues rife, workload completely unsustainable.

Give your dad a medal from me but the past is a long time ago.

The strikes affect my child too but I still support the strike. Government is being fucking deliberately difficult - they are paying the rail companies the lost income rather than workingt o resolve the strike. Government is sponsoring the rail companies to prolong the strike using taxpayers' money

Thanks for the snarky comment about my dad. How do you know we didn't have financial struggles when I was a child? (Clue: we did).
And I don't care. I don't support them, I resent them. Strikes cause more upset than they do fellow feeling, IME and IMO.

Doesn’t really matter whether you support them or not. They have the right in this country to withdraw their labour.

The comment about your dad was because his story is irrelevant to what is happening now.

My mum was a nurse who never striked... she understands why nurses are stroking now. She had hardships too.

My mum and your dad are not relevant to what is happening today.

@MrsAvocet flix coaches are good and very cheap. But less drop off points than National Express, so may not help you.

Yep, DD and her boyfriend have just booked for Sunday 18th instead, a little later than planned, meaning DD can't go into work on Monday 19th now. They also have to go back to uni earlier than planned due to the Jan strikes. The RMT want more money for no customer benefit. Their T&C's are from the Stone Age. Their work practices likewise. Some strikes are reasonable, actually the Lecturers strike I can get on board with (pun intended), but the rail, no, sorry.

If everyone goes on strike constantly and gets higher wages, we get entrenched inflation and it just goes up and up and the country goes further into debt as the pound devalues. It is pure blackmail.
I am so fed up with the train strikes, has massively impacted kids, NHS waiting lists etc, I have no sympathy for them at all. We don’t need small rail stations staffed to the roof, there is no money left, people get tickets online anyway.
Costs the country billions and these unions have too much power.

No Tory has ever actually explained why rail workers' wages cause inflation but bankers' wages and shareholder payouts don't

these unions have too much power Yes, China/Russia have the right approach to unions

It's not just about pay.

There's many other new terms they want to impose on the lowest paid workers.

But the media would have you believe its because they all just want more money. 🙄

Yeah, funny that.

Yes, why could that be, I wonder? 'Tis a mystery.

I feel sorry for anyone affected, but the various unions striking are not just striking for pay. They are striking to stop vital services crumbling. Changes in terms and conditions are never of benefit to anyone except governments or shareholders.

I'm in Italy and DD is at university in England, with flight booked on the 17th. Train tickets also booked early. It's a 3 hour and 2 train + tube journey from her university to the airport.
I booked her on a NE this morning with the flex option so in the event of the strike being called off, I'll get the coach money back.
Hey ho.

I mean they can just come home a couple days later, it's not even the day before xmas it's the week before