Wednesday, Aug 13, 2008
and it starts......20% CPI here we come..lol
Yahoo: Strike Set To Cause Disruption
Tube travellers are facing "massive" disruption after London Underground maintenance workers voted to stage two 72-hour strikes.
Members of the Rail Maritime and Transport union at Tube Lines will walk out at noon next Wednesday and again from noon on Wednesday, September 3.
Posted by mark @ 03:41 PM (894 views) Add Comment
29 Comments
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1. layers said...
Cool, 'working from home for me then' :-)
2. Eternal Sceptic said...
Looks like the genie is slithering out of the bottle
3. pelethar said...
They have rejected 4.95% in year one followed by RPI + 0.75% in year two - amazing - not many people getting such good deals in the real world.
4. drewster said...
Can anybody construct a coherent argument as to why public transport workers should be allowed to strike? It seems to me that strikes are only justifiable when there is a health or safety concern; strikes for more pay should be banned, especially in the public sector.
If they don't like the work, they can always get another job....
5. techieman said...
Drewster - so that Bob Crowe can get on TV and annoy us.
6. Bricksnmortarhaha said...
Surely, without the threat of strike action from unions, the BoE/government has absolutely no incentive to tackle inflation? Gordo doesn't care about the steady impoverishment of a powerless/apathetic electorate - what really scares those in power is wage inflation. So unions do us all a favour by putting pressure on the government to take inflation seriously.
That said, I work from home and live within walking distance of the City/West End so won't be much affected by tube strikers . . .
7. mark said...
maybe these workers know the real inflation figure..lol
8. shipbuilder said...
3. drewster said...
"Can anybody construct a coherent argument as to why public transport workers should be allowed to strike? It seems to me that strikes are only justifiable when there is a health or safety concern; strikes for more pay should be banned, especially in the public sector.
If they don't like the work, they can always get another job...."
Maybe because of the many improvements in working conditions that you enjoy, that the right to strike has gained over the years?
Banning strikes? I thought we all opposed the government's authoritarian agenda? Or just when it suits us?
9. shipbuilder said...
How typical of the British to whinge and skulk in the corner, complaining about those with the balls to stand up for themselves.
10. theboltonfury said...
they have no right to a payrise just because they want one - period.
what makes them so special? they just threaten the strike because the government are their employers, but the fact remains that they are no more or less special than a private sector bus driver
welcome to the real world
11. shipbuilder said...
10. theboltonfury said...
"they have no right to a payrise just because they want one - period.
what makes them so special? they just threaten the strike because the government are their employers, but the fact remains that they are no more or less special than a private sector bus driver
welcome to the real world"
This would certainly raise a satisfied smile on the face of the corporate kings.
The self-policing Great British Public.
Divided and conquered.
12. theboltonfury said...
nope - i'm saying that they are holding people to ransom becasue they can do and as such they are implying they are more deserving. We cannot let trade union leaders run the country and make such demands
mcdonalds are hiring if they don't like it
13. shipbuilder said...
12. theboltonfury said...
"nope - i'm saying that they are holding people to ransom becasue they can do and as such they are implying they are more deserving. We cannot let trade union leaders run the country and make such demands
mcdonalds are hiring if they don't like it"
We seem quite happy to let bankers run the country and 'make such demands'.
So - the leeching bankers working for the obscenely rich few or the trade unions working for the many - which do you choose?
14. nooneo said...
4. drewster said...
"Can anybody construct a coherent argument as to why public transport workers should be allowed to strike?"
Yes - It is a BASIC human right to withhold your labour. Simple.
The only acceptions should be safety of fellow workers or the public. These rights took hundreds of years to obtain. Do you want to p1ss them away 'cos you can't get to work? Jeez chaps. Do we really have to invent the wheel again?
15. Eternal Sceptic said...
We may have found a cure for most evils; but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all -- the apathy of human beings.
--Helen Keller
16. theboltonfury said...
13
a difficult point to combat other than to say we can't do that so we must acquiesce to the leeches. As they do 'run' the county we are both their minnions. Tell me how to combat it and I will do it
in the mean time we need to try and control the rest to keep wats left of soceity in check
17. shipbuilder said...
But to strike is one of the ways to combat it. If we all stopped work for a week (except essential services, obviously) the government would be on its knees within days. Real democracy in action. They serve us remember.
18. theboltonfury said...
all that would happen is my rent would go unpaid and I'd lose my job. I don't have the safety net of a noddy government contract
19. shipbuilder said...
That's the spirit.
20. paul said...
drewster, I can see what you're saying.
However strikes rarely go ahead unless they can get wider public sympathy.
The firemen's strike in erm ... 2003 weas a classic example of how the public didn't really see the issue:
No qualifications or job prospects? White male? Become a fireman, get paid £30,000 and sleep on the job - we'll provide a bunkbed.
However in this case, demanding an above inflation payrise is reasonable, otherwise the government could get a skeleton staff in to do the job (like they did with the firemen).
21. alan said...
Tube drivers have to deal with the great British public at their worst - usually at binge drinking time on Fridays. The situation is getting worse by the month. It's not a happy experience! Not much fun having a pram chucked on the lines in front of your train for "entertainment". These stories never reached the papers in the days when I worked for Tube Lines (Jubilee, Northern, Picadilly). Both Metronet and Tube Lines just got "fined for lateness" in the ever increasing "politically correct" environment. I'd want a big pay rise too if I was an LU worker!
Public Transport makes a sound contribution to making London a premier financial centre. Why should bank middle managers get 5 figure bonuses when the whole company makes a whopping loss and public transport workers get a boot up the backside?
22. theboltonfury said...
i am an average joe trying to provide for a family - not a ****ing freedom fighter
23. paul said...
"Public Transport makes a sound contribution to making London a premier financial centre. Why should bank middle managers get 5 figure bonuses when the whole company makes a whopping loss and public transport workers get a boot up the backside?"
Yeeaah, well ummm, using the same "they've got it so why can't I have it" logic doesn't really cut it.
If they've got it and you want it, leave your job as a tube driver and start training as a banker - there's nothing stopping you in theory.
If George Soros can go from selling tupperware door-to-door in Port Talbot to being a billionaire banker ...
You're much better sticking to the inflation argument ...
24. nooneo said...
theboltonfury said......
"they have no right to a payrise just because they want one - period." - They have a right to withdraw their labour if they feel the need to protect their rights (payrises of at least inflation). Like the use of the americanisation there.period.sorry full stop.
"We cannot let trade union leaders run the country and make such demands" - They are not trying to run the country just protect their members interests (sounds reasonable to me)
"in the mean time we need to try and control the rest to keep wats left of soceity in check" - You sound like a totalitarion there mate.
"i am an average joe trying to provide for a family - not a ****ing freedom fighter" - With that kinda attitude you might need to be a freedom fighter sooner than you think
"I don't have the safety net of a noddy government contract" - Sounds like you are jealous that other people have more rights than you therefore they shouldn't
Divide and rule theboltonfury - They appear to have you're vote already!
25. theboltonfury said...
who is 'they'?
get a grip man
26. nooneo said...
"They" - being those who would divide and rule
27. drewster said...
Thank you for the replies to my original question, "why strike".
@Bricksnmortarhaha,
Your explanation that it keeps inflation in check is probably the best, and the most relevant to this blog.
@shipbuilder,
"This would certainly raise a satisfied smile on the face of the corporate kings"
The strikers' salaries come straight from the pockets of tube passengers. No corporate kings involved.
@nooneo #4,
"It is a BASIC human right to withhold your labour."
They can withhold their labour by quitting, not by p*ssing off the rest of us.
"These rights took hundreds of years to obtain. Do you want to p1ss them away 'cos you can't get to work?"
There's a world of difference between factory workers striking (opposing wealthy masters) and tube drivers striking (opposing the fare-paying public).
@alan,
Thanks for the insight, I always appreciate the insider's viewpoint.
"Tube drivers have to deal with the great British public at their worst...."
I feel a lot more sympathy for prison wardens (£17-25k) than for tube drivers. Prison wardens suffer from abuse all day long from some of the worst-behaved members of society, whereas tube drivers are safely ensconsed in their trains and don't generally have to deal with the public face-to-face.
"Why should bank middle managers get 5 figure bonuses when the whole company makes a whopping loss and public transport workers get a boot up the backside?"
I agree that executive pay is completely out of control. But why stop at public transport workers? Lots of people earn minimum wage in London: office cleaners, caterers, care assistants, pub glass-collectors, etc. Giving wage rises to tube and bus drivers means higher fares, which takes money away from other people on minimum wage. It would be much fairer to campaign to raise the minimum wage for everyone instead of feathering the nests of a select few tube drivers.
@nooneo #23,
"They are not trying to run the country just protect their members interests"
That's the crux of my complaint - the interests of their members (higher wages) are directly opposed to the interests of the travelling public (lower fares). The only way to square that circle is to subsidise tube drivers' salaries from tax revenue, which in general is no better than higher fares.
28. nooneo said...
@26. drewster
"There's a world of difference between factory workers striking (opposing wealthy masters) and tube drivers striking (opposing the fare-paying public)."
So what sort of list should we prepare of all the workers you disapprove of striking then? Wealthy masters? This isn't the 19th century! People have the right to withdraw there labour and not neccessarily be sacked.
Some of these people are cleaners fighting to obtain £7.45 an hour! Sounds like all you people saying they shouldnt strike just don't want your busy, busy lives upset by people who may have legitimate complaints.
Wow. We have come a long way haven't we. I suspect a winter of discontent. Mostly from people complaining they can't get to work.
Oh well, you'd suppose better get back to your expresses and mails.
29. layers said...
Well I really didn't think this topic would divide 'us' here so much. I agree with nooneo, these people have the right to protect their income, Hell, I would do the same if I could, and I'm sure they have families too, so good luck to them. So what if it affects travel for a couple of days, big deal. And they're paid very low wages, so what's the big deal? Corporations are cr*ping themselves currently about having to increase wages due to runaway inflation which will drop profits and upset the all hallowed 'share holders' (note, NOT the average shareholder), and thus management get it in the neck for not towing the line. And how dare the Govt call for wage freezes to stop inflation, and then award themselves huge rises!
They should all walk out for a week, then see what happens.
Divide and conquer is such a useful tactic.