Train drivers' strike

[fbg40]

Any strong opinions out there ? I would ask the following question : " Do Nurses, Policemen, Firemen, Ambulancemen, Armed Forces, (and everybody else who works on Boxing Day ) get TREBLE time and a day off in lieu for working Boxing Day - NOOOOOOO ! Are the train drivers just being greedy - I think so. No doubt I have opened a can of worms here, but nevermind - it's Christmas !!
FBG40

[fbg40]

Carakeel
You have answered my question exactly. Thank God for people like your "ratter". Hope you have a Happy Christmas.
FBG40

[Carakeel]

Thank you fbg40! I wish you a lovely Christmas too and a healthy and happy New Year 2012! We will have a happy Christmas, even with ratter working. We will celebrate with my mum here at home first and when he goes to work I will go with him, as will our smallest therapy dog Sammy, all dressed up in a Santa coat. The residents love seeing and cuddling our dogs and so a visit on Christmas day from a four legged little Santa will bring a lot of smiles! I'm a volunteer at the home and as few relatives come to visit on Christmas day, our little Shih-Tzu and I will try to entertain the residents for a few hours, while ratter is working. So it will be a happy Christmas, as we will be spending our time together. :o)

[Lonnie]

Carakeel , I'm with you 100%, my daughter is now in a Residential Home, she is home now for Christmas, but the staff, whho, I must say, are really wonderful, are working all over Christmas becacuse most of the clients will be at the home.

My heart goes out to both the Clients and Staff, not just at this time of year, but all the time.

When I said previously, that I thought we were well paid compared to some other jobs, I meant it, the problem, I think, is endemic to the selfish society we live in.

The Union Leaders, not just Mr Crow, but all of them, should be taken on a nationwide tour of All care homes. It just may chanfe their attitude.

Anyway, to all on this thread, have a very Happy and Merry Christmas.

[seadogg]

Having spent a large chunk of my life in voluntary rescue work I admire your attitude immensely Carakeel, but I am not sure that it has a lot to do with unionised labour negotiating the best possible terms for its members.

People used to have a great pride in their job for its own sake but we now live in a media driven society where the rank and file know what a greedy lot their "betters" are

[Quizmonster]

I totally agree with you, Seadogg. Whilst I have the highest regard for Ratter and Carakeel and the selfless work they - and millions of others - do for mankind, I see no reason whatsoever why employees should not fight for the MOST they can squeeze from their employers. After all, these very employers are invariably intent on giving away the LEAST they can get away with.
Show me a shred of evidence that London Transport does not negotiate on this basis. A few months back, they tried to sack two tube drivers and - when the cases were brought to tribunal - both were roundly dismissed. The days of enlightened employers who created villages and facilities for their workers are long gone; workers nowadays are just milch-cows and any time they bite back...uncowlike...is good in my eyes.

[weecalf]

Always thought a strike is a sign of weakness on the unions part .We as workers pay our union dues .So they should appoint people articulate enough to sit down and get a deal on behalf of the workers.We cant afford to lose days wages.The unions calling for a strike is like throwing the dummie out of the pram .

[NOX]

I couldnt agree more QM. If there were no strong negotiating unions the mass of workers in this country ( all of you not just the train drivers) would be considerably worse off than you are now.
Whilst it's extremely commendable of Ratter Carakeel, don't you think he ought to be more appreciated for what he does on a fiscal level? I certainly do. You won't attract the right people into important jobs like care work, the ambulance service, fire service etc if they are not rewarded justly for their efforts- so thank the unions, each and every one, when they negotiatie a good deal for the members because they are reminding the powers that be that the people of this country still have teeth when they wish to use them and hopefully one day that will filter down the the whole of the workforce being treated as they should and not simply as an ever replaceable, expendable commodity as they currently are by employers.

[EDDIE51]

The Docklands Light Railway operates perfectly well and safely with out drivers, the writing is on the wall for tube drivers and for train drivers in general.
I have never understood why train drivers earn more than bus drivers when driving a train is so much easier. It as to be down to the unions.

[emmie]

Nox, they are hardly quids out, i mean if it's true, and i wouldn't have a clue, that the wages for tube drivers is 50 grand, then that's more than most couples earn, so don't think calling a strike, which will not just inconvenience those going shopping tomorrow, for the bank holiday sales, but those who work in those shops, in hospitals, care home, and the like, unions were right in the days when labour was plentiful, very low wages, and bad conditions, i can't see that many work in those conditions now.

[Quizmonster]

Eddie, the London underground is quite a different kettle of fish as compared with the Docklands Light Railway. Also, don't forget that the technology for pilotless aircraft has existed for ages, but one doesn't see too many take-offs for Torremolinos with an empty flight-deck!

[Lonnie]

EDDIE51, The DLR, like the Jubilee Extension, is purpose built for driverless trains, the Central Line and the whole of the Jubilee is now Automatic, the drivers are still on the front, but they only drive into and out of Depots/Sidings, and in emergencies. On most lines, even if the trains are Automatic, because the structure is so old, there will always be a Driver in the front, even if he/she is doing nothing except observing.

I fully agree that it is the Union Leaders Job to get the best deal they can for their members, but I do believe this strike is over the top.

Also, 'safety in numbers' when a stike is called, to go on strike, is to break your contract' that's a sacking offence.

[THECORBYLOON]

"Also, 'safety in numbers' when a stike is called, to go on strike, is to break your contract' that's a sacking offence."

There would be a case for unfair dismissal if it happened wthin twelve weeks of lawful industrial action beginning. It would also be ufair dismissal if the strike did not last as long as twelve weeks and the dismissal was outwith that twelve weeks.

[ludwig]

// The days of enlightened employers who created villages and facilities for their workers are long gone; //

QM, you're not proposing a return to 'victorian values' are you? Excuse me while I LMAO.

[fbg40]

I heard on the Radio today that the Underground will operate from 1145 tonight until 0430 tomorrow - are the drivers claiming treble pay for that as well ? After all, as their union said, they will be away from their families when the New Year arrives.
Happy New Year to all my readers !!
FBG40

[Quizmonster]

No, L, I'm not. I leave that sort of thing to airhead Tories like John Major, with his notion of maiden aunts cycling to evensong and hearing the click of bat on willow as they pass the village green.
I'm sufficiently knowledgeable to grasp that the supposed 'Victorian values' involved in reality vastly MORE exploitation of working people than 'modern values' do.
Nevertheless, there WERE then some seemingly enlightened employers and I mentioned them solely to make the point that today we have a near 100% "dog-eat-dog" situation in workplace negotiations.
Yet again, I'm none too clear on what point you are trying to make. Are you suggesting London Transport does NOT try to get away with paying drivers as little as they can get away with? If so, you are sillier than I'd have been if I really HAD believed in a return to Victorian values!

[Quizmonster]

Ball or leather on willow, I suppose it SHOULD be...not much of a cricketing expert.

[THECORBYLOON]

I think if it were bat on willow, the SSPCA or RSPCA might be a wee bit dis-chuffed...