Unions / TFL need to sit down for talks overnight

[Arthurgray50@blu]

http://www.itv.com/news/london/2015-...ing-to-a-halt/

Firstly, l am in total agreement with what the Unions are doing in the Tube/rail strike.

Yes, commuters will be severely effected, but at the end of the day workers, have that right to be paid fairly, treated fairly and not gazumped in working silly hours for stupid money.

Tfl and the Unions must sit down and talk. And its no good that prat Boris Johnson coming out with eh silly remark that the strike was primed for the budget. This strike has been ongoing for months.

Boris said that this strike is unacceptable. So why doesn't he order the unions and Tfl sit town for talks if he is the Mayor for London

[papa smurf]

does anyone out side of London actually care about the tube - i traveled on it once never again it was horrendous packed in like a sardine .

[Ignitionnet]

Originally Posted by Arthurgray50@blu

Yes, commuters will be severely effected, but at the end of the day workers, have that right to be paid fairly, treated fairly and not gazumped in working silly hours for stupid money.

What's unfair about (from your link)

Managers have tabled a "final" offer, including an average 2% rise this year
At least RPI inflation for each of the next two years
And £2,000 for drivers on the new service

They have every right to strike, of course, however I'd suggest their pay compares very well to their peers, they are being offered well in excess of the settlements public sector workers are receiving, and are you sure they're being 'gazumped' into working silly hours?

They get paid over half again as much as my wife, a secondary teacher with 10 years of experience, for basically pushing stop and go and hitting automated announcements to mind the doors. In some cases they aren't even driving the trains.

I very much hope the dispute is long, drawn out, and becomes a contest of attrition as a bunch of things have to be resolved here.

[dcclanuk]

Tube workers are grossly overpaid as it is. I think we should sack whoever does not want to work for the tube. I am sure when they realise they are getting market beating salaries they will want to come back and work for the tube.

[Pierre]

Originally Posted by papa smurf

does anyone out side of London actually care about the tube .

Nope

Originally Posted by dcclanuk

Tube workers are grossly overpaid as it is. I think we should sack whoever does not want to work for the tube. I am sure when they realise they are getting market beating salaries they will want to come back and work for the tube.

Around 55 grand I think ,I don't call that "stupid money" at least not in the sense that Arthur means

Bring on automation

[Sirius]

Originally Posted by Arthurgray50@blu

http://www.itv.com/news/london/2015-...ing-to-a-halt/

Firstly, l am in total agreement with what the Unions are doing in the Tube/rail strike.

Yes, commuters will be severely effected, but at the end of the day workers, have that right to be paid fairly, treated fairly and not gazumped in working silly hours for stupid money.

Tfl and the Unions must sit down and talk. And its no good that prat Boris Johnson coming out with eh silly remark that the strike was primed for the budget. This strike has been ongoing for months.

Boris said that this strike is unacceptable. So why doesn't he order the unions and Tfl sit town for talks if he is the Mayor for London

Boris again

[Kursk]

Originally Posted by martyh

Around 55 grand I think ,I don't call that "stupid money" at least not in the sense that Arthur means

Bring on automation

£55k ain't half bad. I suggest they get back to work and count their blessings.

[Ignitionnet]

The only real issue is that they've been offered no kind of structure as far as the night shifts they are required to work go. It's pretty arbitrary of TfL to leave this hanging and they should really be very clear what is required and ask for volunteers who will be compensated accordingly.

The rest: same old.

[Stephen]

I think your thread title is stating the obvious!

There have been talks but no one can agree so that's why the strike happened!

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by papa smurf

does anyone out side of London actually care about the tube - i traveled on it once never again it was horrendous packed in like a sardine .

Originally Posted by Pierre

Nope

Clearly you both feel something else you wouldn't have bothered to read the thread, let alone respond. After all, while the Title doesn't directly mention the tube, it does mention both Unions and TFL so it's a fair bet it's about the strike on the underground.

[Osem]

Originally Posted by papa smurf

does anyone out side of London actually care about the tube - i traveled on it once never again it was horrendous packed in like a sardine .

There are large parts of London which don't even have a tube system so it's not just people outside London who may not care. Having said that, hundreds of thousands of people who live outside London also work in and/or visit London (for things such as hospital appointments as well as leisure) and I dare say they care quite a lot and are just as pee'd off as anyone else who's having major problems getting to work. I'm sure a hell of a lot of tourists care greatly too and since they pay a great deal into UK PLC's coffers in one way or another we'd do well to listen and act.

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by Ignitionnet

What's unfair about (from your link)



They have every right to strike, of course, however I'd suggest their pay compares very well to their peers, they are being offered well in excess of the settlements public sector workers are receiving, and are you sure they're being 'gazumped' into working silly hours?

They get paid over half again as much as my wife, a secondary teacher with 10 years of experience, for basically pushing stop and go and hitting automated announcements to mind the doors. In some cases they aren't even driving the trains.

I very much hope the dispute is long, drawn out, and becomes a contest of attrition as a bunch of things have to be resolved here.

Apparently, according to http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/seb-...b_7751262.html, the dispute is not so much about the money (which the Union are apparently happy with), more that TFL have provided no guarantees about how many shifts drivers will be expected to work or (I suspect, as the article does not mention this) how those shifts are organised. I've also heard that TFL tabled the offer, then two hours later left the talks, which wouldn't really give the Union time to even digest the offer, let alone ballot their members.

Why mention how the shifts are organised? Simple. The article makes a point of saying that the drivers will be fatigued and have little time with their families. This is true, if they are switching between day and night shifts with no break. But, if they are working (say) a week on/week off shift pattern, that will sort out those problems.

An ex-friend of mine is already doing this. He works on the railways in an extremely stressful job. He does signalling for various lines in the Southern area. These lines are mostly 24 hour lines, so he had to work shifts. These shifts (IIRC) were 12 hours shifts, and he worked 7 days of day shifts, then had 7 days off, then worked 7 days of night shifts, then 7 days off.

I realise that article is actually the opinion of one of the striking tube drivers, so is biased, but I personally believe that neither side is giving the complete story.

[richard s]

Horrid hours... What happens if your friend wants 14 nights holiday overseas.

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by richard s

Horrid hours... What happens if your friend wants 14 nights holiday overseas.

Not sure, and I'm not in contact with him, so can't check.

However, he was quite happy with the hours as if he wanted, he could go on Holiday every other week (and often did). Nothing particularly flash, but he often went abroad on package holidays, and when he wanted to stay in this country, he had a caravan just outside Eastbourne.