The Tube strike

[stevegrant]

From what I recall, the driver opened the doors on the wrong side of the train when at the platform and then drove off with them still open.

:lol: :lol:

[Weston Super Saint]

"It is an out and out lie that we were only interested in the two sacked drivers. There were another five specific cases where management had abused the disciplinary procedures. It was agreed that ACAS would look at all seven cases and we said that we would be able to suspend the action to allow this to go ahead.

 

Taken from Bob Crowe's statement to members of the RMT union.

 

Now obviously, Bob Crowe is going to have his own agenda, but I do agree with what he is saying. You cannot have a situation where management abuse disciplinary procedures: that is what I define as unlawful. Lord knows, if that happened to a member of any of the trade unions I belong to, I'm sure there would be a ballot for strike action as there would/should be in any sector?

 

Which is why we have employment laws which are constantly updated isn't it?

 

It's also the reason why ACAS exist and why there is such a thing as industrial tribunals.

 

I agree that employment laws should not be broken, but there are systems in place to correct things if they are, and they don't include unions taking their members out on strike!!

[richie]

Don't forget the free travel for them and their partner worth about 6k a year!!!

 

My heart bleeds

[thesaint sfc]

TBF to them, they are not dis-similar to our soldiers in Iraq. They are under serious terrorist threat. They'll probably be striking for guns and body armour soon.

[Thedelldays]

Does he get £19k then? Surely he is an ideal person to talk to about all this

i used to be on 19k (a long time ago) and i did alot more hours than a fireman and have been in very much life threatening situations..

 

you know what the conditions are more so when applying for a job in the fire service than what I do

 

the guys i had to cover for did 4 day weeks.. FOUR DAY WEEKS!!!!!

 

we did the job (when we covered for them) with far less equipment (that was 30 years out of date) and far less man power and as soon as we finished we went straight out to the middle east to blow up iraq...(another story i know)

 

add that to the 'mad cow' thing we ad to do a while back too...

 

the fire service at one point wanted a 47% pay rise...

[Thedelldays]

I would say, if TDD is a leading hand, then around £26k basic.

 

Add on submariners pay, and sea time bonus, probably circa £30k per annum.

 

Probably not as much as a tube driver...

keep going. not quite there...

 

My pay is (at the level i am at) is at leading hand/corporal level 5 which is just shy of 30k basic

then my sub pay is just over 5k a year on top.

 

I have no issue posting this as it is tax payers money and should be in the public eye (imo)

[Wade Garrett]

Makes me laugh when people say we have to get rid of Labour because of the unions. This Labour government have most certainly not been on the side of trade unions, and nor should they. Some unions are even debating withdrawing their funding of the Labour party.

 

I am in a trade union. To be honest, they are more interested in selling me insurance than representing me, but they do have their place. At the same time, you have got to be reasonable. I wasn't given a pay rise this year, and my colleagues and I accepted this given the state of the economy and our particular business.

 

Slagging off the wages the drivers get for their 'unskilled' work as a bit much to be honest. There are plently of working people who don't justify anything like they are paid.

 

It would appear (admittedly without knowing the full facts) that the RMT and their members are out of order.

[Weston Super Saint]

keep going. not quite there...

 

My pay is (at the level i am at) is at leading hand/corporal level 5 which is just shy of 30k basic

then my sub pay is just over 5k a year on top.

 

I have no issue posting this as it is tax payers money and should be in the public eye (imo)

 

Which is fantastic for the services these days!

 

When I was at Junior school - my old man was a Lieutenant in the navy - I qualified for free school meals because he was paid so little!!

 

A lieutenant now earns a minimum of £40k :shock:

[SNSUN]

Is SNSUN on strike?

 

Yup, I was on Strike, but only because I was being loyal to the union that I belong to. I didn't actually agree with what we were trying to achieve.

 

The RMT turned down, what I believe, to be a pretty good deal that LUL had presented us with, with a pay rise every year for 5 years, irrespective of inflation or deflation. I also didn't agree with a 48 hour strike. If we're going to strike, 24 hours makes exactly the same point without docking the members 2 days pay.

 

In all honestly, I had a good two days off. I got to watch the football with beer, which is something I couldn't have done as I was on late shifts. I am considering switching to the TSSA union though, the less militant of the three unions.

 

For all who struggled I apologise. I got flack from my sister too! I'm actually happy with my pay. Yes, we are unskilled workers and do get paid a fair bit for our jobs, but I'd actually prefer to not do shiftwork and earn 10k less. I've all but lost my social life thanks to this damn job! Irrespective of a pay rise, I'd just like to know my job is safe for the long term.

[SNSUN]

How much do tube drivers already get paid? Just a question.

 

Tube drivers get about 42k a year, Supervisors get about 32-40k depending on status and location, SAMF's (me) get approx 29k a year, and CSA's get about 23k.

 

I hear they'll be applying for new CSA's later in the year too. Stupid.

[SNSUN]

Don't forget the free travel for them and their partner worth about 6k a year!!!

 

My heart bleeds

 

Jealously is an ugly virtue! We also get uniform worth about £500 a year.

[TopGun]

I was in London on Wednesday and it was sh1t. It reminded me why I moved away 10 years ago.

 

I had to walk from Euston to Covent Garden as there were no tubes and consequently no vacant taxis. Everyone was doing the same so the roads and the pavements were totally congested. It was ****ing with rain so I had to stop at a tourist shop and buy a naff umbrella for about £500 (I was going to a presentation so needed to stay dry) and there were frigging roadworks all the way (through Russell Square etc) which added to the general chaos.

 

After the presentation (which did go well and was in Southampton Street) I had a nice meal at Palm Court on Covent Garden that steeled me for the trip back to Euston. Actually found a cab but it took 50 mins to get to Euston and cost £15 for two miles.

 

Was bloody happy to get on the train and get whisked back to civilised Manchester!!!

 

As for the RMT, 5% pay demands and no compulsory redundancies in these economic climes? Ficking idiots. How hard can it be to steer and stop a tube train? Grrr!

[benjii]

"It is an out and out lie that we were only interested in the two sacked drivers. There were another five specific cases where management had abused the disciplinary procedures. It was agreed that ACAS would look at all seven cases and we said that we would be able to suspend the action to allow this to go ahead.

 

Taken from Bob Crowe's statement to members of the RMT union.

 

Now obviously, Bob Crowe is going to have his own agenda, but I do agree with what he is saying. You cannot have a situation where management abuse disciplinary procedures: that is what I define as unlawful. Lord knows, if that happened to a member of any of the trade unions I belong to, I'm sure there would be a ballot for strike action as there would/should be in any sector?

 

If management have made unlawful dismissals then the wronged party lodges a claim with the employment tribunal; you don't go on strike and bleat some ****e about solidarity. Stupid lazy ****s fancied a day-off and to try to lever a pay-rise.

 

End of.

[benjii]

Yup, I was on Strike, but only because I was being loyal to the union that I belong to. I didn't actually agree with what we were trying to achieve.

 

The RMT turned down, what I believe, to be a pretty good deal that LUL had presented us with, with a pay rise every year for 5 years, irrespective of inflation or deflation. I also didn't agree with a 48 hour strike. If we're going to strike, 24 hours makes exactly the same point without docking the members 2 days pay.

 

In all honestly, I had a good two days off. I got to watch the football with beer, which is something I couldn't have done as I was on late shifts. I am considering switching to the TSSA union though, the less militant of the three unions.

 

For all who struggled I apologise. I got flack from my sister too! I'm actually happy with my pay. Yes, we are unskilled workers and do get paid a fair bit for our jobs, but I'd actually prefer to not do shiftwork and earn 10k less. I've all but lost my social life thanks to this damn job! Irrespective of a pay rise, I'd just like to know my job is safe for the long term.

 

Well **** off and let someone who isn't going to strike do it instead then.

[Patrick Bateman]

Their main motive for striking was for a 5% pay rise (up to £2k) and a guarantee that there would be no compulsory redundancies. Now I don't quite know what bizarre little world they live in at the RMT, but there's a global recession going on where thousands of people are losing their jobs on a pretty regular basis. Why should they be immune to that, if that's what is required?

 

Not only are people losing their jobs left, right and centre, but those that are keeping their jobs are taking pay CUTS. I know many people who have, in fact, I could list thousands.

I've taken a 10% cut to stay doing what I do.

 

I have f**k all sympathy with tube drivers.

[TopGun]

keep going. not quite there...

 

My pay is (at the level i am at) is at leading hand/corporal level 5 which is just shy of 30k basic

then my sub pay is just over 5k a year on top.

 

I have no issue posting this as it is tax payers money and should be in the public eye (imo)

 

I agree with you TDD. Good to see you again.

 

That's good money in one sense as you can't spend it at sea and I guess many of your colleagues have fairly cheap naval accommodation on land. But I accept that some of the pay is for a possibly dangerous and certainly isolated job when at sea. Good pension though as well.

[chrisobee]

From what I recall, the driver opened the doors on the wrong side of the train when at the platform and then drove off with them still open.

 

That has happened a few times, mainly on the Victoria line as I believe. Pure luck that no one was hurt especially bearing in mind this is probably the most overcrowded line on the network. The driver would be facing more than the sack I reckon if anyone had been seriously injured or God forbid killed.

[chrisobee]

T

 

Credit to those from the rival union who thought it was all ******** and went to work anyway, and particularly to those RMT members who also thought the same and broke the picket line. I managed to get to Wembley on the Jubilee line without any problems last night as a result - in fact, it was the easiest journey to Wembley I've had since it was rebuilt.

Are you always so fickle

 

"The Sutton to Milton Keynes train (goes via Clapham Junction and Watford) stops at Wembley Central usually, which was going to be my alternative plan for tomorrow. Now that's been scuppered, I'm not bothering."

[spain saint]

Yes, we are unskilled workers and do get paid a fair bit for our jobs, but I'd actually prefer to not do shiftwork and earn 10k less. I've all but lost my social life thanks to this damn job!

 

 

For every unskilled tube worker on 30 - 40 k per year, I will show you 100 skilled Chefs, Waiters, Bar staff, etc, who can only dream of being on that sort of money and working "normal" hours! Many of us also had to go to college for 3 years to learn (unlike university we didn´t get any grants, we had a job as well! we also did 5 days 9-5 and 2 evenings).

 

I was asked to join a union once but i told them to **** off, as they are only in it for themselves. My partner used to be in the merchent navy, on the QE2 etc and every time the dockers went on strike they had to do the job of getting the passengers luggage off, got paid no extra for it and because the passengers were a bit ****ed off and didnt go to there last breakfast they didnt give the staff the tips for the trip which made up 80% of there salary.

 

So in conclusion, **** the unions! it is high time the tories got back in and told the unions where to get off. They are redundent now with all the employment laws in Europe!

 

Tin hat firmly in place...........

[Jillyanne]

For every unskilled tube worker on 30 - 40 k per year, I will show you 100 skilled Chefs, Waiters, Bar staff, etc, who can only dream of being on that sort of money and working "normal" hours! Many of us also had to go to college for 3 years to learn (unlike university we didn´t get any grants, we had a job as well! we also did 5 days 9-5 and 2 evenings).

 

I was asked to join a union once but i told them to **** off, as they are only in it for themselves. My partner used to be in the merchent navy, on the QE2 etc and every time the dockers went on strike they had to do the job of getting the passengers luggage off, got paid no extra for it and because the passengers were a bit ****ed off and didnt go to there last breakfast they didnt give the staff the tips for the trip which made up 80% of there salary.

 

So in conclusion, **** the unions! it is high time the tories got back in and told the unions where to get off. They are redundent now with all the employment laws in Europe!

 

Tin hat firmly in place...........

 

What did your partner do on the QE2? Surely they should have been a member of the RMT or Numast?

[spain saint]

What did your partner do on the QE2? Surely they should have been a member of the RMT or Numast?

 

 

He was with RMT while on other ships, but on the QE2 he was under a private contract (entertainments officer I think?) However while with the RMT ( only because they had too!), the only people that had to break the strike were the catering staff as they had to get the passengers luggage off! As you may know after breakfast on the last day of your cruise you are/were expected to tip the bedroom stewards etc for your trip! hence the bedroom stewards missing out on 80%ish of their income for that trip.

 

He told me of one time that the QE2 went to dock in Southampton but there was a strike, which meant the ship couldn't be unloaded/loaded etc, so the captain turned the ship around and sailed to France where they unloaded/loaded and flew every passenger to their preferred destination free of charge, which meant the dockers lost out on the income from the QE2 being there! Funny enough after that whenever the QE2 came in again it was always dealt with strike or no strike!