Current Affairs Rail strikes

[Goat]

I've got a work trip to do next week that I suspect will be touch and go because of the strike action. Never mind though, the hugely expensive rail tickets are down to company profiteering and certainly not due to the rail unions holding the country hostage

Total rail industry income in 2020-21 was £20.7 billion, a 2.4% increase from 2019-20. This consisted of £16.9 billion from government funding, £2.5 billion from passengers (£1.8 billion of fares and £0.6 billion of other train operator income), and £1.3 billion from other sources.

Rail firm paid shareholders £500m before asking workers to take wage cut​

CEOs of the six biggest train companies also took home a combined salary of more than £5m in 2020


Come on Bruce, dont believe the hype.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Total rail industry income in 2020-21 was £20.7 billion, a 2.4% increase from 2019-20. This consisted of £16.9 billion from government funding, £2.5 billion from passengers (£1.8 billion of fares and £0.6 billion of other train operator income), and £1.3 billion from other sources.

Rail firm paid shareholders £500m before asking workers to take wage cut​

CEOs of the six biggest train companies also took home a combined salary of more than £5m in 2020


Come on Bruce, dont believe the hype.

That's naughty of you Goat. The first half of your post is from official government figures. The second half is a nonsense. You're talking about First Group, and that share buyback was largely as a result of selling one of their divisions for about £3 billion and another for about £100 million. This was after an 8 year period where no dividend was paid to shareholders.

 

[Goat]

That's naughty of you Goat. The first half of your post is from official government figures. The second half is a nonsense. You're talking about First Group, and that share buyback was largely as a result of selling one of their divisions for about £3 billion and another for about £100 million. This was after an 8 year period where no dividend was paid to shareholders.

As was your 25% of the money goes to the workers.

 

[roydo]

Total rail industry income in 2020-21 was £20.7 billion, a 2.4% increase from 2019-20. This consisted of £16.9 billion from government funding, £2.5 billion from passengers (£1.8 billion of fares and £0.6 billion of other train operator income), and £1.3 billion from other sources.

Rail firm paid shareholders £500m before asking workers to take wage cut​

CEOs of the six biggest train companies also took home a combined salary of more than £5m in 2020


Come on Bruce, dont believe the hype.

£500m in dividends aint all that. When did they take a pay cut?

Train drivers are paid £65k to £75K, give or take. Like, I never use the railway, so no self interest in this, but I dont have much sympathy if I am honest, whilst I rub along on less than £20k a year.

 

[Diogenes the Cynic]

Majority of tbe staff on strike already work 3 out of 4 Sundays a month,
Drivers don't as a rule but even some of those do.

Is that by rota or overtime though?

Fair play if it's rota but if not I feel a 7 day service should be fully staffed across 7 days.

It won't be popular, I had to introduce it in a hospital because the reliance on overtime, bank and agency staff was unsustainable and unsafe.

However I am a great believer in public transport and you have to make it more attractive to people if they are to give up their cars to make journeys.

Of course the 7 day working is only 1 aspect and a snapshot of what the negotiations are about. I fully support industrial action to press for fair wages and conditions.

 

[edge]

Is that by rota or overtime though?

Fair play if it's rota but if not I feel a 7 day service should be fully staffed across 7 days.

It won't be popular, I had to introduce it in a hospital because the reliance on overtime, bank and agency staff was unsustainable and unsafe.

However I am a great believer in public transport and you have to make it more attractive to people if they are to give up their cars to make journeys.

Of course the 7 day working is only 1 aspect and a snapshot of what the negotiations are about. I fully support industrial action to press for fair wages and conditions.

On a rota , it's overtime but we are contacted to do it, if you can't get cover you have to come in.
Only two days all year you are garrenteed to be off are Xmas day boxing day on the stations , some are now in boxing day.
Holidays are given to you as well, only chance of getting weeks you want is if somebody wants a shop, otherwise you could find your summer holidays are beginning of May. Then nothing till late Sept/OCT that is supposed to be winter leave.
Winterl eave Jan, which were mine last year
How flexible do they want us waiting on a phone call to see if we have hours that day?

 

[Bruce Wayne]

As was your 25% of the money goes to the workers.

Well, operating profits at First Group were just over 2% for their rail division. The amount spent on the share buyback was the entirety of that earned from the sale of First Student and First Transit. That much is a fact.

 

[NorthernBlue]

On a rota , it's overtime but we are contacted to do it, if you can't get cover you have to come in.
Only two days all year you are garrenteed to be off are Xmas day boxing day on the stations , some are now in boxing day.
Holidays are given to you as well, only chance of getting weeks you want is if somebody wants a shop, otherwise you could find your summer holidays are beginning of May. Then nothing till late Sept/OCT that is supposed to be winter leave.
Winterl eave Jan, which were mine last year
How flexible do they want us waiting on a phone call to see if we have hours that day?

It’s like people don’t read and inform themselves about what people are striking for. Across all the industries currently striking. People just froth at the mouth at any bit of tripe they are spoon fed. Train drivers on 75k blah blah. Clueless.

 

[Diogenes the Cynic]

On a rota , it's overtime but we are contacted to do it, if you can't get cover you have to come in.
Only two days all year you are garrenteed to be off are Xmas day boxing day on the stations , some are now in boxing day.
Holidays are given to you as well, only chance of getting weeks you want is if somebody wants a shop, otherwise you could find your summer holidays are beginning of May. Then nothing till late Sept/OCT that is supposed to be winter leave.
Winterl eave Jan, which were mine last year
How flexible do they want us waiting on a phone call to see if we have hours that day?

That flexibility needing cover to get off the weekend sounds like an absolutely insane way to run staffing to be fair.

 

[edge]

£500m in dividends aint all that. When did they take a pay cut?

Train drivers are paid £65k to £75K, give or take. Like, I never use the railway, so no self interest in this, but I dont have much sympathy if I am honest, whilst I rub along on less than £20k a year.

The train drivers are not in the Rmt and the vast majority of those on strike are on roughly a third of that.
Some even less.
The average driver isn't on that either , take at least 30,000 of most unless they are on freight or some long distance routes.
Start of pay on northernrail for them is about 28,000 rising to about 35, 000 after a length of service.
Station staff , about £22,000
Cleaners ect, on about 17.000 to 18.000 basic.
Load of bollocks the papers spout.
The average for the workers on strike at the moment is about 22 to 24 thousand.

 

[roydo]

The train drivers are not in the Rmt and the vast majority of those on strike are on roughly a third of that.
Some even less.
The average driver isn't on that either , take at least 30,000 of most unless they are on freight or some long distance routes.
Start of pay on northernrail for them is about 28,000 rising to about 35, 000 after a length of service.
Station staff , about £22,000
Cleaners ect, on about 17.000 to 18.000 basic.
Load of bollocks the papers spout.
The average for the workers on strike at the moment is about 22 to 24 thousand.

Not papers mate. Recruitment agency.

A guide to the salaries and benefits for UK train drivers

Wondering how much a train driver earns? Discover average salaries and benefits for train drivers in the UK railway industry.

www.reed.com

 

[Haydn]

Another member of the Tory truth twisting tribe, blustering and deflecting.

 

[Goat]

Not papers mate. Recruitment agency.

A guide to the salaries and benefits for UK train drivers

Wondering how much a train driver earns? Discover average salaries and benefits for train drivers in the UK railway industry.

www.reed.com

The average train driver salary in the UK is £48,500 per year. Train drivers can expect to begin with an average starting salary of £30,000, with the highest salaries often exceeding £65,000.

30k is not 65-75k.

 

[edge]

A guide to the salaries and benefits for UK train drivers

Wondering how much a train driver earns? Discover average salaries and benefits for train drivers in the UK railway industry.

www.reed.com

[/QUOTE]

The average train driver salary in the UK is £48,500 per year. Train drivers can expect to begin with an average starting salary of £30,000, with the highest salaries often exceeding £65,000.

30k is not 65-75k.

 

[edge]

Another member of the Tory truth twisting tribe, blustering and deflecting.

There was a four year battle with the train companies, that got settled last year.
Over driver only trains
By the government putting that back on the table , they have shown there hand ,they want us out.
The rail companies are losing nothing for there shareholders, the government is paying for any and all losses.
In fact they are made up as they are not getting fined for cancelling traind ect on those days.
It's a political attack on working people, they want us all on part time contracts and flexible hours.
A director was around today , staff asked him for some information, he said I honestly don't know, nobody does because every time we try and get on with a deal the government pulls something else out of the hat.
The train companies are as much in the dark as the rest of us as to where this is going.