Current Affairs Rail strikes

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What would I do? I'm a freelancer. If people don't think I'm good value I don't get work. Technology is changing all the time around me in my line of work so, yes, I have to always make sure what I offer is relevant and valuable. My pension is something I control and you lot moan because I've actually done that and got shares.

Regarding the safety on the trains, we have the DLR down here which doesn't have a driver. The whole network must be complete and utter chaos by your reckoning. As it is, I've probably been on a train dozens of times since Covid hit and I haven't encountered a single member of staff in about two years so I can only assume they're copying the DLR as it is.

I mean this nicely, but it's probably fine for you. But that informal working practice, has been tried before and it was pretty woeful for most ordinary working people. I'm not saying you dint make it work for you, but it's not suitable for most people.
 
@Bruce Wayne don’t you live in London?
Which airport are you gonna struggle to get to?
As mentioned previously, the problem is not so much with train drivers (we can get an Uber if needsbe) but with border control staff, who are due to strike over Christmas. It's widely expected that a great many flights over that period will be cancelled as a result.
Isn’t all of that down to the lack of resource (personnel and equipment) within the NHS? And one of the main reasons why they are striking, it isn’t solely to gain more money (although that is a big part of it). They want to be properly supported so they can do their job correctly.

I’m pretty sure the ambulance drivers didn’t cancel it so they could go and sit in Maccies.
I'm paraphrasing, but the communication the wife has had from the unions is that it's all about pay. They've never shown any interest in staffing or recruitment into the field, which is one reason she's gone from being pro the industrial action to against it.
Mick Lynch has put into the domain what they have been doing, and it's very shady. A 4% pay offer, when theyve lost control of inflation is awful. Ordinary working people have already paid the penalty of inflation as well.

Re your wife, if you increase pay, you will attract more people, who it's actually quite a simple equation. We lose a lot of staff to going abroad. Brexit has been disastrous, so too has been the anti migrant rhetoric (unfortunately now being copied by Starmer). But again, the government seem to think they can take the proverbial and decent people who just put up with it indefinitely.

I dont think any worker on strike is motivated by trying to punish anybody. They have been pushed into a corner, by 10 years of falling wages by economic mismanagement (austerity, Brexit then latterly Truss) which has now also seen inflation. They want to be able to live without having to rely on food banks. Essentially they want some degree of basic dignity.

At some point regarding the rail, or the energy companies, or the water companies, we may need to ask the question if we may benefit from some democratic control over these services, as they have on the continent. Shareholder ownership seems to provide a woeful service, very expensive, but the shareholders always get their payment.

Yet if the people who run these services ask for pay to remain stable in real terms, apparently its them who are the issue. I just dont buy it mate. It's the government.
That's a pretty big leap to make tbh.


Nurses are leaving due to burnout and fatigue. I've mentioned before on here that the NHS is a brutal employer, not so much because of the pay (which is certainly not great, but nurses know that before joining) but the work style that staff go through. Many will have to do unsociable shifts and the rotas are highly irregular, both of which make it hard to have any kind of social life. Then add in the stress that comes from the NHS not being equipped to do what we ask of it, and many decide that there are better ways to spend time.

It's cliche to say that many nurses enter the profession to make a difference, but that is largely the case. The nature of the sector means it's largely based on years worked, so by the time people leave they're earning more than they ever had before, yet it's still not enough to put up with the lifestyle attached to it. My wife worked in ICU for a bit, for instance, and you'd never get nurses over 40, just because it's so hard mentally.
 
I mean this nicely, but it's probably fine for you. But that informal working practice, has been tried before and it was pretty woeful for most ordinary working people. I'm not saying you dint make it work for you, but it's not suitable for most people.
I wouldn't claim that it is for everyone (although it is a way of working that is growing in popularity), just that I don't "enjoy" many of the things the rail workers are demanding as a basic feature of their job. It's hard to shake the feeling that, relatively speaking, they do pretty well, yet because of the nature of the industry they (successfully) keep demanding more and more and more.
 
As mentioned previously, the problem is not so much with train drivers (we can get an Uber if needsbe) but with border control staff, who are due to strike over Christmas. It's widely expected that a great many flights over that period will be cancelled as a result.

I'm paraphrasing, but the communication the wife has had from the unions is that it's all about pay. They've never shown any interest in staffing or recruitment into the field, which is one reason she's gone from being pro the industrial action to against it.

That's a pretty big leap to make tbh.


Nurses are leaving due to burnout and fatigue. I've mentioned before on here that the NHS is a brutal employer, not so much because of the pay (which is certainly not great, but nurses know that before joining) but the work style that staff go through. Many will have to do unsociable shifts and the rotas are highly irregular, both of which make it hard to have any kind of social life. Then add in the stress that comes from the NHS not being equipped to do what we ask of it, and many decide that there are better ways to spend time.

It's cliche to say that many nurses enter the profession to make a difference, but that is largely the case. The nature of the sector means it's largely based on years worked, so by the time people leave they're earning more than they ever had before, yet it's still not enough to put up with the lifestyle attached to it. My wife worked in ICU for a bit, for instance, and you'd never get nurses over 40, just because it's so hard mentally.

I dont think it's a leap, but it is a factor. If you pay people more, or fairly they will want to come.

The broader point I'm making though, is the government are the common denominator in all of these issues. Like I initially said, its either everyone is wrong, or they are making mistakes.

All of the above you say is true, and is further factors on top of wage cuts. They are all on the governments. Austerity, Brexit, negotiating a terrible Brexit deal, then Truss. All their fault.

I agree with you too, that most enter to make a difference. They are very good people. This government take that decent nature of nurses, and frankly just abuse it. At some point, even decent people are right to say they are being taken for a ride.
 
I wouldn't claim that it is for everyone (although it is a way of working that is growing in popularity), just that I don't "enjoy" many of the things the rail workers are demanding as a basic feature of their job. It's hard to shake the feeling that, relatively speaking, they do pretty well, yet because of the nature of the industry they (successfully) keep demanding more and more and more.

Well I mean some drivers have a decent screw.
Lots of staff are on much lower salaries, probably have to use food banks and cant afford to put heating on. I'm not sure I'd count that as "doing pretty well" myself like. And that's before they are expected to take a 10%+ real terms pay cut.

Then you get the other side of the equation. Private companies given huge sums of money for providing woeful services. Can you answer me why, my hard earned tax payers money is paid to these companies, and their shareholders, if they do not provide any services? Why are we giving them money for nothing? Do you not think they is more the reflection of "doing pretty well"?

I am very open to hear why my taxes should be going to shareholders, and management teams, who cant provide any service. Seems like a great screw that.
 
As mentioned previously, the problem is not so much with train drivers (we can get an Uber if needsbe) but with border control staff, who are due to strike over Christmas. It's widely expected that a great many flights over that period will be cancelled as a result.

I'm paraphrasing, but the communication the wife has had from the unions is that it's all about pay. They've never shown any interest in staffing or recruitment into the field, which is one reason she's gone from being pro the industrial action to against it.

That's a pretty big leap to make tbh.


Nurses are leaving due to burnout and fatigue. I've mentioned before on here that the NHS is a brutal employer, not so much because of the pay (which is certainly not great, but nurses know that before joining) but the work style that staff go through. Many will have to do unsociable shifts and the rotas are highly irregular, both of which make it hard to have any kind of social life. Then add in the stress that comes from the NHS not being equipped to do what we ask of it, and many decide that there are better ways to spend time.

It's cliche to say that many nurses enter the profession to make a difference, but that is largely the case. The nature of the sector means it's largely based on years worked, so by the time people leave they're earning more than they ever had before, yet it's still not enough to put up with the lifestyle attached to it. My wife worked in ICU for a bit, for instance, and you'd never get nurses over 40, just because it's so hard mentally.
Nurse here and I agree with this most of this.
I don't agree with unions only chasing pay.
Most reps I have spoke with really do try and press on staffing levels and conditions. It's just you never hear about it in the news.

I don't mind 12 hour day shifts, but 12 hour night shifts are just a killer.
This is where the trust's need to get a grip,.and has nothing to do with the government.
Trusts are loathe to offer flexible working and day or night contracts.
I have know tons of staff who have requested either days or nights, across different trusts. The vast majority get turned down.
They get told you will be deskilled. What trusts don't grasp is if you only want to work nights for instance it doesn't matter if you are deskilled in days, cause you are never going to do them.
But it does go further. I know a student who qualifies March I think it is. She wants to do 3x12 hour shifts a week. Even said she will do 3x14hrs if she has to. She has issues with childcare. Every hospital so far has turned her down. It's getting to the point where after 3 years training, she either have to sack the whole thing off, or just be a bank/agency nurse. But that will be tough, cause she won't have done preceptorship.
Trusts really need to do better in terms of flexible working.
There is an obsession with 12 hour shifts, no breaks, lack of manager support. And that really needs to change.
 
Nurse here and I agree with this most of this.
I don't agree with unions only chasing pay.
Most reps I have spoke with really do try and press on staffing levels and conditions. It's just you never hear about it in the news.

I don't mind 12 hour day shifts, but 12 hour night shifts are just a killer.
This is where the trust's need to get a grip,.and has nothing to do with the government.
Trusts are loathe to offer flexible working and day or night contracts.
I have know tons of staff who have requested either days or nights, across different trusts. The vast majority get turned down.
They get told you will be deskilled. What trusts don't grasp is if you only want to work nights for instance it doesn't matter if you are deskilled in days, cause you are never going to do them.
But it does go further. I know a student who qualifies March I think it is. She wants to do 3x12 hour shifts a week. Even said she will do 3x14hrs if she has to. She has issues with childcare. Every hospital so far has turned her down. It's getting to the point where after 3 years training, she either have to sack the whole thing off, or just be a bank/agency nurse. But that will be tough, cause she won't have done preceptorship.
Trusts really need to do better in terms of flexible working.
There is an obsession with 12 hour shifts, no breaks, lack of manager support. And that really needs to change.

The people doing this sound like heroes, not selfish people only thinking of themselves.
 
So I was on strike for over 10 weeks. We've recently agreed a deal with the company and are heading back in. It's not quite as good a deal as we were hoping for, but still miles better than the original very low offer put forward from the company.

Watching the outcry over other strikes from certain corners is very telling. Either they are very uneducated as to how unions work or they are making their criticisms in bad faith. I expect it's a combination of the two.

The idea that unions are 'militant' or even 'out of control' is laughable. Unions are merely representatives for the workers themselves. The mandates are set by the workers. If a union rejects an offer and holds out for a better one, that's not the union itself holding the companies to ransom, but acting on set instructions from their members, which are voted/balloted across the workforce.

I worked right through the pandemic on-site (no working from home for me) as did a lot of the public transport and emergency services.
The company I work for made huge profits during the pandemic and even came around shaking hands and thanking workers for 'exceeding targets' at the beginning of the year. Then when we asked for a pay increase, they tried to plead poverty. "There's only one pot of money for our budget and it's running dry" was their claim (Coincidentally, the 'one pot of money' comment is some sort of buzz-phrase that HR types are throwing around at the moment. I have friends and family in different sectors who have either been on strike or are balloting and they have all heard this phrase at least once)

This current rescission has thrown a large spotlight on the wealth divide in this country and the demonisation of striking workers and unions within some sections of the press and government shows how desperate the mega-rich in this country are desperate for their money grab to continue.

As for those the strikes will inconvenience. Support the workers, their long term lively-hood is important and maybe you'll need their support should you be unfortunate enough to end up in their position yourself. ✊
 
So I was on strike for over 10 weeks. We've recently agreed a deal with the company and are heading back in. It's not quite as good a deal as we were hoping for, but still miles better than the original very low offer put forward from the company.

Watching the outcry over other strikes from certain corners is very telling. Either they are very uneducated as to how unions work or they are making their criticisms in bad faith. I expect it's a combination of the two.

The idea that unions are 'militant' or even 'out of control' is laughable. Unions are merely representatives for the workers themselves. The mandates are set by the workers. If a union rejects an offer and holds out for a better one, that's not the union itself holding the companies to ransom, but acting on set instructions from their members, which are voted/balloted across the workforce.

I worked right through the pandemic on-site (no working from home for me) as did a lot of the public transport and emergency services.
The company I work for made huge profits during the pandemic and even came around shaking hands and thanking workers for 'exceeding targets' at the beginning of the year. Then when we asked for a pay increase, they tried to plead poverty. "There's only one pot of money for our budget and it's running dry" was their claim (Coincidentally, the 'one pot of money' comment is some sort of buzz-phrase that HR types are throwing around at the moment. I have friends and family in different sectors who have either been on strike or are balloting and they have all heard this phrase at least once)

This current rescission has thrown a large spotlight on the wealth divide in this country and the demonisation of striking workers and unions within some sections of the press and government shows how desperate the mega-rich in this country are desperate for their money grab to continue.

As for those the strikes will inconvenience. Support the workers, their long term lively-hood is important and maybe you'll need their support should you be unfortunate enough to end up in their position yourself. ✊
Totally agree with what you've said.

I'm a public sector worker and can echo everything.

We keep getting told by senior management that we're doing a great job and it's out of their hands about our pay and conditions. If it was up to to them we'd have better pay blah blah.

It doesn't help that during Covid when most public sector workers didn't have a single Covid related day off, that many self employed got £2500 a month extra for free off the government (tax payer) whether they could work or not, yet we were subject to a pay freeze because of Covid. It seems like the government is able to find money for everyone/everything except it's own employees.

I've got two good friends who are self employed and they said they'd never had so much money in their lives. When I quizzed them about it "everyone is doing it" was the answer. Who's paying for this? Who's paying for the Covid loan fraud? I'll tell you who's paying for it, the public sector/civil service workers. Same as when the banks screwed us all over in 2008. "we're all in it together" they told us when they froze pay, pretty much since then. We're clearly not.
 
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Have to physically present my passport to prove I'm not a terrorist for a new job. Trains throughout that week have been cancelled. As long as they're alright though. The comparisons with Italy are more and more apt. Utter basket case of a country.
 
And they say nurses have it tough ?
That contract is keeping me afloat at the moment, but yeah, yaboo. Like the SMEs who's finance is tied to their residential property will have fun once mortgage rates soar in the next year as stagflation beds in. But yaboo to them.

Like I said, it's dog eat dog from socialists who pretend to care about others. Like heck they do.
 
That contract is keeping me afloat at the moment, but yeah, yaboo. Like the SMEs who's finance is tied to their residential property will have fun once mortgage rates soar in the next year as stagflation beds in. But yaboo to them.

Like I said, it's dog eat dog from socialists who pretend to care about others. Like heck they do.
Where do you have to take your passport, the moon?

Please tell me it’s not somewhere in London Ffs ?‍♂️
 
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