summerisle
The rain, it raineth every day
Wirral bin strike off, won a 15% pay rise backdated to April. 
Current Affairs Rail strikes
- Thread starter Diogenes the Cynic
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Firstly, I wonder how it came to be that uniform contracts were offered rather than ones based on ability.
Secondly, a large number of healthcare workers have left, which is undoubtedly bad for the NHS, who I have said before are an employer I don't hold in high regard at all.
It's unlike you to be hysterical.
Old Blue 2
Player Valuation: £40m
Not hysterical at all. Butthurt, Bruce, because I called you out for what you are...?
I was thinking more of the postal strikes than the NHS as the workforce currently in dispute with RM is more or less a single grade as far as I know. I know little to nothing about NHS, railworkers and other factors that may be relevant in those disputes.
If you've got tens of thousands of employees all performing the same role than an element of uniformity is necessary. I can't imagine that sitting down and individually reviewing performance of and discussing pay with every individual at set periods is at all practical or financially prudent.
NorthernBlue
Player Valuation: £35m
His mask slipped a long time ago
FrenchDarrenBent
Player Valuation: £20m
That's the problem with the broader progressive movement these days. It's all good fighting for socially liberal causes like abortion, immigrantrights or marihuana...
But a lot of them are out when the real fight, the economic fight starts.
Redistribution is something the upper middle class doesn't want. You can, however, have some trickle down crumbs...
But a lot of them are out when the real fight, the economic fight starts.
Redistribution is something the upper middle class doesn't want. You can, however, have some trickle down crumbs...
The delivery industry has an obvious point of comparison as the likes of DPR couriers are paid per delivery. I don't know which company @roydo worked for, but maybe he could say how his own income was structured (I'm assuming when he delivered things he wasn't employed by Royal Mail). That's not to say that one approach is better than the other, merely that different approaches exist. The ability to set pay and manage performance on an individual basis is precisely how the majority of companies operate though. It's hardly rocket science.
I do suspect, however, that postal workers have other perks (pensions, sick leave, etc.) that the likes of cycle couriers and gig delivery staff don't enjoy. We're being asked to feel sorry for one section of an industry and ignore the others. I've said repeatedly throughout this thread that I don't begrudge people a higher salary or better conditions or whatever they can get. What other people earn is really none of my business. What I disagree with is going on strike as that harms people who have no role in your circumstances purely because you hope that hurting them will harm managers enough to force them to give in to your demands. A bit like @Old Blue 2 voting for Brexit and stuffing up the touring business for many musicians, which apparently makes him a good old socialist and definitely not a Tory (I'm fairly sure @edge voted for Brexit as well so all those gladly pigeonholing me as a Tory knock yourselves out).
I'll speak more about the NHS as that's an area I have more experience in, but the NHS has been a dreadful employer for decades, and the low pay of nurses, junior doctors, and so on, is but a small part of that, with stress and burnout much bigger factors. I know for a fact that the unions have never done anything about any of those things. Do I think nurses justify higher pay? Yes. Do I think the working patterns of nurses are horrendous and deliberately burn them out? Also, yes. Do I think these strikes will do anything to realistically change that? No. The discourse in the media is reductionist in the extreme. I think the latest figures are that 10-15% of nurses have had to resort to a food bank in some way. That's obviously a terrible situation for anyone to be in. Does that mean we talk as though "every" nurse faces similar difficulties, despite 85% clearly not? Or do we actually try to understand the circumstances of the 15% and offer more tailored support to them? In the easy outrage, quick "win" culture online it's nearly always the former rather than the latter because you (the royal, not you specifically) don't really care, you just want to create the appearance of caring.
For what it's worth, I've spent the last five years on a research project into the employment prospects of people in deprived communities, not that that matters to @FrenchDarrenBent et al who are happy throwing out accusations based on nothing.
NilSatisOptimum
Player Valuation: £70m
See the Tories are trying to narrate the poor train services on those wanting good working conditions for themselves, but lets not kid ourselves our rail network has been broken for a long time before Putin before Covid before Brexit.
www.theguardian.com
UK rail system described as ‘broken’ as 2022 data reveals extent of disruption
Delays and cancellations linked to 20 years of privatisation, rising costs and labour shortages worsened by pandemic, say experts
Apologies if this has already been answered, but is it just British rail on strike or the private train companies too?
And is there a national award for all rail workers or is each company allowed to set their own wages for staff?
Just curious, as my wife works in a private school, but it is the same award for all teachers, whether public or private
And is there a national award for all rail workers or is each company allowed to set their own wages for staff?
Just curious, as my wife works in a private school, but it is the same award for all teachers, whether public or private
Unions are not without problems for sure. Personally I think they'd do well to reach out to people in ever increasingly fragmented and precarious employment such as delivery services.
The questions for me: are unions ignoring said people? Do individuals not want to join unions? Are employers making it difficult? Are fragmented employment markets making it hard for unions to engage?
Sorry to snip a chunk out but I've no idea what happens in those industries. I do however have a couple of close friends with extensive experience in RM.
The piecework model used in other companies for instance doesn't have quite the same appeal to RM as the number of items a person is expected to clear is much, much higher. Thousands of letters and leaflets per day and probably over a hundred parcels a day - I suspect a piecework model at even a fraction of the payments made by other delivery companies would see a huge increase in costs.
And the fellas I know aren't asking you to feel sorry for them or to stuff gig economy staff - that kind of thing sickens them but they've got their own working standards to worry about. They aren't going on strike to harm people - they're withdrawing their labour from a company that wishes to impose a multitude of changes that would be hugely detrimental to their lives both in and out of work. It's in opposition to those who would rather see 'perks' like a pension or sick leave removed in a race to the bottom.
Their efforts are about creating and maintaining decent standards of work so people don't have to rely on the gig economy model which is fine for making a few quid if you have little to no financial responsibility but it looks from the outside like an absolute nightmare if you're heavily reliant on it.
Old Blue 2
Player Valuation: £40m
Talking rubbish and having a dig again, eh, Bruce? You just can't stop, can you?
Any international gigger, if they've got half a brain, will ensure all the paperwork is in place before they put one foot in front of the other with regard to 'foreign' work, including any carnets that need to be in place for their equipment. If they, or ther Management, don't, then it is a problem of their own making.
And I am NOT 'apparently' a socialist - I've voted Labour all of my life. Your 'Toryness' is there for all to see on here.
You need to knock yourself out, and stop crying about things just because they do not suit YOUR particular agenda. There's more to the UK than just you...
Charlie Sweet
Player Valuation: £35m
Okay I'll bite. I'm Labour all my life. Grew up being told about the devastation Thatcher caused in the 80s and saw for myself the sleaze of the Tories in the 90s and I cheered Blair to power in 97.
Don't know what you mean about financial redistribution though? I currently pay the 45p income tax rate and would support it going to 50p on basis of improved public services.
How does that help everyone's wage packet? Albeit indirectly through better education etc?
Or are you saying there should be a raid on my businesses and investments? Everything is UK based and taxed. Ive nothing to hide and again would support a small increase in corporation tax - but again have to be careful as once you factor in company tax say at 25% then a raised personal tax at 50% where's the incentive there for the business owner and shareholder to take any risk and grow?
I support.the strikes for better working conditions and there on its different on a case by case basis. The nurses for example deserve every penny and I'd solve the NHS staffing issue in a second by outlawing agency staff and giving the cash spent on that to better pay and recruitment for existing workers. Royal Mail though is dead and just can't compete. Its holding up a dinosaur model. We needed a RM before the Internet. Now that old dear in the Outer Hebridies can get her vital mail through email.
roydo
in memoriam - 1965-2024
I worked for Yodel mate. 90p per drop. (Gross, we were notionally self employed). Every other cost was met by me, tax deductable, obvs, like petrol, van costs, clothes. No sick pay, pension, and no holiday pay.
But I loved it, and it suited our work/life balance at the time.
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