Current Affairs Rail strikes

[edge]

What’s happened - thought there was on offer ready to be accepted?

'It is mate,, the union is backing the pay deal and were already restructured years ago; so much for the RMT not being open to change?
The signal, trackworkers ect work for network rail, not sure which union their control at sandhills is either these days.
It's not really safe to run a railway without those track workers running checks and repairs.

 

[peteblue]

What’s happened - thought there was on offer ready to be accepted?

Echo says that Merseyrail staff will not be on strike, but Network rail staff manage signalling and maintenance etc….

 

[Charro]

It's only for three days isnt it?

Merseyrail has to be one of the worst networks in the country.

Back to trains every 30 minutes. For somebody who lives on the outskirts of the city like myself traveling into town and other parts is a massive ball ache

 

[summerisle]

She's effin useless ; desperately trying to compare the current dispute with the miners' strike, and flailing about uselessly. This is how she 'described' the interview, laughable :

 

[woomy]

Big moment this, not just for rail workers. But all public sector workers. Don't pay, and we will probs have ongoing strikes. Pay and step away from all the restructuring and job cuts and that then opens the door to all other public pay workers, and their demands.

I feel the government has to paint the rail workers and the union in a bad light, and try and win that way. Cause the alternative is not just give in to rail workers, but give in to all wage demands for all public sector staff.

 

[grandjoeblue]

Big moment this, not just for rail workers. But all public sector workers. Don't pay, and we will probs have ongoing strikes. Pay and step away from all the restructuring and job cuts and that then opens the door to all other public pay workers, and their demands.

I feel the government has to paint the rail workers and the union in a bad light, and try and win that way. Cause the alternative is not just give in to rail workers, but give in to all wage demands for all public sector staff.

Let's face it the government and business owners have not acted in the interest of most workers for a long time. The train strike is an convenience but it's time workers got what they deserve.

 

[dublinbluenose]

Its been enjoyable watching Mick Lynch today. If only client journalists and politicians were across their briefs as much.

 

[grandjoeblue]

Its been enjoyable watching Mick Lynch today. If only client journalists and politicians were across their briefs as much.

His interview with Kay Burley was laughable this morning. She clearly did not have a clue.

 

[tsubaki]

Let's face it the government and business owners have not acted in the interest of most workers for a long time. The train strike is an convenience but it's time workers got what they deserve.

I agree, but the difficulty is that this isn't a situation that can be solved even by big pay increases given what is behind the inflation (commodity prices, which could keep rising).

There are things that government can do instead to reduce the cost of living, and they should urgently look at doing them - reducing the cost of housing for a start (for both homeowners and renters), and in the longer term reducing transportation costs (by giving people less reason or need to buy their own car(s)). The government should also seriously consider whether any further (or indeed the current) sanctions on any country are going to be effective, I mean they don't have the best history of success to begin with.

In terms of this strike, what is urgently needed is to genuinely modernise the railway - not to do what they want to do (which is yet another attempt to try and make franchising work), but instead to reintegrate everything so that hundreds of millions are no longer wasted on hiring trains (many of which BR built and used to own), the multitude of liveries, horrendously duplicated upper management, the franchising competitions, lawyers, negotiations over who is to blame for a delay and so on. The network is in a financial mess because of those things, not because station ticket offices are open or because cleaners are on £60k a year.

 

[Sweeneytoad]

Its been great to watch Mick Lynch, he's been running rings around journalists and MPs all day.

 

[Eggs]

Its been great to watch Mick Lynch, he's been running rings around journalists and MPs all day.

….particularly good with the Tory backbencher on BBC2 Politics Show at lunchtime.

 

[Connor]

Power to the workers.

Mick Lynch for Labour leader.

 

[edge]

Don't believe the hpye.
The deal offered 2% and 1% next year.
Sunday working to be part of the week , most station staff already do this, the guards would be effected.
All stations to be shut.
Staff to be offered redundancy,
Or given new roles as yet unspecified,
Staff to be taken on in future to have longer working week , 44 instead of 38, barred from going into the pension for two years.
When they do there contribution would be capped at 1% and 1.5% for the company ,that's for all staff .
It's about 5 % at the moment for both at the moment and can be topped up voluntarily by the staff
That means they and everyone that has a pension past and present will , take a cut in the in the long term as the pension pot is no longer growing.
The private companies already raided the surplus at the beginning of privatisation got a 3 year break from payments for the companies, and then said they were entitled to take a portion of something they had ever paid into, the union went to the EU courts and lost.
None safe guarded staff, (those that were employed after BR) will have to wait till 62 then 65 for there current rail pension which is 60.
There will be staff taken on to just work the weekend.
In short they want me and any other rail worker to stand by and watch thousands of fellow workers lose there jobs.
And we will paying for the privilege of doing it.
The rise offered is smaller than the savings in the pensions so infact you would be paying for the privilege of being poorer in the future and the present
I am lucky I can get at .you pension, I have 31 years in so they can get to fk. Havnt taken it but its going in my pocket while I have the chance.
but others can't and are in danger of being well and truly shafted.
The union are not against modernization.
Merseyrail were restructured 19 years a go for instance.
Scotland and Wales have done a deal why not England ?
I will tell you why because the government are engineering the situation, we all know that. nobody is under any illusions
We are going to get shafted ,but we we go down fighting.
Don't believe a word they are saying it's all lies.

 

[Connor]

 

[Runub]

Great that. Who did they ask 58% of people that don’t use trains and 34% who do?