Forum Topic

Tube Strike.

So the greedy bastards are going to cause massive disruption again!“ Starting salaries for tube drivers are nearly double a doctor's starting salary, and come close to that of a specialist doctor. The profession is paid more than most public sector jobs. Tube drivers have some of the highest-paid starting salaries in the public sector.”

Steve Taylor ● 17d17 Comments

Next week's strike has been called off.

Susan Kelly ● 10d

What's a shorter working week though?If you work the same number of hours per week, but condensed into fewer days, is that a shorter working week?Alternatively, if you work fewer hours per week, but work them on 5 days each week, rather than 4 days, is that a shorter working week or a longer working week?

Andrew Jones ● 10d

According to Railnews, the RMT has voted to strike and ASLEF is against it. They quote an ASLEF source saying "If the RMT are to call a strike on this issue, it will be the first time in history that a trade union has asked its members to strike to stop workers having a shorter working week with more time off for no loss of pay."

Richard Greenhough ● 10d

We have established you seem to have lost the ability to read and/or comprehend written English, Steve, so I'll break it up for you. Quote: "The RMT union announces a series of strike dates in *PROTEST* at London Underground’s plan to introduce a compressed four-day working week for train drivers."This paragraph states the union are proposing strikes because they *DO NOT* want their members "to work less for the same very high basic pay". *PROTEST* here means they're *AGAINST* LU's proposals to offer a voluntary 4DW.NB. London Underground drivers do not work overtime per longstanding union agreements, and the "huge pay increase" you refer to was 3.4%.Of course, don't let facts get in the way of your fit of pique.

Mike Smith ● 14d

We have established that the strikes are 100%  about pay. The greedy bastards want to work less for the same very high basic pay or earn substantial overtime if they are to work the same hours as they currently enjoy. Greed, greed and more greed especially as they recently received a huge pay increase.

Steve Taylor ● 15d

So we have established that the strikes are about shift patterns and not pay.

Stewart Jones ● 16d

Yep - greedy bastards wanting to work less for the same money. Who else gets to work a 32 hour week on full pay and generous pension scheme. “They are demanding a shorter 32-hour, 4-day week without loss of pay”

Steve Taylor ● 16d

So it isn't about more money? They're either "greedy bastards", as you eloquently describe them, or they're fighting for a shorter working week. But then they're not: the RMT is fighting against TfL's proposal to offer a 4DW. What, you hadn't taken the time to understand the detail? Fancy that.

Mike Smith ● 16d

Greedy bastards! “They are demanding a shorter 32-hour, 4-day week without loss of pay”

Steve Taylor ● 16d

So much for Sadiq khan and his ‘zero days of strikes’ promise when he was campaigning back in 2016. Apparently his good relations with trade unions were going to ensure such industrial action wouldn’t happen under his watch. Ha!https://www.london.gov.uk/who-we-are/what-london-assembly-does/questions-mayor/find-an-answer/zero-days-strikes

Simon Hayes ● 17d

This dispute seems to be about working the same hours over fewer days, presumably for the same pay, which would mean longer working days, but an extra day off.  It looks as if the RTM and ASLEF have different views about this scheme.

Peter Evans ● 17d

The clues are all there...

Stewart Jones ● 17d

Only a moron wouldn’t understand that a shorter week with less hours and no reduction in pay is about remuneration. Only a moron wouldn’t understand that to shorten the working hours of a driver with no reduction in pay would mean that another driver has to be paid to make up those hours.

Steve Taylor ● 17d

Only a moron would jump to the conclusion that these possible strikes are about pay. But then I looked at who was the OP.

Stewart Jones ● 17d

Don’t be stupid!

Steve Taylor ● 17d

Is the answer to bring their wages down to below what doctors are being paid; would that make you happy, or does the problem lie elsewhere?

Mike Smith ● 17d

Aside from whether you think this strike is justified,I like what happens in Japan when bus and train staff have a dispute with their company.They don't go on strike as such,but have a work to rule whereby they go to work as usual but refuse to collect fares.

Keith Iddon ● 17d