RMT Strike

[Southover Street Seagull]

A lot of correct good points made here and a load of crap spouted as well from people guessing. I work for network rail maintenance and have never been a fan of the unions but joined 3 months ago due to concerns with how network rail treat you and safety. This dispute is all about safety and network rail wanted to cut 3000 jobs initially from a already understaffed railway. This is now down to around 1800 job cuts and the way they are going to get around this is to reduce the amount of inspections and, increase the time in which defect rails have to be changed, amongst others. The HMRI rail regulator have stepped in and backed the union on a few issues already so i do believe they are doing the right thing. People may slag the union and strikers off but it genuinely will be an accident waiting to happen if Network rail get their way.

Well for me, I'm going to believe people like you and British Bulldog, rather than the Tory press, people who are actually working at the sharp end of these proposed cuts.

Thank you both for your information on the subject.

 

[User removed 4]

A lot of correct good points made here and a load of crap spouted as well from people guessing. I work for network rail maintenance and have never been a fan of the unions but joined 3 months ago due to concerns with how network rail treat you and safety. This dispute is all about safety and network rail wanted to cut 3000 jobs initially from a already understaffed railway. This is now down to around 1800 job cuts and the way they are going to get around this is to reduce the amount of inspections and, increase the time in which defect rails have to be changed, amongst others. The HMRI rail regulator have stepped in and backed the union on a few issues already so i do believe they are doing the right thing. People may slag the union and strikers off but it genuinely will be an accident waiting to happen if Network rail get their way.

Sounds pretty plausible to me.

 

[Simster]

Sounds to me like there is a genuine safety issue here, i've got no sympathy for the RMT when they strike over employees off sick with ankle trouble who are caught playing squash, but it makes me laugh how the handwringers on here turn into nimby's when THEY are affected by something.

Agreed.

 

[Ernest]

Trouble with Bob Crow is that he is like the little boy that cries wolf, called too many spurious strikes and disputes in the past and now something comes along that is a genuine grievance and people are all saying 'That f***ing lefty twat Crow is at it again'.
I'm not sure what sort of support the strikes will get as 54% is hardly a ringing endorsement in a ballot.

 

[User removed 4]

Agreed.

people have such short memories over rail safety .

 

[markw]

Well for me, I'm going to believe people like you and British Bulldog, rather than the Tory press, people who are actually working at the sharp end of these proposed cuts.

Thank you both for your information on the subject.

This is only the start i am afraid, i am sure the changes network rail are planning will lead to more strikes in the next year. This proposed strike is only regarding job cuts and safety issues and what must be remembered is that for every day on strike, employees lose their yearly bonus of up to £1500, so 3 days strike you lose 3 years bonus. Maintenance workers tend not to strike as they cannot afford it but signallers and signalling workers normally stick together so it comes to a standstill, for someone to lose that amount of money means that they are not just troublemakers. Network rail are changing the way we work but not everyone is happy, they are making numerous changes which include increasing rostered weekend shifts from 26 to 93 shifts a year, bank holiday working (happy xmas!), no overtime, cross boundary working, 6 hr shifts etc etc . Expect lots of action in the next year.

 

[Springal]

This is only the start i am afraid, i am sure the changes network rail are planning will lead to more strikes in the next year. This proposed strike is only regarding job cuts and safety issues and what must be remembered is that for every day on strike, employees lose their yearly bonus of up to £1500, so 3 days strike you lose 3 years bonus. Maintenance workers tend not to strike as they cannot afford it but signallers and signalling workers normally stick together so it comes to a standstill, for someone to lose that amount of money means that they are not just troublemakers. Network rail are changing the way we work but not everyone is happy, they are making numerous changes which include increasing rostered weekend shifts from 26 to 93 shifts a year, bank holiday working (happy xmas!), no overtime, cross boundary working, 6 hr shifts etc etc . Expect lots of action in the next year.

While I can sympathise a bit and agree with the safety aspect, over the last 2 years, I have seen the following for the private company I work for:

No bonus's
No Christmas parties/bonus's
Increased on call rota as part of management team was cut down
Holidays cut down to bare minimum
No payrises

The list goes on, but you know what, I'm in a job, I can pay my bills and its hell of a lot more interesting than being on the dole. Suck it up

 

[markw]

While I can sympathise a bit and agree with the safety aspect, over the last 2 years, I have seen the following for the private company I work for:

No bonus's
No Christmas parties/bonus's
Increased on call rota as part of management team was cut down
Holidays cut down to bare minimum
No payrises

The list goes on, but you know what, I'm in a job, I can pay my bills and its hell of a lot more interesting than being on the dole. Suck it up

Do you now have to work xmas day? How about boxing day or easter sunday? would you be happy working 45 weekends of saturday and sundays

 

[Springal]

Do you now have to work xmas day? How about boxing day or easter sunday? would you be happy working 45 weekends of saturday and sundays

I have to do on-call over at least one of those, and do 20 weekends a year on-call as well.

 

[Dave the OAP]

Trouble with Bob Crow is that he is like the little boy that cries wolf, called too many spurious strikes and disputes in the past and now something comes along that is a genuine grievance and people are all saying 'That f***ing lefty twat Crow is at it again'.
I'm not sure what sort of support the strikes will get as 54% is hardly a ringing endorsement in a ballot.

are you one of the 54% ?

 

[markw]

I have to do on-call over at least one of those, and do 20 weekends a year on-call as well.

Not to bad then,i wish our job was that easy, we have to work them as well as already being on call for the others!

 

[Ernest]

are you one of the 54% ?

Nowt do with me as it is a Network Rail strike

 

[Southover Street Seagull]

While I can sympathise a bit and agree with the safety aspect, over the last 2 years, I have seen the following for the private company I work for:

No bonus's
No Christmas parties/bonus's
Increased on call rota as part of management team was cut down
Holidays cut down to bare minimum
No payrises

The list goes on, but you know what, I'm in a job, I can pay my bills and its hell of a lot more interesting than being on the dole. Suck it up

Have you thought about joining a union to stick up for you?

 

[RM-Taylor]

No I'm not on strike, just don't come on here as much as I used to

 

[RM-Taylor]

Furthermore, this bloody strike best not happen next Tuesday as I'm travelling down to London and back.

 

[User removed 4]

I have to do on-call over at least one of those, and do 20 weekends a year on-call as well.

So what are you saying , because you have to accept it, everybody else should as well ?

 

[Simster]

While I can sympathise a bit and agree with the safety aspect, over the last 2 years, I have seen the following for the private company I work for:

No bonus's
No Christmas parties/bonus's
Increased on call rota as part of management team was cut down
Holidays cut down to bare minimum
No payrises

The list goes on, but you know what, I'm in a job, I can pay my bills and its hell of a lot more interesting than being on the dole. Suck it up

Good for you.

Call me picky, but I think I'd be more impressed if you were in a job were you didn't have to put up with that shit.

 

[bhaexpress]

Have you thought about joining a union to stick up for you?

The one time I belonged to a union they did sod all for me when I nearly lost my job thanks to a mistake made by somebody else. Mind you the place I was working for did not have a monopoly and could not hold the country to ransome.

 

[Dandyman]

Well for me, I'm going to believe people like you and British Bulldog, rather than the Tory press, people who are actually working at the sharp end of these proposed cuts.

Thank you both for your information on the subject.

Amen to that. There is also a similar story on the London Underground where many of the disputes have been over safety cuts. Anyone who remembers the "Herald of Free Enterprise" knows where that sort of thing ends up.

 

[bullshit detector]

Mind-boggling how many people on here just say 'jump when the boss tells you to!' Bet most of you didn't feel like that when Archer and Bellotti told us to 'stop whining' and put up with the destruction of our club! Why is it OK to get stroppy and fight for your rights when the Albion is being wrecked, but not when your working conditions are?
We have the most expensive and unsafe rail network in Europe, and it's all because these private companies just want to make more and more money out of us poor passengers and don't give a shit about safely. The railways should be renationalised without compensation, all safety standards put back and fares slashed by 50%. And Bob Crow is a f**ing hero.