| Rail strikes: Just crazy… 11:32 - Jan 6 with 1952 views | SitfcB |
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| Rail strikes: Just crazy… on 11:44 - Jan 6 with 1826 views | Steve_M |
The whole rail system in this country is broken, just political ideology won't accept it. There's been as much disruption without strikes, especially on Avanti and Northern Rail, as with them.
Edit: also the government wants to set up a confirmation with the unions in the latest round of Thatcher-cosplay not realising that Thatcher planned for the miners strike, largely by stockpiling coal.
[Post edited 6 Jan 2023 11:48]
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| Rail strikes: Just crazy… on 11:48 - Jan 6 with 1784 views | SitfcB |
| Rail strikes: Just crazy… on 11:44 - Jan 6 by Steve_M |
The whole rail system in this country is broken, just political ideology won't accept it. There's been as much disruption without strikes, especially on Avanti and Northern Rail, as with them.
Edit: also the government wants to set up a confirmation with the unions in the latest round of Thatcher-cosplay not realising that Thatcher planned for the miners strike, largely by stockpiling coal.
[Post edited 6 Jan 2023 11:48]
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Yep, it’s been unreliable for years, if there’s no trains it’s a bus and if there are trains it’s likely delayed and/or busy and cramped!
With the exception of Charlton I haven’t done one away game on the train this season yet as not worth the hassle booking it and then strikes get announced etc plus the cost is so silly these days.
Did you see this a few weeks ago, another massive joke…
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64006885.amp | |
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| Rail strikes: Just crazy… on 11:50 - Jan 6 with 1747 views | homer_123 |
If that's true, then it's madness...again from this lot. |  |
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| Rail strikes: Just crazy… on 12:50 - Jan 6 with 1588 views | DJR |
| Rail strikes: Just crazy… on 11:44 - Jan 6 by Steve_M |
The whole rail system in this country is broken, just political ideology won't accept it. There's been as much disruption without strikes, especially on Avanti and Northern Rail, as with them.
Edit: also the government wants to set up a confirmation with the unions in the latest round of Thatcher-cosplay not realising that Thatcher planned for the miners strike, largely by stockpiling coal.
[Post edited 6 Jan 2023 11:48]
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Yes, I think that the Tories' view is that their only hope of clawing back their standing in the polls is to be anti-strike, anti-immigrant and anti-woke. |  | | |
| Rail strikes: Just crazy… on 12:53 - Jan 6 with 1553 views | monytowbray |
| Rail strikes: Just crazy… on 12:50 - Jan 6 by DJR |
Yes, I think that the Tories' view is that their only hope of clawing back their standing in the polls is to be anti-strike, anti-immigrant and anti-woke. |
The challenge is the same that happened in USA with Trump and the GOP. There’s a loud right wing press amplifying a minority voice and as politicians like to believe their own deluded BS they get lost in that world over reality.
When surveyed, even the majority of their voter base are indifferent to the culture war stuff and their main concerns are jobs, local development, etc. |  |
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| Rail strikes: Just crazy… on 15:21 - Jan 6 with 1364 views | HARRY10 |
Sadly this is another consequence of loony Tory dogma.
The idiocy was that seperating British Rail would allow smaller private companies to compete. (single fairs have risen 218% in real trerms since privatisation).
All that has happened is these companies have been slowly swallowed up and are now owned by EU state owned companies. Who ironically point to the UKs privatisation as what not to do with rail.
There, the companies run independent of government inteference, and by their size are able to invest and run integrated systems.. The UK is left with a hotch potch of costly comanies dependent on ever more subsidies, much of which head abroad as dividends.
The same with the water companies. There is no competion as such. You cannot choose your water supplier as you might your petrol station. Owned by EU companies, they have a remit to provide profits not provide a service , hence the sht being dumped into our rivers and seas.
i suspect the 'master knows best' syndrom is still wide spread in the UK, and as long as voters see a few naughty foreigners arriving by boat as a serious threat to the stability of the country this theft and incompetence will continue. |  | | |
| Rail strikes: Just crazy… on 15:35 - Jan 6 with 1299 views | lowhouseblue |
as i understand it, the government honours its contractual payments to the train operators even though they haven't be running the required trains on strike days. so this isn't an additional cost to the government - if the dispute hadn't occurred the same money would still have been paid over and, if there had been a wage settlement, then there would have been additional wage costs above that. so the rmt tweet seems to assume this money could have been spent twice - once to pay the normal daily operating contract and once to fund additional wages above that? |  |
| And so as the loose-bowelled pigeon of time swoops low over the unsuspecting tourist of destiny, and the flatulent skunk of fate wanders into the air-conditioning system of eternity, I notice it's the end of the show |
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| Rail strikes: Just crazy… on 15:40 - Jan 6 with 1269 views | hatch |
I think the Williams-Shapps report recommendations is a step in the right direction. Merging TOCs into larger regions so you have 5/6 organisations and realise economies of scale. You could do without a lot of duplication of headcount in head office roles and even share operational and engineering staff across a wider region. Great British Railways is the idea and there’s a team behind it already but I can’t see it ever happening sadly.
The problem with the RMT tweet is that the government are already spending taxpayers money far in excess of that when there’s no strike as they’re paying all the staff who aren’t striking and the passenger numbers aren’t much greater.
The railway has shrunk in demand to 60% of what it was pre covid as commuters made up such a large percentage of revenue and yet the costs are the same. The government are digging their heels in as reform is needed to find the savings to create a sustainable railway. That can still be achieved with pay rises and job security but it needs the unions to agree to a framework of discussion. The unions want to receive the pay uplift first then discuss reform so it’s chicken and egg. |  | | |
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| Rail strikes: Just crazy… on 15:44 - Jan 6 with 1242 views | NthQldITFC |
When are we going to learn (not just the government and business, but all of us) that the way we do things, the systems we use and the values we have, are just not working any more.
I'm sure some of us on here will be direct or indirect shareholders in the privatised train operators, and might be secretly pleased to see that the value of our investments has been propped up, but at what cost?
And for how long, as society and the environment crumble around our greed and stupidity? |  |
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| Rail strikes: Just crazy… on 15:51 - Jan 6 with 1174 views | Clapham_Junction |
| Rail strikes: Just crazy… on 15:35 - Jan 6 by lowhouseblue |
as i understand it, the government honours its contractual payments to the train operators even though they haven't be running the required trains on strike days. so this isn't an additional cost to the government - if the dispute hadn't occurred the same money would still have been paid over and, if there had been a wage settlement, then there would have been additional wage costs above that. so the rmt tweet seems to assume this money could have been spent twice - once to pay the normal daily operating contract and once to fund additional wages above that? |
It is an additional cost to government, because they are not getting any fare income (£20-25m per day being lost) |  | | |
| Rail strikes: Just crazy… on 16:05 - Jan 6 with 1097 views | hatch |
| Rail strikes: Just crazy… on 15:51 - Jan 6 by Clapham_Junction |
It is an additional cost to government, because they are not getting any fare income (£20-25m per day being lost) |
Well the alternative is concede and give the unions what they want for no reform in return and so costs go up further each year and the taxpayers fund even more of the railway than they are now.
Short term pain long term gain is the phrase I think. Not that anyone wants these strikes | | | |
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