Tube Strike, Boxing Day

[tamborine]

According to Sky News, tube drivers are paid £46k pa & working public hols is written into their contracts.

ASLEF union wants them to have triple wages. Do you support the drivers ?

http://news.sky.com/story/1030232/tube-strike-shoppers-face-boxing-day-delays

[Richard1966]

Wish I was payed £46k to sit on a train all day.

[China Doll]

No, I do not. I'm usually quite supportive when people are forced to take strike action as I think it's always a last resort. But not these guys, and I haven't been for a long time.

[Maydup]

I don't support striking but I do support an amibition to keep Bank Holidays special. If they go as normal pay and normal timetables then we might as well not have them.

[mushroom25]

this is the third year in a row this has happened.

large parts of the network (including most of the northern line) are closed for engineering works.

no other large city in england has any public transport on boxing day.

time for tfl to take the pragmatic approach and schedule a network closure on boxing day?

[237SJ]

I don`t know enough about their dispute TBH. The press are very good at picking on certain points to stir up public opinion when quite often, there are a lot of other issues involved in a dispute. I think that if you work shifts, you can`t expect extra pay when you work weekends or bank holidays (except for getting days in lieu).

[Gromit]

I would sooner by where I am now than driving grumpy shoppers through tunnels. You would have to pay me lots of money to do it,

You seem keen on the idea, why don't you apply?

[Gromit]

What Aslef want:

// We want a volunteer service on Boxing Day with those working getting more than flat time. An enhancement for this day will ensure members will be able to swap duties with someone who wishes to work. //

So those with children who celebrate Christmas do not compulsary have to work, while those who have no interest or need the money can put their names on the the roster. Doesn't seem too unreasonable.

[Baldric]

If they're not prepared to work within the terms of their contract, get rid of them, all they are trying to do is hold their employers to ransom, no employee should be able to do that.

[China Doll]

I don't really agree Gromit, their pay reflects the anti-social working hours around christmas. Other jobs (especially in the public sector) require to be in over christmas for significantly less pay and/or benefits. I do think the tube unions are particularly greedy.

And I did try and apply to be a tube driver and was told that there were no vacancies, and that tube driver vacancies were being offered to current staff as a priority.

[237SJ]

If they signed up to shift work (and weekends etc) in their contract, I don`t think they should be paid extra for volunteering. My company is a 24/7 company and people with kids or whatever have to do the same as everyone else. It`s the luck of the draw if you work Christmas and other bank holidays. I`d expect nothing else (even though it can be a pain).

[douglas9401]

Seems like a fair wage already. Give them double time for holidays and ballot them about sacking their old school Trot union officials.

[Gromit]

Douglas

// ballot them about sacking their old school Trot union officials. //

There was over 90% support for the strike from the drivers.

[venator]

Can you work Maggie Thatcher into this one, Gromit?

And how many footplatemen are there in ASLEF (they're the "F"), and how much are they paid, seeing that there aren't any footplates now the steam engines have gone?

[mushroom25]

from ASLEF's own website:-
"Over 50% of ASLEF members issued with ballot papers voted for industrial action according to Electoral Reform Services who conducted the ballot for the union. Of those who returned them, 1,040 said 'I am prepared to take part in a strike' while only 116 voted 'No'"

that's not 90% support in my book - 90% of those who could be bothered, maybe.

[venator]

They'll probably go the way of the dockers, who held the country to ransom, and made it cheaper to adopt containerisation.

The technology is there for automatic trains.... tick tick tick ....

[China Doll]

I suspect the fact that the technology is there is also part of the problem, a sort of 'get what you can now' type attitude.

[boxtops]

years ago when I worked in the brewery, the draymen kept striking - in the end they sacked all the strikers and took on new men. I bet you'd not get away with that now.

[venator]

They wouldn't Boxie, but they can sack the men and take on computers, which haven't learned to strike yet...

[venator]

The miners are another example - Opencast doesn't need miners, just big diggers. The poor old NUM has even had to take Saint Arthur Scargill to court because the few remaining members can't afford to keep paying for his luxury flat...

[starone]

No I don't support them, mainly because I am fed up with strikes. They should think themselves lucky they have a job and a good one by the look of it. There are many more good people on the breadline.