[stayinupforever]

Never good for the country.

[Cressers]

If it weren't for the unions you'd still be living in the 1800s.

[exgaffer]

Never good for the country.

Striking should be reserved for occasions when the work force is being exploited by the employer and all possible other remedies have been explored.

The current strikers are well remunerated, have good pension schemes and should not be holding the rest of us to ransom.

The railways are effectively funded by the taxpayer and are losing money, where is all the extra pay to come from then? 

The strikes are political pure and simple, the leaders of thr RMT are totally overpaid (and hence totally hypocritical) communists and are striking primarily to bring down the government.

They must be resisted at all costs.

The government is elected by the electorate as a whole, not by a few thousand railway workers almost all of whom could be easily replaced by people who would value the employment. The government should change the law so that a minimum level of service is maintained during strikes (as happens in Europe so Tufnell will agree with it). Better still, make striking illegal for essential services like the railway. The RMT should get rid of the extremists who run them and replace them with people who will negotiate in good faith.

[Tufnell_Chimes]

^ Well that was predictable ...and what exactly is their average renumeration?

[Pompeyg100]

^ Well that was predictable ...and what exactly is their average renumeration?

£54k I believe.

[DeepBlue]

Does cutting the Pension scheme you have been paying into for years count as exploitation by your employers ?

[Jezzer]

Ex Gaffer pulled up the drawbridge many years ago and put a triple lock on the gate. At least he's alright Jack.

[Tufnell_Chimes]

^ Well that was predictable ...and what exactly is their average renumeration?

£54k I believe.

Nope. That well-renumerated figure has been put out to generate public opinion against the strikes, but its not accurate. That figure is the average for all railway workers - railway workers including train drivers and management. The train drivers are, in the main, all part of ASLEF. ASLEF didn't call this strike, management have their own union and they didn't call the strike, the RMT did, and their average wage is nowhere near that 54k figure. And its not just money, RMT members are being told they will be fired and re-hired on worse terms - much like British Gas and P&O have done. They are being exploited by their employer.

71% of all RMT members voted and 89% of those voted to strike - seems some on here are only interested in the democratic process when it suits them.

If you put working people into ten years of austerity and then rising inflation eats away at what little earnings they do have - what do you expect. What were the tories thinking? did they think they could just go grinding down wages - what happened to our taking-back-control high-skilled, high-waged economy - what happened to that?

Oh and Adam Posen, former policy maker at the Bank of England has said that 80% of UK inflation is Brexit-related - so this all on you and your ilk Guff. When you told a million people to bugger off because they weren't like-you-enough for you, what did you expect to happen?

...and lastly, if the railways are losing money how come they can pay dividends to their shareholders - which they have.

[Isaac Hunt]

I think it is about time there was a serious look at remuneration (or is it renumeration)
And establish the worth to the community of professions.
Why are Railworkers expecting higher wages than nurses (for example)
Why are CEO's getting humungous bonus's on top of there humungous remuneration.
Why do lawyers get such high remuneration
And don't get me started on Prem footballers

[bluetagagain]

Mick Lynch is a coont , you only have to listen to him talk ( his hero is Scargill FFS), this strike is feck all to do about money it’s to start the momentum for an all out general strike. Aslef ( the train drivers union and nowhere near as militant as the RMT , didn’t agree with the all out action).
It’s just a nonsense to feck up the government instead of waiting for a general election.

[Tufnell_Chimes]

Government seem more than happy to see it go on. Schapps has refused to get involved. There’s two by-elections on Thursday and they’re thinking it takes the heat of their crummy record in gov.

[Smirnoffexpress]

I think it is about time there was a serious look at remuneration (or is it renumeration)
And establish the worth to the community of professions.
Why are Railworkers expecting higher wages than nurses (for example)
Why are CEO's getting humungous bonus's on top of there humungous remuneration.
Why do lawyers get such high remuneration
And don't get me started on Prem footballers

I don’t think Railworkers have an agenda seeking higher wages than Nurses. Maybe the fact that the Rail industry has reaped the benefits of having a traditionally strong union that has ensured, over decades, that their terms and conditions are protected. If the Nurses had the same they’d be in a better place, rather than get shafted year in year out. Look into the real reasons behind the dispute before judging.

[Pompeyg100]

^ Well that was predictable ...and what exactly is their average renumeration?

£54k I believe.

Nope. That well-renumerated figure has been put out to generate public opinion against the strikes, but its not accurate. That figure is the average for all railway workers - railway workers including train drivers and management. The train drivers are, in the main, all part of ASLEF. ASLEF didn't call this strike, management have their own union and they didn't call the strike, the RMT did, and their average wage is nowhere near that 54k figure. And its not just money, RMT members are being told they will be fired and re-hired on worse terms - much like British Gas and P&O have done. They are being exploited by their employer.

71% of all RMT members voted and 89% of those voted to strike - seems some on here are only interested in the democratic process when it suits them.

If you put working people into ten years of austerity and then rising inflation eats away at what little earnings they do have - what do you expect. What were the tories thinking? did they think they could just go grinding down wages - what happened to our taking-back-control high-skilled, high-waged economy - what happened to that?

Oh and Adam Posen, former policy maker at the Bank of England has said that 80% of UK inflation is Brexit-related - so this all on you and your ilk Guff. When you told a million people to bugger off because they weren't like-you-enough for you, what did you expect to happen?

...and lastly, if the railways are losing money how come they can pay dividends to their shareholders - which they have.

I find it strange you say £54k is incorrect but aren’t able to offer a figure.

Also, they have not been told they will be fired and rehired at all. In fact they have had such an uptake in voluntary redundancies that they have had to decline people. They don’t want to get rid of staff, they want to stop working like it’s the dark ages.

The union boss is on £100k+.

[Pompeyg100]

I think it is about time there was a serious look at remuneration (or is it renumeration)
And establish the worth to the community of professions.
Why are Railworkers expecting higher wages than nurses (for example)
Why are CEO's getting humungous bonus's on top of there humungous remuneration.
Why do lawyers get such high remuneration
And don't get me started on Prem footballers

I don’t think Railworkers have an agenda seeking higher wages than Nurses. Maybe the fact that the Rail industry has reaped the benefits of having a traditionally strong union that has ensured, over decades, that their terms and conditions are protected. If the Nurses had the same they’d be in a better place, rather than get shafted year in year out. Look into the real reasons behind the dispute before judging.

The ones that have been there 20 years plus have amazing contracts and it’s almost impossible to get fired from NR, half of the workers wouldn’t survive in the real world.

[Ain’t got a Danny]

RMT members are as likely to read the Mail and vote for Brexit as they would be to vote Labour. I doubt they give a toss about transgenderism either.

If anyone remembers the old print unions they were exactly the same. Bloody minded but with a common bond - they hated the shiny suited bosses and on Fleet Street being cockneys anyone with a middle class accent was labelled a berk. The epitome of the old white working classes.

The strikes will fizzle out because there will be compromises. The unions strike fund only goes so far and the leaders will be expected to do a deal. The Rail managers similar.

As for the albino oaf, he talks a good fight but he’s just a bullshitter.

[Smirnoffexpress]

I think it is about time there was a serious look at remuneration (or is it renumeration)
And establish the worth to the community of professions.
Why are Railworkers expecting higher wages than nurses (for example)
Why are CEO's getting humungous bonus's on top of there humungous remuneration.
Why do lawyers get such high remuneration
And don't get me started on Prem footballers

I don’t think Railworkers have an agenda seeking higher wages than Nurses. Maybe the fact that the Rail industry has reaped the benefits of having a traditionally strong union that has ensured, over decades, that their terms and conditions are protected. If the Nurses had the same they’d be in a better place, rather than get shafted year in year out. Look into the real reasons behind the dispute before judging.

The ones that have been there 20 years plus have amazing contracts and it’s almost impossible to get fired from NR, half of the workers wouldn’t survive in the real world.

What exactly is the real world then. A workforce with all workers on zero hours contracts, increasing hours and workloads, record levels of stress, reduced pensions, sacked without redress and I could go on and on. Maybe in the grand scheme of things they aren’t actually that well off, maybe many others are vastly underpaid for what they do!, and wouldn’t be if they belonged to a strong union that looked after their interests!

[Tufnell_Chimes]

"I find it strange you say £54k is incorrect but aren’t able to offer a figure...

...The union boss is on £100k+."

Average pay is 33K according to the 'i'
...and £100k a year really isn't that much - especially considering the RMT has a membership of over 40,000. Andrew Haines, CEO of Network Rail is on £585k so your point is...?

Just more cap doffing and know your place-ism.

Also, I find it strange that you say £100k+, are you not able to offer an actual figure?

[farq2]

I want more money, and when I get more I want to work less hrs.Then I want more money, then I want more holidays ,a better pension.
blah blah blah blah blah
Start your own business ,get in the real world world ya gormless counts,see how long your business lasts

[Tufnell_Chimes]

I've had my own business for seventeen years - and yeah, at times its hard, unrewarded work, but that doesn't mean I want to see people with better working conditions suffer. What kind of coont would want that?

[Deebo]

I’ve had my own design business since 1983 and was in employment for around 10 years before that. I decided to go freelance after being driven into the ground by a series of bosses for whom nothing was ever enough. I’ve since discovered that little changes when you go on your own other than bosses are called clients, the concept of working hours ceases to exist and you’ve got to wait forever in the hope of getting paid.

[Trarchus]

British News presenters to go on strike until their employers remove any risk of encountering Mick Lynch

[bluetagagain]

The man is barely literate anyway.

[Tufnell_Chimes]

You reckon? I think he’s the next Bob Crow, but way more deadpan. Looks after his members and gives the media the run around. Right now he hasn’t put a foot wrong, but we’ll soon see what his negotiation chops are like - expecting them to settle around 4-4.5%.

[bluetagagain]

He's a bully, a loud mouth and a liar plus he doesn't represent the train drivers. He's a wannabe Scargill looking for his day in the sun. Nothing whatsoever to do with wages.

[Pompeyg100]

He's a bully, a loud mouth and a liar plus he doesn't represent the train drivers. He's a wannabe Scargill looking for his day in the sun. Nothing whatsoever to do with wages.

It’s all to do with his wages.