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Train Drivers Strike : 'Summer Of Discontent'

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Yes - this rail strike is massively disruptive and inconvenient and I feel sympathy for everyone who relies on the railways to get to work, go on a holiday or just go about their daily lives. I think there's a few things we need to bear in mind though.

 

1) A Trade Union's main role is to achieve the highest possible pay and the best possible working conditions for its members. The Union leaders initially start by putting their demands to the employers and when the employers (inevitably) reject the demands, the leaders will then ballot their members about whether or not to take strike action.

 

2) Emphasis on the word ballot - because strike action can only be initiated if the ballot shows a majority are in favour, Admittedly, ballot turnouts are often low - but this usually results in a call for strike action - because the militants and the left-leaning members almost always turn out to vote to strike , whereas a significant number of the more moderate members are apathetic and simply can't be bothered to vote at all.

 

3) I agree that many Union leaders are hardline Lefties - but the reason for this is the same as above,, These leaders are elected by the members and if only the lefty members can be bothered to vote, then they are obviously going to vote in  a lefty candidate as a leader.  Do any moderate candidates even bother to stand for Union leadership posts these days? I suspect not......

 

4) In terms of the timing of the strikes being planned to cause the maximum disruption and inconvenience -well of course they are! Strikes are intended to make the employers cave in to the Unions' demands - so of course the strikes will be called for dates when they will have the maximum impact.

 

My solution to this is simple - but will never happen. Firstly, I would first re-introduce the "closed shop", whereby every employee in a particular industry was compelled to join their representative Union. This would mean that the Union membership was representative of the entire work force and would include the moderates and even - God forbid - the hardline Right wingers too.  I would hate to be associated with any true right-wingers - but  I think a Union leader can only be truly representative of his/her membership   if he/she is elected by a majority of those members.

 

Secondly. I would make it compulsory for all Union members to vote in balloting for their leaders. This way, the moderate candidates and even the righties would be in with a chance .... and the lefties may not have the monopoly they currently enjoy.

 

Lastly.  I would make it compulsory  for all members to vote in a strike ballot That way, a strike could only be initiated if a true majority voted for it  - and not just the majority of those who could be a,,,d to vote.

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1) A Trade Union's main role is to achieve the highest possible pay and the best possible working conditions for its members. The Union leaders initially start by putting their demands to the employers and when the employers (inevitably) reject the demands, the leaders will then ballot their members about whether or not to take strike action.

 

But also bear in mind that the company has responsibilities, legal and otherwise to its investors, the price of goods/services to its customers, especially if it has to be competitive.  So, it boils down to free collective bargaining.

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I totally get your point  carosio. Of course an employer has a responsibility to it's shareholders, investors. clients etc I don't blame those employers for rejecting the Union's demands. The employers and the Unions will always be at odds. because the employers priorities differ from the Union's priorities. They want the most work for the least pay, the Union's want the opposite . At the end of the day, one side has to give in. If the employer gives in, the union has won. If the employer doesn't give in. there'll[ most likely be a strike

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1 minute ago, FIRETHORN1 said:

I totally get your point  carosio. Of course an employer has a responsibility to it's shareholders, investors. clients etc I don't blame those employers for rejecting the Union's demands. The employers and the Unions will always be at odds. because the employers priorities differ from the Union's priorities. They want the most work for the least pay, the Union's want the opposite . At the end of the day, one side has to give in. If the employer gives in, the union has won. If the employer doesn't give in. there'll[ most likely be a strike

And if the firm goes bust because of this strike, the (ex)employees have lost their jobs - and income.

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Customers never demand higher prices (to give the workers higher wages), they (we) do the opposite, we haggle, shop around, negotiate discounts, coupons, bulk buy, all in order to pay as little as possible.

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I have just been watching a repeat of "Bangers & Cash" (possibly my favourite prog) and something very relevant to this thread was a comment by a chap selling his E Type Jag.

He had been into E Types since the 60s when he was growing up in, appropriately enough, Sheffield.

He was able to buy an E Type as a teenager because he was a steel erector on, he said, £240 a week, a very high wage in the 60s to put it mildly, though you would need nerve and a head for heights (which most people do not have).

Many of his mates were, he stated, "trainee miners" on £14 a week.

Supply and demand (unless you're a railway driver / guard / signaller in an aggressive Union).

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1927 - Driverless, guardless underground Postal trains introduced in London

 

2022 - Tube drivers on strike in London ... again

 

Labour party position -- "We're on the public's side on this. We're also on the rail workers' side"

 

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1 minute ago, fools said:

1927 - Driverless, guardless underground Postal trains introduced in London

 

2022 - Tube drivers on strike in London ... again

 

Labour party position -- "We're on the public's side on this. We're also on the rail workers' side"

 

I.E. - they haven't a clue.

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Still waiting to hear, where are all these driverless trains?

They say we are going to have driverless buses and taxis too.

I'll believe it when it happens.

In the meantime, if you want a service then you have to pay for it.

Or, you can become a train driver and get free travel.

Simples, as they say

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There are some on the DLR network.

Driverless buses and taxi are a very long way off - you will need to effectively ban all private transport and reconfigure the whole road network.

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Forgot to add

Tory party view

We haven't time to worry about train drivers wages. WE ARE TOO BUSY MAKING OURSELVES MULTI MILLIONAIRES.

Lovely to hear all the Tories screaming again that they are thinking of the public.

 

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1 minute ago, Organgrinder said:

Forgot to add

Tory party view

We haven't time to worry about train drivers wages. WE ARE TOO BUSY MAKING OURSELVES MULTI MILLIONAIRES.

Lovely to hear all the Tories screaming again that they are thinking of the public.

 

Thought that was missing, but I'm surprised it wasn't your first line.

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