Internetowl Posted July 12, 2004 Share Posted July 12, 2004 Good on you striking bus drivers! Show them you cannot be pushed into a hole and buried. 24p increase over two years is a joke (and not in good taste either!) My only hope is you don't get suckered into a deal like the firmen got (or didn't as it turns out!) I cannot believe anyone on this board would accept a 24p per week pay rise over two years...its farcical Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPG Posted July 12, 2004 Share Posted July 12, 2004 As much as I feel sorry for the the poor pay the drivers receive, i think it is in line with the service they give back to the customers which is probably the worst in england. The drivers should get bonus' based on good service. Often ive had good service on the buses and trams and I tell em so, but more often than not im made to feel like a second class citizen for having say 10p in coppers or shouted at for not quite displaying my student pass at the correct angle. (yes, really). I hope the 'service' is resumed quickly, and peacefully. Oh and thanks to the drivers I often meet who are actually nice. (Honest, there are some!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverknight Posted July 12, 2004 Share Posted July 12, 2004 The offer is an increase of 20p per hour this year and 4p per hour next year as I read in the star. I know that many in the retail have had less then this the retail trade this year. The offer seems to be in line with many in the commercial world today. The main debate is where does your company fund the annual pay increase.It's a difficult answer as someone has to accept a cut whether is less profit for the company to invest in the longer term future and less divi is paid to its sharholders. I would be interested to know how many of the staff who have voted for strike action were once employee share holders in the former Mainline Company before selling it to First. If the service was still employee owned how much would you be paying yourself now I wonder? I would say to all the drivers is that to have a good case your union should find out what the best rates of pay and terms and conditions of work are in other major bus companies ie Stagecoach,National Express Group etc. are and say that in 'x' number of years this is where the company should be...... by this I mean that First should have NO BUSES over 10 years old, its pay rates and terms and conditions for staff are market leaders etc. Good luck with your Case and I don't want my annual fare expenditure to increase by more than inflation!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco_Cat Posted July 12, 2004 Share Posted July 12, 2004 It’s great to see so many positive posts of support for the bus drivers in this dispute. I think we should all follow it up with letters to First letting them know how much the public is behind the drivers. I was in France once when the bus drivers where on strike but instead of not driving the buses they just didn’t collect fares. you could just ride around all day for free. Maximum support from public and it really hits the employers hard. Is this illegal in this country? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted July 12, 2004 Share Posted July 12, 2004 Originally posted by Disco_Cat It’s great to see so many positive posts of support for the bus drivers in this dispute. I think we should all follow it up with letters to First letting them know how much the public is behind the drivers. I was in France once when the bus drivers where on strike but instead of not driving the buses they just didn’t collect fares. you could just ride around all day for free. Maximum support from public and it really hits the employers hard. Is this illegal in this country? Probably, knowing the muppets we have running teh country Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
royjames Posted July 12, 2004 Share Posted July 12, 2004 Let us hope the strike can be averted and common sense prevail,but as far as support from the public is concerned,it may not last if the strike is prolonged. I have spoken to a driver tonight who is loathe to strike but he told me that feeling is running very high and that unless the pay rise is substantially improved the strike is certain to go ahead. And from what they have been offerd they are right to reject this pathetic increase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPG Posted July 12, 2004 Share Posted July 12, 2004 the strike action is pointless anyway, because if you think about it the drivers arent going to get paid for the time off are they... and that amount of money lost is going to easily equate if dwarf the amount they are wanting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
royjames Posted July 12, 2004 Share Posted July 12, 2004 That is a fair point but I think they feel that they are being ridden roughshod over,and sometimes you have to say enough is enough. Like I said hopefully this will be resolved,but my fear is that it will leave relations between managment and workforce damaged for the foreseeable future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squiggs Posted July 13, 2004 Share Posted July 13, 2004 Originally posted by RPG the strike action is pointless anyway, because if you think about it the drivers arent going to get paid for the time off are they... and that amount of money lost is going to easily equate if dwarf the amount they are wanting. If everybody thought like that...I dread to think where we would be. Bosses would be free to slash wages - oh but there's no point complaining because at least we're getting paid, if we strike we won't get anything so let's bow our head and be thankful we have a job. Whether or not the drivers lose out on pay by striking does NOT make action pointless. It's about standing up for your rights. If nobody did, then, quite honestly, I don't think we'd even have a national minimum wage! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPG Posted July 13, 2004 Share Posted July 13, 2004 the world probably would be a better place, it certainly will be in sheffield next week!! I dont think the drivers actually realise the scale of damage they'll cause to sheffield as a whole, people who use the uses as a lifeline to get needed pension money (because the flaming PO's have shut), or people who are going to hospital on the bus. What about the countless peoples who cant get into work all because of a seeminglu petty strike? You have the choice not to work or not, by striking you are taking away others' choice to work. There are better ways to voice your distaste of how you are treated, such as in france or america where you work but dont bring in the money. Its quite simple really. The trouble at the moment is the workforces who feel they are undertreated nowadays can just go "ooh, we'll strike" and cause irrepriable damage elsewhere, its just plain selfish. And before anyone starts, I dont use the buses very often because frankly they are utter crap. Id rather walk the 2 or so miles to the tram than have to get attitude from either the driver or idiot NEDs who seem to surf the backs of buses. Its about time the strike'es think about the larger picture before jumping in head first with these sensational claims about "indefinate strike action" because TBH its only making the worker-management divide larger and overall public hatrid towards yourgoodself, only no one dares speak up about it for fear of backlash. Back to the buses; If it were upto me, the buses in sheffield should be owned by sheffield, for sheffield. Like it used to. It worked well back then, why shouldnt it now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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