No issue with strike action as a principle but this is strike is bang out of order. Kids are doing exams. Fuck up the working man’s holiday. Don’t fuck up their kids futures.
Which kids travel to school by train that aren't in private ones?
They are the only ones I have experience of and they got different rules during COVID. As we ran special trains for Tarquin to his private school in Lincolnshire from Nottingham whilst cutting essential workers services to get them to their shifts.
The government (Schapps) have politicised the strike. I've spoke to directors of TOCs in my union roles who have told me they've asked the DFT to be allowed to sort the dispute and they are being ignored as well.
I don't want to strike but it's a last resort.
Station staff replaced by agency staff who are there purely for customer service at "Network Rail Hub stations only" who will be the only stations with manned booking offices. Other stations, for example Stockport/Occy Road will be expected to be fully automated. Right down to safe dispatch of trains.
Potters Bar, Hadfield, Grayrigg. Three rail disasters that could have been averted if private owned infrastructure company had done its job at the time. The tories seem to have forgotten this and want to increase subcontracting maintenance projects away from Networks rail responsibility.
We're fighting to protect jobs and safety of all passengers that use the network. The DFT think putting everything on an app is the best for the public. What they really mean is creaming off profits to the management contractors who will run the "nationalised" Great British Railway.
Striking is always the last resort. Lay members understand why it's been called and support it.
Personally I'm hoping, albeit naïvely that we will have made our point this week and negotiations will begin in earnest after.
