Do you support the RMT?

BayernMan said:
Click to expand...


This might be a controversial take as this will obviously have a severe impact on some, but that’s a proper impactful strike action and I think more should be taking that approach.

There’s two ways of doing this. You can draw out strike action over months doing strikes for 3 days at a time. This limits impact on the public and also loss of earnings for employees. I get this as an approach.

Or you can just deal a bone-crushing blow and down tools so that it forces something to be done. As a regular Joe, if the striking of a public service workforce is not impacting you or you can manage without it then it’s really not a very compelling strike so it is not going to force the government’s hand. They will dick around all year before coming to the table if you let them as RMT and others have found out.
 
acton28 said:
I know that I do not understand economics. If train prices were fair and reasonable, more people will travel and release more funds tourism and leisure, which will be taxed and eventually come back to fund rail fares. Surely, some funds can be ringfenced and locked into areas that maintain status quo over profit-making... thus, giving the RMT, the industry and our transport system much needed support. Too simple, sadly.
Click to expand...

My flight to Denmark this week is cheaper than my train fare to London

I live 24 miles away from London
 
Network Rail members voted overwhelmingly to their deal.

That's one dispute done.

Now us front line staff will see how much more they want of us. Until they remove the compulsory redundancy clause and the "sickness" policy (3 strikes and your sacked regardless of underlying medical issues). We might get somewhere. It will be difficult as NR members have just accepted that looking at the backpay figures and finally a semblance of Priv rate train travel. (They should have pushed for the same as TOCs imo).
 
acton28 said:
I know that I do not understand economics. If train prices were fair and reasonable, more people will travel and release more funds tourism and leisure, which will be taxed and eventually come back to fund rail fares. Surely, some funds can be ringfenced and locked into areas that maintain status quo over profit-making... thus, giving the RMT, the industry and our transport system much needed support. Too simple, sadly.
Click to expand...
Being in the industry it's one big gravy train for private companies and their directors.

People are being massively ripped off by fares and poor services with trains maintained to a minimum service requirement, along with the companies staying with that plan for running services because they don't want to pay for training, new trains etc as it bites into their profits.

I love my job, but the business model is fucked up with layers of bullshit managers with bullshit jobs, who are set performance bonuses on "Giving value to the stakeholders" over the passengers and staff that work to keep the job going.

Diktats from directors making the job sometimes impossible our end.

Here's an example from me. A train was an hour late and due to arrive into a station the same time the next service was due to depart. The Traincrew spoke to control and said it would make sense to couple the late one upto the one on time. Technically the late one would be cancelled, but the people on it would still get to their destination. The controller was instructed not to do that but run both services separately because of the service was canceled by us they couldn't claim all the delay minutes off Network Rail who were responsible for the original delay.

They want rid of frontline staff and everything put on a phone app so there's even less passengers can do to recoup losses. Be it financially or in time lost.

The delay repay system has so many hoops to jump through no wonder people give up.

A so called public service run for profit. I get why people get frustrated and take it out on me or my colleagues because we wear a uniform "As a company ambassador", but they are attacking the wrong people.

If passengers came together and organised a national refuse to pay week of action they might think different.

Our action is not about pay anymore it's about protecting our rights and bargaining procedures at work, and Passenger support at stations. More CCTV (If they bother maintaining it) is not going to help people in wheelchairs wanting to board at local stations. "We'll get them a taxi." Is their way of justifying alienating people from travelling.
 
Last edited:
5% unconditional payrise is reliant upon a "Dispute Resolution process" being agreed at national level before it can go back to discussed at local TOCs. So it's not "unconditional"

Members will be reballoted shortly to maintain strike action should it be needed.

The TOCs are bullshitting members to try and make sure the new ballot doesn't meet the new threshold promising the 5% and back pay asap without the means to do so until the process is thrashed out.

If we lose the strike ballot they've got us by the bollocks.
 
TinFoilHat said:
5% unconditional payrise is reliant upon a "Dispute Resolution process" being agreed at national level before it can go back to discussed at local TOCs. So it's not "unconditional"

Members will be reballoted shortly to maintain strike action should it be needed.

The TOCs are bullshitting members to try and make sure the new ballot doesn't meet the new threshold promising the 5% and back pay asap without the means to do so until the process is thrashed out.

If we lose the strike ballot they've got us by the bollocks.
Click to expand...
What does that mean? Is it that sinister, or just expecting each TOC to abide by a national agreement between the RMT and the Rail Delivery Group? And if the process doesn't get agreed, then the payrise is off and strikes can be back on...
 
Vic said:
What does that mean? Is it that sinister, or just expecting each TOC to abide by a national agreement between the RMT and the Rail Delivery Group? And if the process doesn't get agreed, then the payrise is off and strikes can be back on...
Click to expand...
DFT run the railways. Each TOC will have to abide by the agreement and negotiate locally as terms and conditions are different depending on who they are.

Compulsory redundancy is still in the document. Also too much "consultation" instead of "negotiation". Watering down our bargaining rights.
 
Last edited:
beast said:
Meanwhile...

Click to expand...

The plot thickens! Got sent this earlier. We could be going into admin...... 9 months after record profits



This from a well connected union guy.
Royal Mail have a business plan which has a total cost sum attached to it. It is unacceptable to the workforce so the CWU have been negotiating to change and mitigate these change proposals and in doing reducing the predicted savings from the business plan.
In addition we want a decent pay rise which is either backdated or with a cash lump sum attached.
This means for Royal Mail they are saying that this potentially means when it goes to the city analyst to see if Royal Mail under the new agreement will still be a going concern going forward that the sum of the business plan is reduced.
That decision is vital and is linked to the independent auditors signing off the accounts and banks continuing to give Royal Mail credit etc.
If that does not happen then we are into a totally new arena of potentially administration.
This has an impact on our dispute as the board will be relieved of their duties and the government appointed administrator who will have no interest in settling pay or mitigate change activity it will be to cut costs while delivering the USO.
This is the reason why the union has stayed in the talks. We are not blind to what is happening in the field and units.
We genuinely believe an agreement as imperfect as it might be is better than no agreement. We also believe that the progress we have made on a range of issues including later start times and independent review into the flawed discipline cases are the best ways of resolving those issues.

However we are getting to a point that unless we get that agreement by the end of the weekend , we will have no choice but to take action even with all the risks as we can never accept some of the proposals still on the table.
In addition Royal Mail have a board meeting next Wednesday which is their deadline for any agreement due to their financial statement which has to be made on 17th May and it has to go through auditors etc before.
To say we are at the most serious situation in my 39 years in the job is an understatement and whilst I understand the frustration, do you really believe if we just wanted to be popular by announcing strike action and everything will go away ?
No it is likely that Royal Mail step up their executive action in a desperate last opportunity to reduce costs to satisfy those who they need to keep out of administration.
However we now are getting to that point when we need to test whether Royal Mail need an agreement more than some of their unworkable plans and this includes trials on Mail centres doing delivery offices on IPS and prep.
Those calling for action will likely get your wishes but remember there are no options now without serious risks

‍♂️
 
NEU needs to up its game, get more strategic and campaign for all NEU members to sit in absolute silence during any Ofsted inspection. We need NAHT and NASUWT members to find their bollocks too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Unread Posts

Don't have an account? Register now and see fewer ads!

SIGN UP
Back
Top