The Labour Government

BlueHammer85 said:
So many I know despise Starmer and hate Labour , there’s nothing he or the party can do to even change their opinion.
Truly think Reform will be the next party in power in 4/5 years and we are fucked.
Click to expand...
I get that.

ConForm UK could be a huge threat. I feel as though the party are ignoring this and it will bite them on the arse. Labour need to tackle them head on by removing some of the grievances they use.

If a lot of people with very little actually have a bit more as in disposable income in the next 4 years that would help neutralise them. As most people who aren't politically minded are only concerned with making sure they security to look after themselves and their nuclear family.
 
Vic said:
Standardisation for a start. Companies with rolling stock with the same coupling mechanisms - but set at different heights so incompatible, so one company's trains can't rescue another's failed train (and no longer then spending millions to sort out the financial costs to each company).

And less rivalry for skills (different companies outbidding each other has been a major impetus for driver wages - rather than training their own).

And simplified fares.
Click to expand...

Surely platforms are a standard height? Or are we simply talking millimetres? And they can be adjusted to all be the same?

if that is really a thing, and I’ve no reason to doubt you as you know your stuff on railways, then I’m am stunned. Surprised? No, stunned? yes.
 
TinFoilHat said:
If they gave 25 year franchises I think the system may have worked. 7 years with the possibility of extension as long as you won the bid was a shit way of doing it. They aren't a quick fix and it will get worse before it gets better.
Click to expand...

At least bring back the restaurant cars mate. I don’t mind trains being late if I can have an extra pudding.
 
metalblue said:
If working conditions are bad surely they’d want to organise? But I do take your point. Part of the issue might be you walk in to an already unionised organisation it’s easier to join and organise versus trying to set one up from scratch.

Assuming your son-in-laws approach of voting with his feet was more likely than striking in the private sector I did a little check to see what turnover rates were like between the two - you’re almost twice as likely to leave a public sector job than private sector which may suggest employees are happier in the private sector.

Strike less,
Less likely to leave.

Yes there are shit managers as well.
Click to expand...
Careful with those stats.

Is an internal transfer within the public sector counted as turnover?

And if turnover in the public sector is so high, those gold-plated pensions can't be that good.
 
BayernMan said:
I hope Labour don’t think being tough on immigration will win them votes…
Click to expand...

Labour ideally have to make it a non-story, rather than doing anything draconian.

The Tories let net migration rise so far above the average that bringing it down was always going to happen, and is a very easy thing to do, even without any actual tough actions.

They also tried to make asylum the issue, slowing down the claims, and towards the end pretty much stopped making decisions at all. If claims are dealt with quickly, the overall costs come down dramatically, and it becomes much less of a political issue.
 
metalblue said:
If working conditions are bad surely they’d want to organise? But I do take your point. Part of the issue might be you walk in to an already unionised organisation it’s easier to join and organise versus trying to set one up from scratch.

Assuming your son-in-laws approach of voting with his feet was more likely than striking in the private sector I did a little check to see what turnover rates were like between the two - you’re almost twice as likely to leave a public sector job than private sector which may suggest employees are happier in the private sector.

Strike less,
Less likely to leave.

Yes there are shit managers as well.
Click to expand...
Well the stats I saw showed it to be around 11% churn for private sector against 15% for public sector. I think it goes to show that the "social contract" that public employees have traditionally enjoyed eg. good pension for a reduced salary, has diminished somewhat. Also a more fluid labour market where a job for life is a thing of the past.
 
bluenova said:
Labour ideally have to make it a non-story, rather than doing anything draconian.

The Tories let net migration rise so far above the average that bringing it down was always going to happen, and is a very easy thing to do, even without any actual tough actions.

They also tried to make asylum the issue, slowing down the claims, and towards the end pretty much stopped making decisions at all. If claims are dealt with quickly, the overall costs come down dramatically, and it becomes much less of a political issue.
Click to expand...

The tough talk and saber rattling about immigration only benefits the right wing. They want immigrants to be seen as a zero sum game that requires draconian actions. Yet I’ve yet to hear an alternative from Labour that isn’t essentially reform/tory lite. Unfortunately this isn’t a weakness Labour has but exists across many parts of the world rn.
 
metalblue said:
Surely platforms are a standard height? Or are we simply talking millimetres? And they can be adjusted to all be the same?

if that is really a thing, and I’ve no reason to doubt you as you know your stuff on railways, then I’m am stunned. Surprised? No, stunned? yes.
Click to expand...
Platforms? Different heights goes back before 1948 nationalisation. This is trains that can't rescue another because couplers are at different heights.


I'll check the new one I heard about, but companies have had to have "Thunderbird" locos stationed at various places to rescue failed trains, with adaptable couplers.

BR "standard" locos were designed by R A Riddles, largely based on LMS designs, but using standard components so you didn't need separate stock for each design.

The main deviation came with diesels, when every region went for diesel-electric, except the Western Region which went for diesels with hydraulic transmission. But you could still couple them together. This "AI generated" story must have been written by a Western Region AI system: "The mechanical skills required for maintaining hydraulic transmission are more similar to those available in the mechanical sector. This made diesel-hydraulics more appealing than diesel-electrics in Britain, which would have required a new discipline of electrical engineering."
 
Vic said:
Platforms? Different heights goes back before 1948 nationalisation. This is trains that can't rescue another because couplers are at different heights.


I'll check the new one I heard about, but companies have had to have "Thunderbird" locos stationed at various places to rescue failed trains, with adaptable couplers.

BR "standard" locos were designed by R A Riddles, largely based on LMS designs, but using standard components so you didn't need separate stock for each design.

The main deviation came with diesels, when every region went for diesel-electric, except the Western Region which went for diesels with hydraulic transmission. But you could still couple them together. This "AI generated" story must have been written by a Western Region AI system: "The mechanical skills required for maintaining hydraulic transmission are more similar to those available in the mechanical sector. This made diesel-hydraulics more appealing than diesel-electrics in Britain, which would have required a new discipline of electrical engineering."
Click to expand...

Cheers, very interesting read that
 
hampshireblue said:
Well the stats I saw showed it to be around 11% churn for private sector against 15% for public sector. I think it goes to show that the "social contract" that public employees have traditionally enjoyed eg. good pension for a reduced salary, has diminished somewhat. Also a more fluid labour market where a job for life is a thing of the past.
Click to expand...
Some of this will inevitably be due to people struggling to get on the housing ladder.

The public sector does offer good training and security, better than the private sector but if you can’t afford to put a deposit down or pay the rent on a house what’s the point of having a good pension when you’re 67 (or older if they keep raising the bar), might as well leave and get a pay rise.

On the other side of the coin I know a number of people in their early 50s who have left the private sector and are now enjoying their time in the public sector as it’s less stressful and a bit (often frustratingly) slower paced.
 
hampshireblue said:
Well the stats I saw showed it to be around 11% churn for private sector against 15% for public sector. I think it goes to show that the "social contract" that public employees have traditionally enjoyed eg. good pension for a reduced salary, has diminished somewhat. Also a more fluid labour market where a job for life is a thing of the past.
Click to expand...

I thought a bit more about this and my thoughts are if a nurse leaves one role and joins another role at a different trust that would be seen in the stats so I’m not entirely sure how useful a metric it is or isn’t and it’s too late in the day for my brain to work on it anymore!!
 
Vic said:
Careful with those stats.

Is an internal transfer within the public sector counted as turnover?

And if turnover in the public sector is so high, those gold-plated pensions can't be that good.
Click to expand...

Ah yes just seen this, my thoughts as per my post above. Particularly in things like nursing and teaching type roles where you still work for the same employer
 
metalblue said:
I thought a bit more about this and my thoughts are if a nurse leaves one role and joins another role at a different trust that would be seen in the stats so I’m not entirely sure how useful a metric it is or isn’t and it’s too late in the day for my brain to work on it anymore!!
Click to expand...
I did wonder about a similar scenario. The smae may well apply for teachers who move from one school to another. Statistics eh? I was a bit surprised as there's no doubt once you've been in the public sector for a few years and building up pension rights, it's tough to leave.
 
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