The years of discontent, 2022/23

[coprolite]

2 minutes ago, BFTD said:

I think a surprising number of people are already aware, and consider serfdom an essential part of being British.

"but i didn't think they meant I'd be a serf" 

[BTFD]

5 minutes ago, coprolite said:

"but i didn't think they meant I'd be a serf" 

Sadly, I get the impression some people will vote for the leopards eating their face because they believe it's their place. So long as Her Maj is safe from the hungry cats, eh?

And if that's what they've decided, they're not wrong.

[Sergeant Wilson]

23 hours ago, Boo Khaki said:

Great way to ensure a return to the belligerent, confrontational picketing we used to see, which no doubt the Police will be expected to step in and resolve. I would hope that Police forces and individual officers would, in 2022, be little bit more sympathetic to workers and less inclined to wade in heavy-handed, but I wouldn't pin any hopes on that. 

"Morning Chief Constable, how much did you say, was it 10%? Well you can have 12% if you go and boot f**k out of those pickets.

We're on our way."

[101]

Interesting to see the Tory transport spokesperson say that the Glasgow subway strike in not indeed over pay amidst the current economic climate but instead "cynically" timed to disrupt Rangers fans . Where does Dougal find these folk to sit in his shadow cabinet.

[carpetmonster]

16 minutes ago, 101 said:

Interesting to see the Tory transport spokesperson say that the Glasgow subway strike in not indeed over pay amidst the current economic climate but instead "cynically" timed to disrupt Rangers fans . Where does Dougal find these folk to sit in his shadow cabinet.

Are they timing the trains to only run after the game’s finished? 

[Clown Job]

 

[Billy Jean King]

13 hours ago, Clown Job said:

Not sure if it's a national strike mandate or just in the 9 (of 32) Council areas where turnout actually made the minimum 50% required for a legally binding ballot.

 

[Aufc]

That's because workers striking and getting large pay-rises affects everyone either through increased fares or reduced public services because the government is having to pay some of those rises.
A handful of union members deciding not to vote being none of your business isn't remotely comparable.
Did you really need that explained? [emoji848]

Surely ScotRail being taken public remove any profit taking from the large private companies thag owned it previously. This money can be used to pay a fairer wage to workers which will ensure a proper service.

Plus they shouldnt need to increase fares. If they actually decreased fares and did the above then more people would use the trains. Which is the surely a huge benefit considering the climate stuff ongoing

[Left Back]

1 minute ago, Aufc said:

Surely ScotRail being taken public remove any profit taking from the large private companies thag owned it previously. This money can be used to pay a fairer wage to workers which will ensure a proper service.

Plus they shouldnt need to increase fares. If they actually decreased fares and did the above then more people would use the trains. Which is the surely a huge benefit considering the climate stuff ongoing

There wasn’t any profit to remove.

[scottsdad]

6 minutes ago, oaksoft said:

For balance it's worth adding - so do the unions.

I'm not defending the Tories on any of this but I'm certainly not defending the unions either on the issue of pay rises for train drivers.

I have a little more sympathy for the police pay demands and also today's council worker demands.

Why do you have such a beef with train drivers? Why are police/council workers more deserving?

[scottsdad]

1 minute ago, oaksoft said:

For a start, the police demands seem to be more reasonable. If I recollect, they asked for 5%.

A lot of council workers are amongst some of the lowest paid in the country and some of them could well go under once October's fuel increase hits.

Train drivers on £50k are not a priority but have elbowed their way to the front of the queue for more money from a limited pot of public finances at the expense of everyone else in the public sector, falsely portraying themselves as being hard-up.

Gotcha. 

On low pay / asking for below inflation wage rises = good guys.

Everyone else = do one. 

[Benjamin_Nevis]

Just now, oaksoft said:

For a start, the police demands seem to be more reasonable. If I recollect, they asked for 5%.

A lot of council workers are amongst some of the lowest paid in the country and some of them could well go under once October's fuel increase hits.

Train drivers on £50k are not a priority but have elbowed their way to the front of the queue for more money from a limited pot of public finances at the expense of everyone else in the public sector, falsely portraying themselves as being hard-up.

I don't think that's a particularly fair assessment tbh. Train Drivers are simply represented by a Union which don't appear to be fucking around when it comes to taking action. Also, aren't a lot of the issues with rail strikes as much to do with changes to their terms and conditions as much as to do with pay? I don't think striking on that basis is particularly poor form. Also, certainly with the well-publicised RMT strikes, Tory arseholes are trying to focus on train drivers rather than the much lower paid other employees, ancillary staff who are being fucked over by the rail companies. 

Agree with you re the Police and lower paid Council employees. The likes of clerical staff are barely above minimum wage as it is. Increased fuel costs are going to be horrendous, especially since many are now being told they have to WFH, therefore will have increased costs from being in the home more often, using more electricity, heating etc in winter. 

[vikingTON]

9 minutes ago, scottsdad said:

Gotcha. 

On low pay / asking for below inflation wage rises = good guys.

Everyone else = do one. 

Where does the money come from to give a £5k per year average salary increase to a train driver? 

The reality is that higher than average earners should (and in most cases will have to) take a hit on their 'real terms income', if we are to protect those who have been hopelessly left behind and/or abandoned by our failed social safety net from enormous rising costs and backlogs in public services like health and social care.

There is no way around this blunt reality - although of course it doesn't earn a second's debate in the current delusion battle to run the Tory party.

Edited July 27, 2022 by vikingTON

[ICTChris]

Quote

Workers at City of Glasgow, Orkney Islands, Aberdeenshire, East Renfrewshire, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, Clackmannanshire, Stirling and Inverclyde councils all met the threshold for industrial action.

Not sure of any dates when the schools will close and the rubbish will pile up in these locations.

[Billy Jean King]

Workers at City of Glasgow, Orkney Islands, Aberdeenshire, East Renfrewshire, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, Clackmannanshire, Stirling and Inverclyde councils all met the threshold for industrial action.

Not sure of any dates when the schools will close and the rubbish will pile up in these locations.
I've seen a GMB press release this morning. Those 9 authorities have a legal strike mandate for both services balloted. A load more have a mandate in one of the two services balloted. 25% of all authorities have no legal basis for strike action following the ballot. In one of the LAs who published full results the "mandate" was obtained on FOUR votes in favour of strike action out of six cast. So in one of the two services balloted in the LA in question there were only six GMB members so I can't see any strike action in that area going down well. A lot will depend on how Unison members vote as I presume they have far bigger numbers in these services that GMB have.

[Benjamin_Nevis]

1 minute ago, Billy Jean King said:

Not sure of any dates when the schools will close and the rubbish will pile up in these locations.
I've seen a GMB press release this morning. Those 9 authorities have a legal strike mandate for both services balloted. A load more have a mandate in one of the two services balloted. 25% of all authorities have no legal basis for strike action following the ballot. In one of the LAs who published full results the "mandate" was obtained on FOUR votes in favour of strike action out of six cast. So in one of the two services balloted in the LA in question there were only six GMB members so I can't see any strike action in that area going down well. A lot will depend on how Unison members vote as I presume they have far bigger numbers in these services that GMB have.

UNISON are certainly by far the bigger union member within my LA. I'd imagine that's largely the same across many other  LAs. 

[19QOS19]

For balance it's worth adding - so do the unions.
I'm not defending the Tories on any of this but I'm certainly not defending the unions either on the issue of pay rises for train drivers.
I have a little more sympathy for the police pay demands and also today's council worker demands.

Until the Police and council workers (theoretically) make how much out of interest? The whole argument has been that drivers make enough but no one who was against the rise has given a cut off figure.

[Billy Jean King]

Inflation at the current rate may well be "temporary" but does anyone see prices in Supermarkets coming down or fuel and energy prices falling to pre crisis levels as I certainly don't. Inflation reducing simply means prices will rise less quickly and outwith small falls in fuel and energy I really don't see anything but prices climbing less quickly. The theory that a 5% pay rise isn't required as this is a temporary blip is pretty naive whether that comes from laymen or govt.

[Aufc]

2 hours ago, virginton said:

Where does the money come from to give a £5k per year average salary increase to a train driver? 

The reality is that higher than average earners should (and in most cases will have to) take a hit on their 'real terms income', if we are to protect those who have been hopelessly left behind and/or abandoned by our failed social safety net from enormous rising costs and backlogs in public services like health and social care.

There is no way around this blunt reality - although of course it doesn't earn a second's debate in the current delusion battle to run the Tory party.

Or companies could take less profit and pay out less dividends

[Left Back]

17 minutes ago, Aufc said:

Or companies could take less profit and pay out less dividends

How's that going to work for public sector employees?

If you're still talking about Scotrail then even if was making a profit (which it isn't) and paying a dividend to it's only shareholder if it stopped paying a dividend that would mean funding would have to be cut somewhere else in Scotland's budget.