http://www.virgintrains.co.uk/ best to get a refund now, or dont travel, other operators will probably follow suit.

Nice one. Poor **** families coming home from seeing family etc.

These pay demands- are they fair?

Scotrail and other TOC,S also abandoning passengers

NR and the Unions are still talking at present so there is hope that the industrial action will not go ahead.

I just hope that the Unions and NR Management are not political “willy waving” at present and are seriously talking as no one wants a strike.

The problem is that various NR directors have awarded themselves 40% pay rises, spend lots on flights, piss money away in waste and then tell the staff that you’ll be getting no pay rise this year (its a £500 lump sum so £300 after tax and not pensionable).

NR has been nationalised on the quiet and you staff are now public servants who get squat.

abandoning passengers

Well in fairness they appear to be doing what they can with what limited resources they have, not sure you can really blame them for cancelling services. At least they’re offering refunds, I was worried that my super cheap mega saver ticket would have a no refund for strikes clause, the refund pays for the bus ticket I’ve bought instead…

Going to London from Crewe on Tuesday morning. 🙁
Both me and the missis are union members though, so would be unfair to get too upset at workers exercising their right to withhold labour until they get a fair deal, ‘cos £500 unpensionable sucks.

Will just have to drive and leave the car somewhere there’s a bus.

Just £500? Nothing else at all?

RPI for following three years (which I don’t have a problem with).

The really galling bit was the directors pay increases and the “well what do you expect you are public sector” now comment.

Just £500? Nothing else at all?

inflation increase aswell I believe…erm have we just gone into negative inflation? Paycut then? Bit of a pisser that, if ming is correct and the fat controllers* have just awarded themselves 40%

*or sir toppham hat or whatever he’s called now adays

So everyone should be given bumper pay rises because some greedy twits in charge help themselves?

The people suffer because the staff aint getting a terrible wage I assume but want more cos they see someone taking more?

Seen the Council Leaders?!!

Slightly left of topic – does anyone know if this affects London Underground? Heathrow long term parking and tube into town is my current plan.

20 rather than 40% apparently, on top of salaries varying from £365000 to £675000 pa. Plus a preferential pension scheme. Which is all pretty restrained considering they used to expect 160% bonuses

(“Outgoing chief executive David Higgins was paid a total of £863,000 in 2012-13 and still anticipates a deferred bonus of £577,000 to be paid out in 2015.”)

I think it’s one of those “we’re all in it together” things.

The strike is between Network Rail who own and run most of the mainline rail network and the unions, London underground is a seperate entity and not part of the strike as yet.

It’s not that Hora.

I’m a firm believer that from top to bottom everybody should get the same %, maybe even capped nearer the top to stop massive disparity and stop “butterfly” management dropping in for a few years and get massive pay rises before leaving.

Thanks Project. That’s what I thought/hoped.

the underground and roads will be busy though, as peeps divert to other forms of transport

Fair point, but if it’s a choice of it being slow or not bothering at all I’ll take some delays.

Ming the masses suffer though. Why should the paying public suffer?

If it was safety related or unfair contracts fine. Exact level of rises though? I still havent had a raise in 5yrs. Im happy that I’ve got a job.

Linked to RPI- zero is not going to last is it.

I have absolutely no sympathy with the unions at all. You’re going to cripple the entire UK rail network because you didn’t get a £500 pay rise ? Jog on sunshine.

****s, the lot of them.

Ming the masses suffer though. Why should the paying public suffer?

If the public didn’t notice the difference, then management are hardly likely to meet the unions’ demands, are they?

surely a more effective way of making their point to management would be to operate trains as normal, but allow folk to get on and off without a ticket. Keeps Joe public onside, and hits the (private) company where it matters to them.

hora – Member
Why should the paying public suffer?

Aw poor hora! 🙁

Why should the paying public suffer?

Because management are being unreasonable/unfair and after much (months of) negotiation have backed the unions into a corner where they have no option but to ballot staff to take industrial action.

It’s not taken lightly and as always is a matter of last resort. Should it have to happen then hopefully it will add impetus, both public and political to both sides to resolve it.

Another reason to just potter about in the garden and then a big ride on monday before taking the fam to a local restaurant. Don’t go anywhere near any motorways!

Because management are being unreasonable/unfair

Diddums. You don’t get a pay rise, so throw your toys out the pram, and cause gridlock across an entire country on a Bank Holiday, and then you expect me to give you sympathy

What planet are you people on ???

Fair play to them a lot more workers need to grow a back bone and follow suit! and yes I had planned to /got a ticket from Birmingham to London looks like a will just have to change plans!

trailofdestruction – Member
Because management are being unreasonable/unfair
Diddums. You don’t get a pay rise, so throw your toys out the pram, and cause gridlock across an entire country on a Bank Holiday, and then you expect me to give you sympathy

What planet are you people on ???not planet c**t, where it seems you reside.

It was a £500 one off payment, not a pay-rise.

trailofdestruction – Member

I have absolutely no sympathy with the unions at all.

trailofdestruction – Member

……and then you expect me to give you sympathy

What planet are you people on ???

Earth.

That’s why people don’t expect, want, or need, sympathy from rabid anti-trade unionists.

And I would suggest that it’s you who’s living in your own fantasy world if you think trade unionists give a toss what people like you think.

What RMT and TSSA needs is sensible negotiations from Network Rail to resolve the dispute, not sympathy from you.

I work for a company that does a lot of work on the motorways, mainly under traffic management, day and night.

We were advised today that no Traffic Management would be put in place on Monday and Tuesday due to the rail strikes. We still have to pay our workforce and for the standing plant. For us its not a massive issue as we will be reimbursed for our costs but we might be talking somewhere in the region of £10k.

That will be replicated many, many times throughout the country costing millions overall. Guess who ultimately will be paying for that… you and me of course!

If the strike goes ahead then the anti union media will be all guns blazing for the unions, yet little is saidd about footballers high wages, mps awarding themselves huge rises qand Network rail senior boses geting huge bonuses,but if the working class union member decides to strike then he/she is seen as a threat to the whole country.

Other forms of transport are available and is your journey neccesary.Its only 1 and a bit days.

Lets hope the strikers dont get more.

Then it will didums for them x

trailofdestruction – Member

I have absolutely no sympathy with the unions at all. You’re going to cripple the entire UK rail network because you didn’t get a £500 pay rise ? Jog on sunshine.

They’re not asking for a £500 pay rise, pay attention up the back.

Why is it people go “The workers are going on strike and causing X”, but not “The management are refusing to meet the workers demands and causing X”?

I’m supposed to be travelling to Cornwall on Monday.

****.

Northwind I dont see the management threatening to shut the network for a critical day. Its blackmail. Is that grownup? Will the travelling public back the strike?

Meanwhile over in Germany, Herman the german and his union mates are also on strike, and Deutch Bahn also own a few british train operating companies along with some freight ones.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-32810896

hora – Member

Northwind I dont see the management threatening to shut the network for a critical day.

They’re refusing to progress negotiations (and resisting going to ATAS, and beligerantly trying to overturn union votes with legal action while supposedly negotiating), knowing exactly what the consequences will be. It’s not one way travel, this.

Taking millions of quid in bonuses and above-inflation payrises as directors, then saying “Ah but it’s different rules for us- meanwhile you lot can have flat pay (against our remuneration policy), a nonpensionable one-off bonus worth less than a per cent of my annual one, oh and compulsory redundancies in 2016, and be thankful”… Is that reasonable?

… shut the network for a critical day

Critical? It’s planned for a Bank Hoiliday, you know …. when most people won’t be working. Which is obviously a lot less critical than a normal Monday.

Is that grownup?

Asks the man who posts “Then it will didums for them x “

The whole point of strike action is to cause disruption. Interesting that since the 1970s we have gone from seeing it as a normal part of life to an OMG! catastrophe.

It is fundamentally wrong that senior execs get huge rises when the staff on the bottom- who do the day to work for the organisation – get sweet **** all.

My natural Tory leaning tendencies may have been clouded by 12 years in the public sector, btw.

Am I correct that the rail staff have had RPI + 1\2%for the last 4 years during the down turn when a private company and now they are a public company still expect a pay rise like that, while council, NHS, police etc get naff all?