Support the Tube workers

[butchersapron]

basically, Tfl want this fight. But Gabi and co blame the workers - the ones facing loss of their jobs for it

"I'm no fan of Tfl" - i simply like to repeat the lies of such thieving parasites in the interests of 'balance'

...when BA go out it'll be "I'm no fan of BA" but this strike won't help those being made redundant, when it's Lloyds shutting C&G branches it'll be "I'm no fan of Lloyds" but they ned to make cutbacks to survive for the good of the workers, they should be supporting these lay-offs..and so on.

 

[dennisr]

...when BA go out it'll be "I'm no fan of BA" but this strike won't help those being made redundant, when it's Lloyds shutting C&G branches it'll be "I'm no fan of Lloyds" but they ned to make cutbacks to survive for the good of the workers, they should be supporting these lay-offs..and so on.

This is aimed at Gabi and co - That's the problem, Gabi - this is not just about an individual called Bob Crowe or some other personality. it reflects an ongoing attack on working class people. They want US to pay for THEIR crisis.

We already are paying - across the board workers have taken actual (ie no pay rise to counter increased costs) and literal pay cuts - over 50% of manufacturing workers have already accepted pay cuts.

Were is the belt tightening from the bankers, the bosses?

The reality ids that Tfl has been a cash cow for private 'enterprise' for years and suckers like me and YOU have been paying over the odds for them so excuse me if I have no sympathy whatsoever for the idiocy of blaming the tube workers for a situation they have not casued

 

[Kanda]

Were is the belt tightening from the bankers, the bosses?

What if this would have happened before the credit crunch? (Metronet failed before the crunch didn't it?)

You wouldn't have bankers to blame. Completely seperate industry anyway that has suffered about 15x more job losses than the 1000 tube workers mentioned...

 

[trevhagl]

Dear featherbedded public sector employees - where in anyone's contract of employment does it guarantee a pay rise every year?

Are the Unions so divorced from reality that they haven't heard about Labour's recession?

and you think a pay CUT is fair then? Which is what a wage freeze is.

Obviously not a tube worker.

 

[trevhagl]

... and my annual pay increase? Zero. Not even a 'cost of living' increase, so in effect that's a 2.3% cut in salary.

I'm sure if the tube workers don't like their terms and conditions, there's plenty of people who would be quite happy to work under them, on that salary package.

nice to see a bit of solidarity ya Tory cunt. You are in a shit job therefore someone else should suffer too.

 

[trevhagl]

We need a dose of Thatcherite union smashing for the rail workers.

They are the biggest bunch of lazy gits.

Down with the RMT and down with Bob Crowe.

quite possibly the most arsehole post i've seen on the forum, and that takes some beating.

 

[Streathamite]

Is this not just the same procedure as any company that ends up merging with another?

no, because this is all driven by the scandal of PFI

 

[Harold Hill]

Were is the belt tightening from the bankers, the bosses?

The reality ids that Tfl has been a cash cow for private 'enterprise' for years and suckers like me and YOU have been paying over the odds for them so excuse me if I have no sympathy whatsoever for the idiocy of blaming the tube workers for a situation they have not casued

What is your definition of a 'banker' and I might be able to answer.

True but have any unions ever made an issue about the profits Stagecoach/Arriva etc used to make from bus subsidies in London. Irony here is that the ones that used to make the most noise about that was the Standard.

 

[durruti02]

I'm just discussing it, I don't beleive anyone

fair play .. i trust the rmt more than the suits

 

[durruti02]

Yawn...

I ain't a particular fan of TfL my friend but I sure as hell don't support this fucktank out of sheer kneejerk reaction to any industrial action.

what did crow do wrong out of interest? a lot of people take the piss out of him which seems just to be anti w/c prejudice .. but i've never really understood what he has done wrong apart from stand up to bullying overpaid TfL management

 

[durruti02]

You should expand that point. Why are they being sacked..?? The Metronet, Tubelines PPP/PFI fiasco, cost of tube travel raising at above inflation, tube expansion/redevlopment plans being cut.. Show the commuters that you are fighting on their behalf and not just for a headline 5% pay increase and guaranteed no redundancies. Especially when the average Joe is having it hard and still is expected to get into work, strike or no strike. Its all about how you get your message across to the public and the RMT are failing and hence no support from the public for industrial action.

as dennis says .. they do try, maybe not brilliantly, but you think the london and national press helop them get their message out??

 

[STFC]

what did crow do wrong out of interest? a lot of people take the piss out of him which seems just to be anti w/c prejudice .. but i've never really understood what he has done wrong apart from stand up to bullying overpaid TfL management

He's a communist, for starters.

 

[Harold Hill]

as dennis says .. they do try, maybe not brilliantly, but you think the london and national press helop them get their message out??

The press believe they're reflecting what they believe public opinion to be (whether it is - another issue). I guess if they thought the public in theory supported this strike then they would be more sympathetic. The Evening Standard hasn't been backward in attacking TFL management in the past, especially the current commissioner.

 

[Cobbles]

1000 workers planned to be sacked .. fairly simple imho ..

Well,they are disgracefully overmanned.

Should be more like 3,000 axed.

 

[ViolentPanda]

what did crow do wrong out of interest?

His job. He dares to represent his members effectively, and doesn't always back down like a good lap-dog, unlike quite a few other TU leaders.

 

[ViolentPanda]

He's a communist, for starters.

he's entitled to freedom of religion.

 

[Fedayn]

He's a communist, for starters.

And?

 

[ViolentPanda]

Well,they are disgracefully overmanned.

Should be more like 3,000 axed.

Care to give us a breakdown of what staff grades and jobs are "over-manned", or is this your usual anti-public sector fantasy bullshit, from "Cobbles's Bumper Book of Bollocks"?

 

[Streathamite]

He's a communist, for starters.

he is most certainly not.
what he is, is a firstrate TU leader noted for getting a good deal for his members

 

[ViolentPanda]

And?

But...but..communists are evil!!!

 

[Cobbles]

Care to give us a breakdown of what staff grades and jobs are "over-manned", or is this your usual anti-public sector fantasy bullshit, from "Cobbles's Bumper Book of Bollocks"?

I've just come out of the tube - 3 folk in tabards lounging around the gates - having a chat.

No doubt there's a "team leader" for every 5 or so punters and a diversity inclusiveness officer every 50 bodies or so, never mind a HR team the size of Linklaters to deal with every knob who gets caught throwing a sickie dragging in some knuckledraggers from the union, teasing out the inevitable - strike action in support of our "victimised" sister/brother.

 

[ViolentPanda]

he is most certainly not.
what he is, is a firstrate TU leader noted for getting a good deal for his members

At least partly because, unlike some other union leaders, he's not looking to climb up the leg of Labour party selection committees or searching for a peerage.

 

[butchersapron]

I've just come out of the tube - 3 folk in tabards lounging around the gates - having a chat.

No doubt there's a "team leader" for every 5 or so punters and a diversity inclusiveness officer every 50 bodies or so, never mind a HR team the size of Linklaters to deal with every knob who gets caught throwing a sickie dragging in some knuckledraggers from the union, teasing out the inevitable - strike action in support of our "victimised" sister/brother.

Cotch, what happened at your tribunal?

 

[ViolentPanda]

I've just come out of the tube - 3 folk in tabards lounging around the gates - having a chat.

No doubt there's a "team leader" for every 5 or so punters and a diversity inclusiveness officer every 50 bodies or so, never mind a HR team the size of Linklaters to deal with every knob who gets caught throwing a sickie dragging in some knuckledraggers from the union, teasing out the inevitable - strike action in support of our "victimised" sister/brother.

I didn't ask for your anecdotes or another dose of your splenetic but evidence-free perceptions, I asked for facts and figures that support your post.

 

[cesare]

At least partly because, unlike some other union leaders, he's not looking to climb up the leg of Labour party selection committees or searching for a peerage.

Certainly doesn't seem to be, I agree.

 

[ViolentPanda]

Certainly doesn't seem to be, I agree.

I'm not a great fan of Bob Crow the public persona, but I'm a great fan of his terrier-like persistence in representing his members to the best of his ability and damn the consequences. A few more union leaders of that stripe, and a few less Bill Morrises (remember the dockers, Bill?), and maybe workers wouldn't be shat on quite so frequently.

 

[Wolveryeti]

I'm fed up with the RMT trying to play us for fools with their lies regarding safety and their disgraceful covering up for some of the incompetent shitbags within their ranks. Why they're looking for letters of support from the public is beyond me. They do whatever the fuck they like anyway and chuck their toys out the pram the moment they don't get what they want. Fuck 'em.

 

[Streathamite]

At least partly because, unlike some other union leaders, he's not looking to climb up the leg of Labour party selection committees or searching for a peerage.

absolutely. polar opposite to Frank Chappell and Brenda Dean (and, yes, Morris as well)

 

[butchersapron]

I'm fed up with the RMT trying to play us for fools with their lies regarding safety and their disgraceful covering up for some of the the incompetent shitbags within their ranks. Why they're looking for letters of support from the public is beyond me. They do whatever the fuck they like anyway and chuck their toys out the pram the moment they don't get what they want. Fuck 'em.

Thank you and fuck off red robbo.

 

[cesare]

I'm not a great fan of Bob Crow the public persona, but I'm a great fan of his terrier-like persistence in representing his members to the best of his ability and damn the consequences. A few more union leaders of that stripe, and a few less Bill Morrises (remember the dockers, Bill?), and maybe workers wouldn't be shat on quite so frequently.

I've probably got more respect for the RMT/Bob Crow than any of the other big unions and their leaders. Although dennisr was making some interesting points about the PCS last night.