Railway union workers industrial and strike action - 2022

[whole diary]

[Henry]

 Speculation on the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) news, airport staff balloted for strike action.
 Expected yes vote, talking about industrial action on or about 23 July.
 No doubt that should the RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) not reach an aggrement, would they also have this date in
 mind for any future action ?

[TaplowGreen]

 Speculation on the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) news, airport staff balloted for strike action.
 Expected yes vote, talking about industrial action on or about 23 July.
 No doubt that should the RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) not reach an aggrement, would they also have this date in
 mind for any future action ?

Trains, planes, thank God for automobiles!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-61906236

[Oxonhutch]

Waiting to see if the strike will affect my railway on Saturday when I am Fat Controller. I could ask my management for a 100% pay rise right now, and they would agree on the spot.

[CyclingSid]

100% of not a lot?

[TaplowGreen]

Blimey. Didn't realise the Railways suits salaries were quite that high!

I wonder how Hopwoods et al compare?

They must have a good Trade Union, I doubt Sundays are part of their working week either!!!

[PhilWakely]

Blimey. Didn't realise the Railways suits salaries were quite that high!

I wonder how Hopwoods et al compare?

They must have a good Trade Union, I doubt Sundays are part of their working week either!!!

I'm not sure whether this has been mentioned before, but I have been shown an email which contains the following paragraph relating to GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) directors....

Meanwhile in the Accounting years 2020 to 2021 all of the Directors pay increased by £126,000 (or more than 18%!) from £685,000 in 2020 to £811,000 in 2021, all while staff received a pay freeze and real terms pay cut! It looks like only 4 directors were paid direct by GWR (the others were paid by Group) and we know that one left in June 2021 and the highest paid director dropped their pay by £10,000 to £282,000 (or this could have been as a result of a Director leaving perhaps?) so on average the Directors who received a pay rise received an average pay increase of somewhere between £34,000-45,333 each! More than many staff receive in a full year!

[TaplowGreen]

Blimey. Didn't realise the Railways suits salaries were quite that high!

I wonder how Hopwoods et al compare?

They must have a good Trade Union, I doubt Sundays are part of their working week either!!!

I'm not sure whether this has been mentioned before, but I have been shown an email which contains the following paragraph relating to GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) directors....

Meanwhile in the Accounting years 2020 to 2021 all of the Directors pay increased by £126,000 (or more than 18%!) from £685,000 in 2020 to £811,000 in 2021, all while staff received a pay freeze and real terms pay cut! It looks like only 4 directors were paid direct by GWR (the others were paid by Group) and we know that one left in June 2021 and the highest paid director dropped their pay by £10,000 to £282,000 (or this could have been as a result of a Director leaving perhaps?) so on average the Directors who received a pay rise received an average pay increase of somewhere between £34,000-45,333 each! More than many staff receive in a full year!

Nice work if you can get it!

It's not uncommon for those running formerly nationalised industries/Utilities to be filling their boots in this way it would seem.

I've long thought that there should be a direct link between customer satisfaction levels and executive salaries in these circumstances - might concentrate a few minds and provide some focus!

[grahame]

I've long thought that there should be a direct link between customer satisfaction levels and executive salaries in these circumstances - might concentrate a few minds and provide some focus!

With so much control of the railways now with the Department for Transport, should there also be a link between the salaries of the civil servants concerned and customer satisfaction levels?

[Electric train]

Blimey. Didn't realise the Railways suits salaries were quite that high!

I wonder how Hopwoods et al compare?

They must have a good Trade Union, I doubt Sundays are part of their working week either!!!

This is part of the grievance the Unions have, the Executives get a rise in pay yet the ones on the frontline even working long hours still have to make use of food banks!!!

The government continually refer to the median wage on the railways as £45,000 or the salaries of train drivers however the vast majority of rail workers are more on a starting salary around £22,000 a year. With experience, this could go up to around £23,700 a year. they can earn extra through shift allowance and overtime.  

The average for NR^» (Network Rail - home page) skilled maintenance technicians is £33,000, these are the people who fix the signals, track, power supplies, OLE^▸ (Overhead Line Equipment, more often "OHLE") ie the people who make the infrastructure safe for trains to travel over every day

One final note MP^▸ (Member of Parliament)'s who at the end of the day are 'public sector workers' have given themselves a £2,212 pay rise

[Electric train]

I've long thought that there should be a direct link between customer satisfaction levels and executive salaries in these circumstances - might concentrate a few minds and provide some focus!

With so much control of the railways now with the Department for Transport, should there also be a link between the salaries of the civil servants concerned and customer satisfaction levels?

They should be on the same contract terms as a premier league manage ............. i.e. if the performance fails they get sacked

[ellendune]

I've long thought that there should be a direct link between customer satisfaction levels and executive salaries in these circumstances - might concentrate a few minds and provide some focus!

With so much control of the railways now with the Department for Transport, should there also be a link between the salaries of the civil servants concerned and customer satisfaction levels?

We must recognise that the performance of senior civil servants may often be difficult measure as there needs to be a way to discern the effects of their actions from the quality of instructions they get from minsters. 

Was it the work of a civil servant or a Special Advisor (SPAD^▸ (Signal Passed At Danger) - no not a signal passed at danger) ? For example the imperial units 'consultation' falls so far short of civil service standards that I am almost certain that it was written by a Special Advisor and published on the instructions of the minster.

[Mark A]

The minister of state for transport played fast and loose with a stats calculation and even showed their workings. The likes of 'Full Fact' took this apart:

https://fullfact.org/economy/RMT-strike-salary/

Mark

[Electric train]

The minister of state for transport played fast and loose with a stats calculation and even showed their workings. The likes of 'Full Fact' took this apart:

https://fullfact.org/economy/RMT-strike-salary/

Mark

Link does not work

[Mark A]

Oops, ta, forgot that directly pasting links isn't good. Here you are.

https://fullfact.org/economy/RMT-strike-salary/

[TaplowGreen]

Oops, ta, forgot that directly pasting links isn't good. Here you are.

https://fullfact.org/economy/RMT-strike-salary/

Still doesn't work.