Wot - no more strikes in my diary?

[whole diary]

[grahame]

Having closed my local railway station on - what - seven or eight days this summer, to the immense frustration of transport advocates trying to persuade new people to use the trains and buses, we find ourselves coming towards the end of the summer holidays, the opportunity passed, and no strikes planned in my diary.  Why is that?

I don't think it's because the various disputes have been resolved with compromise.  I don't think anyone has "won" or "lost". I don't think anyone has given up.  I do wonder if it's because there's lots of talking going on that has a real prospect of coming up with a solution, so there's a ceasefire in place to let that happen.  I wonder if there's a pause while the Tory leadership contest concludes, as there's no-one around at the moment who can make any government decisions.  Or has the strike left a significant hole in staff funds and their union leaders are giving them a chance to recover financially?

This is not just an idle ask - a marketing question - "can I rely on their being a train service here on 17th September?" - and I'm asking not just about a service timetabled, but one that actually operates.  Thoughts and educated guesses would be much appreciated.

[Timmer]

This is not just an idle ask - a marketing question - "can I rely on their being a train service here on 17th September?" - and I'm asking not just about a service timetabled, but one that actually operates.  Thoughts and educated guesses would be much appreciated.

You’ll know the answer to that by the 3rd of September with 14 days notice required.

The London marathon is at the beginning of October. Could that be a juicy target on which to call a strike?

[a-driver]

.  I wonder if there's a pause while the Tory leadership contest concludes, as there's no-one around at the moment who can make any government decisions. 

We were only talking this over the weekend and we all came to this conclusion.  Not only as there’s no-one around at the moment but also no one who can make decisions full stop!  Plus there’s the possibility that Grant Shapps may not be the Transport Secretary for very much longer!

Or has the strike left a significant hole in staff funds and their union leaders are giving them a chance to recover financially?

In short, No!  From my depot most are prepared for another year of strike action.  Most think the government will try to use the cost of living crisis to break the strikes.

Edit: fix quotes - Red Squirrel

[ChrisB]

I would concur with the above post completely.

Waiting to see if Shapps loses his post & whether any replacement is going to agree to take part in the talks. No point in wasting members money striking when he's almost certainly losing his post. Just how quickly any new incumbent can get round a table though?

But if Shapps retains his post, you can expect fresh dates within the week of being confirmed!

[ChrisB]

Spoke too soon!

From the TSSA^» (Transport Salaried Staffs' Association - about) website

TSSA announces 24-hour September strike across railways

Rail union TSSA will hold a country wide 24-hour strike next month in an escalation of the ongoing national rail dispute over pay, job security and conditions.

Staff at nine train operating companies (TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company)) as well as Network Rail (NR^» (Network Rail - home page)) will walkout from midday on Monday 26 until midday Tuesday 27 September.

The union remains in talks with NR about the possibility of a settlement. However General Secretary, Manuel Cortes, has written to both Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, and bosses of Department for Transport (DfT^» (Department for Transport - about)) held train companies in recent days.

Cortes called for the government to allow TOCs to return to the negotiating table with a revised deal which improves on the insulting 2 per cent offer which was rejected earlier in the summer. 

The strike action will coincide with the Labour Party Conference, being held in Liverpool. As a Labour affiliated union TSSA will be looking for support from Conference delegates and MPs^▸ (Member of Parliament) to join them on the picket line to show solidarity in fighting the Conservative’s cost of living crisis.

Commenting, TSSA union leader Manuel Cortes said: “The dead hand of Grant Shapps is sadly stopping DfT train operating companies from making a revised, meaningful offer. 

“Frankly, he either sits across the negotiating table with our union or gets out of the way to allow railway bosses to freely negotiate with us, as they have done in the past. 

“The reason for the current impasse lies squarely at Shapps’ door and passengers are paying a high price for his incompetence and intransigence.

"I welcome the fact that negotiations are ongoing with Network Rail and the gap towards a resolution is narrowing. Time will tell whether a deal can be done to avert our next strike.

"I will be standing on our picket line in Liverpool and will be encouraging fellow delegates and Labour MPs to do likewise, so they can rightly show they stand shoulder-to-shoulder with those fighting the Tories’ cost of living crisis."

*Last week hundreds of TSSA members at TransPennine Express and West Midlands Trains voted overwhelmingly for strike action. 

*TSSA members took strike action on 20 August in Network Rail General Grades (Bands 5-8) and Controllers, Avanti West Coast, c2c, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Great Western Railway, LNER^» (London North Eastern Railway - about) and Southeastern on 18 and 20 August. 

These companies would be at the centre of the strike on the 26th and  27th September, along with Network Rail.

Forgot about the Party conferences. I do suspect these might get targeted.

[BBM]

From BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) News - Train drivers to strike again on 15 September:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62735147

It's an ASLEF^» (Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen - about) strike which will affect 12 companies including GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway).

[grahame]

From BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) News - Train drivers to strike again on 15 September:

from the BBC

It's an ASLEF^» (Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen - about) strike which will affect 12 companies including GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway).

Ooh - the day of the Railfuture Annual Conference in Leeds. What a depressing Rail Future ... "a bigger better railway". I agree with their "better", not sure if it needs to be bigger if it can gain more through more efficient provision so it doesn't actually need to be bigger.

At the risk of lighting the bus touchpaper here, and of linking two stories that should not be linked, I bring you "Quiet Quitting" also from the BBC

What is quiet quitting?

Despite the name, it actually has nothing to do with quitting your job.

It means doing only what your job demands and nothing more. Quitting doing anything extra. You still show up for work, but stay strictly within the boundaries of your job requirements. So no more helping out with additional tasks or checking emails outside work hours.

Since the pandemic, an increasing number of young workers have grown tired of not getting the recognition and compensation for putting in extra hours. They're saying no to burnout, and instead focusing on work-life balance. The movement is centred around self-preservation and "acting your wage".

[ChrisB]

From ASLEF^» (Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen - about)

Train drivers to strike on 15th September

Train drivers at 12 operating companies will walk out on 15th September in a dispute over pay.

This follows two days of action - in July by members at seven companies, and August at nine companies - and very strong votes for industrial action in ballots across the companies.

Drivers will not book on for duty between 00:00 and 23:59 on Thursday 15th September 2022.

 
Companies affected

ASLEF members working for Avanti West Coast, Chiltern, Cross Country, Greater Anglia, Great Western Railways, Hull, LNER^» (London North Eastern Railway - about), London Overground, Northern, Southeastern, Transpennine Express and West Midlands Trains will be on strike on 15th September.

 
Why drivers are taking action

Most train drivers haven't had a pay increase since 2019.

When inflation goes up and pay doesn't, that's a real-terms pay cut.

Train drivers agree that every working person should be paid fairly and that pay should be increased to keep pace with inflation - many public sector workers deserve far more than their long-frozen pay amounts to.

Senior managers in our industry take home huge salaries; rail operators have paid dividends to their shareholders right through the pandemic, and the rolling stock companies (who own the trains and lease them back out) have made billions. The claim that there's no money left to pay rail workers properly is just not true.

During the pandemic, train drivers went out to work to keep the country moving. Rail helped other key workers get to work, and kept goods like food and medicines moving around the country.

And their press release

Train drivers who are members of ASLEF – the train drivers’ trade union which represents 96% of the train drivers in England, Scotland, and Wales – will walk out at 12 train operating companies on Thursday 15 September in a dispute over pay.

‘We regret that, once again, passengers are going to be inconvenienced,’ said Mick Whelan, ASLEF’s general secretary. ‘Because we don’t want to go on strike – withdrawing our labour, although a fundamental human right, is always a last resort for a trade union – but the train companies have forced our hand.

‘They want train drivers to take a real terms pay cut – to work just as hard this year as last, but for 10% less. Because inflation is now in double figures and heading higher – much higher, according to some forecasts – and yet the train companies have offered us nothing. And this for train drivers who kept Britain moving – key workers and goods around the country – throughout the pandemic and who have not had an increase in salary since 2019.

‘We want the companies – which are making big profits, and paying their chief executives enormous salaries and bonuses – to make a proper pay offer to help our members keep up with the increase in the cost of living. That’s why we are calling on the companies today to do the right thing – the decent thing – and come back to the negotiating table with an offer our members can accept.’

ASLEF members at 12 companies – Avanti West Coast; Chiltern Railways; CrossCountry; Greater Anglia; Great Western Railway; Hull Trains; LNER; London Overground; Northern Trains; Southeastern; TransPennine Express; and West Midlands Trains – will strike on 15 September.

We have already walked out for 24 hours on Saturday 30 July and on Saturday 13 August at those companies which have, so far, refused to do the right thing.

This year we have successfully concluded pay deals with nine companies: DB^» (Deutsche Bahn - German State Railway - about) Cargo; Eurostar; Freightliner Heavy Haul; Freightliner Intermodal; GB^▸ (Great Britain) Railfreight; Merseyrail; MTR Elizabeth line; PRE Metro Operations; and ScotRail.

We have multi-year deals already in place with several other companies.

We are in negotiations with Direct Rail Services and Transport for Wales.

And we have put an offer from the company to our members from Colas IM.

[grahame]

Here we go ... RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) on 15th and 17th September ... from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) ...

[grahame]

Here we go ... RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) on 15th and 17th September ... from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) ...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62757431 ...

Rail workers will hold fresh strikes in a long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions, the RMT union has said.

It said 40,000 of its members who work at Network Rail and 14 train companies will walk out on 15 and 17 September.

The first day of these strikes coincides with a walkout by train drivers at 12 rail companies.

The Aslef union said the action by 9,000 of its members will be the biggest strike drivers have taken part in so far.

The RMT walkout follows six previous days of strike action by its members across June, July and August.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said union members had "no choice" but to continue striking.

[IndustryInsider]

Next up...?

Well, you can expect both the RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) and ASLEF^» (Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen - about) to heavily target the Tory conference at the beginning of October!

[Mark A]

Credible Twitter *rumour*: ASLEF^» (Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen - about) strikes 1st and 5th October. TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) notified today to meet the 15 day notification condition, public announcement Tuesday.

Mark

[Timmer]

Credible Twitter *rumour*: ASLEF^» (Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen - about) strikes 1st and 5th October. TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) notified today to meet the 15 day notification condition, public announcement Tuesday.

Mark

Sigh, sadly confirmed by David Horne MD of LNER^» (London North Eastern Railway - about).
https://twitter.com/davidhorne/status/1570724791900078083?s=21&t=A9J_Xh2JY5n7kDVz79Z5SQ

ASLEF may not be announcing it publicly until after the queen’s funeral but the news of new strike dates will spread very quickly. Could backfire on them not waiting until after the funeral before giving the required 14 days notice. I’m disappointed that they couldn’t have waited another few days.

Be interesting to see what the RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) do now who appeared very genuine given the situation when they suspended strike action last week.

[IndustryInsider]

Be interesting to see what the RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) do now who appeared very genuine given the situation when they suspended strike action last week.

I'm hearing 3rd and 6th for RMT.  So the two combined will cover the whole of the conference if so.

[TaplowGreen]

Be interesting to see what the RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) do now who appeared very genuine given the situation when they suspended strike action last week.

I'm hearing 3rd and 6th for RMT.  So the two combined will cover the whole of the conference if so.

Well, that'll really help the situation.