As we're unlikely to see terraces again at football, this is the virtual equivalent where you can chat to your hearts content about all football matters and, obviously, Arsenal in particular. This forum encourages all Gooners to visit and contribute so please keep it respectful, clean and topical.
olgitgooner wrote:Tube train drivers already get fantastic wages for doing fuck all.
They do earn a fantastic wage but that is because of the responsibilty the job entails and the horrid working enviroment they are in. How much do you propose they should be paid and what justifies that amount?
olgitgooner wrote:How difficult is it to sit on your arse in a cab and do stopping and starting?
It is a very simple job but incredibly repetative and mundane, which can lead to errors. In the event of errors, drivers can be subject to disciplinary action.
The job does not just involve "stopping and starting" but working in appalling conditions, awful unsociable shifts, random drink and drug tests (meaning no beers the night before work), continual written and practical assessments, being expected to be able to remedy mechanical problems with the trains and being responsible for thousands of peoples safety every day.
olgitgooner wrote:You can't even take a wrong turn and end up in Dover. Fucking blackmailing bastards.
Drivers can accept an incorrect routing and head towards an incorrect station. It is their responsibility to ensure this does not happen.
olgitgooner wrote:Allegedly they are also getting a nice few bob extra just for not going on strike during the London Olympics.
Many companies are agreeing 2012 payrises to help prevent industrial action so this would make sense.
Good luck to them I say, London Underground makes millions in profit so rewarding staff who have to work over Christmas whilst everyone else enjoys themselves is only fair in my opinion.
Power to the workers!!!
Well said that man! Why should we despise people who try to improve their working conditions. Think about where all the extra money we pay in fare hikes every year goes, not the tube drivers pockets...
Who are the real piss takers here!?
They're entitled to a fair deal just like everyone else. The alternative is we all sit round talking about how shit our pay/leave/benefits are and encourage a race to the bottom
Nothing wrong with people trying to get extra for working on Boxing Day !
The last Government spent Billions pissing money down PPI disasters like METRONET yet dont want to pay their workers a decent wage .
Thatcher fucked the Tube and Railways when the Tories refused to have money spent on preventative maintenance which has meant the system was more or less neglected for 20 years .
Theres a lot of people to blame for why London transport is fucked up but it isn't the Drivers !
Hope they dont change it though as it will fuck up my Christmas travel plans,and I will be very close to Highbury.
On that note I will be driving down to Bexleyheath Boxing day morning to pick up my son should it go ahead as scheduled ,if anyone wants a lift back to Islington 1 way only I have room for 3 . Will be there abt 1100 @ Watling st near the Black Prince .
When I used to work in jobs that included weekends/public holidays. I'd be thankful that it was double pay.
Triple pay is just taking the piss. If you really don't want to work that day then book it off and stop moaning.
Boomer wrote:When I used to work in jobs that included weekends/public holidays. I'd be thankful that it was double pay.
Triple pay is just taking the piss. If you really don't want to work that day then book it off and stop moaning.
This year I'm working Christmas Day, Boxing Day, the 27th, 28th, 29th and 30th. It really sucks. I am getting about £100 total in additional payment (which is forfeited if any of those days I have to go sick).
But for me even triple pay would not even make up for missing out on spending one of the best days of the year with my family and loved ones.
Last edited by hugh jardon on Tue Dec 20, 2011 6:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
If the game is postponed then I have wasted a lot of time and money arranging flights back to the emerald isle.
I am already resigned to missing the QPR game and now I'm going to miss the Wolves game aswell (if its postponed)
So I guess I should be having a go at the "over paid" tube drivers but I for one am happy that there is at least one union left in this town that has some balls. There was a public sector strike couple of weeks back - which Dave Cameron found hilarious.
Dont think him or Boris will be smiling over Christmas.
Percy Dalton wrote:The union said it wanted "adequate compensation" for working on 26 December and it wanted Tube drivers to be able to volunteer to work on such an "unsociable" day
So you take a job and the premium for working unsociable days and hours, then decide you do not like those days and hours and so call a strike that will bring the capital to a standstill over the holiday period.
And that is justified?
Where as the below seems more than reasonable to mosy knowledgable people......
An LU spokesman said an agreement in 1992 specified drivers would earn about £44,500, work a 35-hour week and have 43 days' leave.
As part of the agreement, Tube drivers have to work some public holidays, including Boxing Day.
LU said it had reduced the number of drivers needed to work on Boxing Day after Aslef raised the issue in 2010 and only a quarter of the 3,500 were needed on the day.
That salary, 43 days leave and they fucking moan?
The salary and leave days are indeed a good package. The membership is particularly strong as they will stick together and as already mentioned, not just anyone can become a tube driver.
For workers to take strike action is their absolute last resort after negotiations have been exhausted. The workers will lose pay by striking, they will obviously not want this to happen. If the LU and ASLEF can reach a mutually satisfactory agreement the proposed action will be immediately called off.
The only solution I can see is the LU going back into negotiate, which they are currently unwilling to do. So it could be argued the LU themselves are also to blame.
This week there will be a High Court hearing into the validity of the strike ballot which I will be interested to see the outcome of.
Strike action is a very immotive subject. It's too easy for people to jump on the bandwagon and say things along the lines of "It's a disgrace" or "Greedy bastards" without having a knowledge of the issues behind the disagreements.
Personally I think its a disgrace and that they are greedy bastards
What I do love about industrial action is the public's reaction to people with supposedly shit jobs withdrawing their labour.
It's all usually hate filled, 'they're all greedy *word censored*' and let's shoot them in front of their famillies. Pardon me but I thought their job was shit and insignificant? How come we're all up shit creek when they withdraw their labour?
One thing you never hear about people recalling the Winter of Discontent:
'Oh god it was horrific, all the Equity Traders went on strike I thought life was gonna grind to a halt. And then the Estate Agents went out in sympathy - you couldn't buy a house for love nor money! There was also talk right wing political pundits walking out, thank god we got a tough Tory party to grind them into submission otherwise we would have looked like some sort of Banana Republic after another four years of that!'
this will be the second year in a row we didn't have a game. 
