Underground next week is stuffed [Archive]

Zirax

02-09-2007, 21:06

These little scumbags are striking again. Now since when has a company gone into liquidation, been bought and everyone keeps their jobs when its resold???
http://www.london.gov.uk/view_press_release.jsp?releaseid=13535
From Ken, guaranteeing them the jobs during the administration phase. What they are demanding is unreasonable, yes sure we would all love to keep our jobs when this happens.... but most of us have the intelligence to realise that this simply can't happen.

http://www.rmt.org.uk/Templates/Internal.asp?NodeID=100524

In the magical rosy land of RMT, it seems that yes it can happen.... and they are expecting it.

Dymetrie

02-09-2007, 21:14

Considering that I've seen the devestating results of Camden's "Cheaper and Better" programme in action throughout the council I work for, where the basis behind it is that too much money is spent on staff who are doing nothing (this is fair to some extent) and so the solution is to 'streamline' almost every department...

Unfortunately this has screwed up completely as the job losses have been in the areas we need (for example, payroll and personnel) which has disheartened those left there as they end up doing the work of two or three people, so they leave, which means agency staff (who cost more and are untrained) get brought in and things get worse....

One of the fantastic ideas of 'Cheaper and Better' has been to remove middle management completely... Which amuses me as Senior management have no idea how to manage frontline staff and frontline staff have no idea how to interact with senior management :D

Did I go slightly off topic there? :embarassment:

Will

02-09-2007, 21:16

You mean bought yeah? ;) :p

I think it's good that people strike, if it's for the right reasons. The underground is **** and I really hate it. As much as it pains me to admit it, I've been taking busses the past 2/3 months everytime I've gone into town. It's a) less crowded b) less stuffy c) less grimey. Still have to travel with dodgy wierdos but I can cope with that. You have a little more control of where you can get off too - but you have to know where you're going or where you are.

So many people rely on the tube and it really needs to be better and cheaper than it is. If they sorted themselves out they'd have less chance of strikes, it's run diabolically and full of empty promises and broken statements. Striking is the only way these guys can get the bigger fish's attention - it sucks and it's a pain but I can totally understand why they are doing it.

Dymetrie

02-09-2007, 21:20

I agree with strike action in principle...

Much prefer the Australian way of doing it though...

Everyone goes to work, they just don't collect or sell tickets :) So the trains are free for a day :D

Much more effective and gets more support from the commuters as they're either not being affected or profiting from it :D

Will

02-09-2007, 21:21

Oh I didn't know that - that's good! But do they get paid?

Dymetrie

02-09-2007, 21:22

As far as I'm aware...

Think their unions have pay protection for that as technically they're turning up for work and doing their jobs (mostly) :)

Garp

02-09-2007, 21:24

I'm in agreement with Zirax. If this was anything at all to do with the quality of the service on the underground it would be a different matter. The strikers have a bizarre notion of reality. They're living in cloud cuckoo land as far as I'm concerned, with no real concept of how the world works. Someone buys your company, or your company goes bust the your jobs aren't guaranteed. Whats the surprise there?

Will

02-09-2007, 21:33

It's always the little people that get ****ed though - and I hate that. Of course they may well not be the best workers, or the most conscientious but I'm always for the underdog, or the people that get ****ed by the bigger/big corporations.

Mark

02-09-2007, 22:40

It's always that way though when insolvency and administration is concerned. I'm not saying it's right, but it's a fact. If a company has gone bust, it's because they spent more than they were getting in - and as often as not, the biggest cost is the cost of employment.

I think both Ken Livingstone and the RMT are living in cloud cuckoo land. Why should the RMT receive special dispensation to guarantee their jobs during administration? I've never heard of that before and it ties the administrators hands. As for the RMT, who in their right mind is going to take on a set of militant workers who will strike at the first mention of 'rationalisation'.

I'm not saying I don't have sympathy for those who may lose their jobs, but at the same time if whoever takes over cannot match income to outgoings then they're as doomed to failure as Metronet were.

Trouble is, the RMT have TfL over a barrel, so I know who will will cave - just like has happened every time before. Reality checks all round then. :(

Will

02-09-2007, 22:55

Linvingstone's a **** - I really really dislike that pathetic little worm.

Mark

02-09-2007, 23:00

I suspect there might be a bit of a shake-up if Boris Johnson gets voted in. :eek:

Will

02-09-2007, 23:03

He'd be the lesser of two evils... I think.... :dunno:

Nutcase

03-09-2007, 07:50

I can understand strikes over safety, and possibly if no payrises after a significant length of time and the company is doing well, but this hole lot is bull****.

Stan_Lite

03-09-2007, 08:10

/Dons militant socialist hat.

As has been mentioned, when a company goes into insolvency, it is usually because there is more going out than coming in and as Mark mentioned, the wage bill is usually a large factor in that.

The problem with most companies or government (local or central) departments is that, when they "rationalise" the work force to cut the wage bill, they cut the wrong people. They always seem to decimate the people who deliver the front line services rather than the (usually) top heavy management. I would imagine that about half of the wage bill for Metronet will be divided amongst the top 10% of the company - directors and senior managers on fat-cat salaries and their overpaid lackeys. Pay off a few of these if you need to "rationalise", not the hard working front line staff.

/Takes off militant socialist hat

Dymetrie

03-09-2007, 17:38

Tube Disruption Map (http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/im/RD-T.html)

****ers

The only thing still running is the DLR :p

BBx

03-09-2007, 17:45

I thought it was just the Metronet lines which were striking not the Tubelines ones?

Someone just asked me about the Met line - I told him good luck ;) he's gone to the pub!

BB x

Dymetrie

03-09-2007, 17:47

I thought it was just the Metronet lines which were striking not the Tubelines ones?

Someone just asked me about the Met line - I told him good luck ;) he's gone to the pub!

BB x

Erm....

Metronet is the company which does all the maintenance for the London Underground...

No maintenance means they can't guarantee the safety of the lines (or fix signal failures and whatnot) so the lines won't run.

BBx

03-09-2007, 17:56

Dymetrie

03-09-2007, 18:01

You're correct, I hadn't bothered looking at that because I didn't care :D

I can only surmise that they are currently b0rked because they are just **** in general :p

Stan_Lite

03-09-2007, 18:01

I thought Tubelines did what Metronet did but just for Pic/Jub and Northern Lines.

I'm a girl so :p plus my mate works for Tubelines and I am sure thats what he told me...oh well!

*plays 'I'm-a-girl-so-let-me-off' card*

;)

BB x

Excellent use of the girlie card there miss - the dark one has no choice but to smile politely and back away :D

Edit: Oh noes, you've wasted the girlie card by playing it when you were right - disaster :(

BBx

03-09-2007, 18:11

Excellent use of the girlie card there miss - the dark one has no choice but to smile politely and back away :D

Edit: Oh noes, you've wasted the girlie card by playing it when you were right - disaster :(

Nonetheless!

:D

*dances in a girly way*

:cool:

GIRLS RULE YEAH! :party2:

BB x

Mark

03-09-2007, 18:20

Whatever. :p

Dym's right too though, the whole thing is one big **** up.

Zirax

03-09-2007, 20:27

I'm home. I was crafty and took the 18;20 from kings cross thameslink to moorgate (capital connect). It was empty o/

The buggers were walking out at 4pm as every line changed to suspended by 4;35pm. So now they can't read the time either. I am currently on a £1500 intensive training course finishing Friday. I think I can make it in tomorrow but I don't know if the trainers will bother.

Garp

03-09-2007, 20:47

I escaped at 16:30 and got clear of central london before the Central line turned to crap. If my bike isn't right tomorrow (think I've got a puncture in the rear tyre) then I'll probably be working from home tomorrow.

Dymetrie

04-09-2007, 08:34

Well this morning I headed out to try and get a train on the other line which heads into Gospel Oak (where my current office is).

20 minute walk to get to the station, first train comes in, everyone on it seems to have turned into a sardine... Wait 20 minutes for the next one only to find a remarkably similar situation... Another 20 minutes for the third train to arrive, again with the fish-style occupants and so I trudged the 20 minutes home again...

Have called my boss (mobile rang and then went to answerphone denoting that she's not even up yet...) and have requested the next 3 days as leave because I despise fish, it makes me chuck...

Only problem is that Jarp said they're planning a similar strike next week as well (****s) and, whilst me not being at work has no knock-on effect for the service (I'm that unimportant), I don't really want to have to use another 3 days of leave...

*sigh*

BBx

04-09-2007, 09:08

My route is fine... apart from all of the lost people at London Bridge this morning.

Had to wait a bit for a bus but still got in on time.

BB x

Garp

04-09-2007, 11:33

I got in eventually. Bike was fine this morning, but the roads are just nasty nasty nasty, even for London. The sheer weight of traffic and number of idiots this morning was far and above what I've seen before doing this route. Took me an hour or so to do what is usually around a 40 mins cycle ride. Not my idea of fun :(

Zirax

04-09-2007, 19:43

Well my crafty route of walking to moorgate then going to kings X on thameslink seems to be working. Very very tired though as I have to get an early train to get in for 9 :(

Nice to see that the rmt has no picket lines!! Are they afraid of 500-1000 people walking past them per minute at say Liverpool Street? :D

Garp

04-09-2007, 21:25

Well I biked it today, all 6.5 miles of it, something I've done a fair number of times; but I'll only do that again during the strikes if I absolutely have to. The additional traffic on the roads this morning was insane. It took me nearly an extra 30 minutes to make the journey than normal, and there was an excessive number of additional homicidal drivers on the road. My route isn't the nicest in the world, but today was the first time I've felt genuinely fearful for my life at times. At one stage I had an idiot in a white van trying to knock my head off with his wing mirrors (I assumed it was an accident, but then saw him repeat the trick with several cyclists in front of me).

I've arranged to work from home tomorrow and am hoping I might manage to do it for Thursday too.

Dymetrie

05-09-2007, 07:29

Strike called off (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6979216.stm)

Yup, 9 hours of talks and the strike has been called off. Workers are meant to be heading back into work today so I'll be keeping an eye on the live travel boards to see whether the service gets back to decent by the end of the day and shall more than likely be back at work tomorrow.

They're still ****s though.

Wryel

05-09-2007, 08:04

Nothing was re-opened at half 6 and it was back to normal from Bounds Green to Bank. The Victoria line had started running southbound too.

Dymetrie

05-09-2007, 08:24

Looking on the TFL live travel news page I was amused by this line:

“Disruption is expected to continue this morning as it will take some time to restore services.”

Which I translated as meaning:

“Disruption will continue until we can convince workers to cut short their 3 day holiday.”