Millions of commuters and tourists travelling into and around Europe's biggest city have been severely inconvenienced by a 48-hour stoppage by drivers on the London Underground, timed to cause maximum disruption to the public with minimum sacrifice to the strikers. Appointments were missed, people fumed in lengthy bus queues or took to their bicycles – or Shanks's pony – in the pouring rain; to cap it all, thousands of football fans were unable to get to Wembley to watch England's World Cup qualifier. The cost to the capital is estimated at around £100 million in lost earnings. The long-term price to be paid by the perpetrators of this underhand and politically motivated action should be severe.

 

The RMT union, run as a personal fiefdom by Bob Crow, a Left-wing agitator straight out of the I'm All Right Jack school of Neanderthal militancy, routinely holds the capital and its environs to ransom. Their strikes come around every summer, as regularly as Wimbledon or Ascot. This one is over a five per cent pay demand, issued on behalf of a group of workers who are already well remunerated and who hold no fear that even in a recession they will lose their jobs.

 

Perhaps they should. The train drivers resemble the printers who used routinely to shut newspapers in the 1970s and 1980s, until they eventually found themselves out of work. Newspapers no longer require printers. Why, then, do trains need drivers? Automated trains already exist on the Docklands Light Railway and are used in cities around the world, especially in Japan, Singapore, America and continental Europe. Boris Johnson, the London Mayor (who might have helped motorists more by suspending parking restrictions and the congestion charge) should tell Mr Crow and his cohorts that the city has had enough, and will one day be in a position to do without them.

 

Source: Sunday Telegraph

I have no personal view one way or the other, but if you live in London would you be happy with or without tube drivers?

 

If other large cities have automated their trains, why can't London, or is it still safer and better to have a driver in charge?

Millions of commuters and tourists travelling into and around Europe's biggest city have been severely inconvenienced by a 48-hour stoppage by drivers on the London Underground, timed to cause maximum disruption to the public with minimum sacrifice to the strikers. Appointments were missed, people fumed in lengthy bus queues or took to their bicycles – or Shanks's pony – in the pouring rain; to cap it all, thousands of football fans were unable to get to Wembley to watch England's World Cup qualifier. The cost to the capital is estimated at around £100 million in lost earnings. The long-term price to be paid by the perpetrators of this underhand and politically motivated action should be severe.

 

The RMT union, run as a personal fiefdom by Bob Crow, a Left-wing agitator straight out of the I'm All Right Jack school of Neanderthal militancy, routinely holds the capital and its environs to ransom. Their strikes come around every summer, as regularly as Wimbledon or Ascot. This one is over a five per cent pay demand, issued on behalf of a group of workers who are already well remunerated and who hold no fear that even in a recession they will lose their jobs.

 

Perhaps they should. The train drivers resemble the printers who used routinely to shut newspapers in the 1970s and 1980s, until they eventually found themselves out of work. Newspapers no longer require printers. Why, then, do trains need drivers? Automated trains already exist on the Docklands Light Railway and are used in cities around the world, especially in Japan, Singapore, America and continental Europe. Boris Johnson, the London Mayor (who might have helped motorists more by suspending parking restrictions and the congestion charge) should tell Mr Crow and his cohorts that the city has had enough, and will one day be in a position to do without them.

 

Source: Sunday Telegraph

I have no personal view one way or the other, but if you live in London would you be happy with or without tube drivers?

 

If other large cities have automated their trains, why can't London, or is it still safer and better to have a driver in charge?

 

I agree with the article, I said a similar thing a couple of years back that the tube should be automated like the DLR and then the maggots can't go on strike and ruin London, it is disgraceful in this day and age that a dinosaur like Crow can hold London and its business to ransom like this so Johnson should work with TFL chiefs to automate the underground

 

In the long term it will save money

 

With inflation of 0.5% the drivers and Crow must be having a giraffe surely :rolleyes:

 

Time to automate the tube

As someone who has been to places like Malaysia and Thailand quite a lot I would like to see a monorail system developed in London too again that would be automated and would not need drivers and would be a good supplement to the underground and in some areas replacement for it and it would make it easier to get about Central London

On the one hand, the tube drivers dont have much to complain about this is true - they're in a good position with good pay and rewards.... But, on the other, how did they manage to get into the envious position - BY STANDING UP FOR THEMSELVES and not taking any sh!t from the bosses...... Which is what every worker in the country should be doing... ESPECIALLY in a recession..... I mean, at the opposite end of the scale you have retail staff and hotel workers treated like fukkin cattle with little or no representation to help them get their rights and a proper working wage....

 

No, I'm afraid I doff my cap to Bob Crowe, it seems to me that every union leader should be taking a leaf out of his book and making sure THEIR members are in a similar position where bosses think twice before fukkin' with them.....

 

The Sunday Torygraph editorial staff can shut the fukk up, let's look at what these buggers earn for spouting the utter cr@p they do, it's a damn sight more than a tube driver..... When did we get to the stage where workers standing up for themselves was "neanderthal militancy"....? What the likes of the Torygraph espouse is more-or-less a return to the employment policies of the sodding WORKHOUSES and "Wage Slavery"..... Talke about being "neanderthal".......

Bob Crowe is a total tosser for holding Londoners to ransom with these strikes. Tube drivers start on 41k I read. WTF and they want MORE.They've been offered the rate of inflation plus half a % which is fair. People on benefits get only the rate of inflation increase every year! What planet is Crowe on cos he ain't on this one. LU should call his bluff and sack anyone who doesn't turn up for work. I'm all for unions upholding workers' rights and negotiating a decent wage but they're not skilled workers or graduates so 41k is damned good. I'm sure they'll be striking during the Olympics too. :angry: I'm beginning to regret voting for Boris too. He said he'd try to put an end to these tube strikes and try to negotiate a "no strike" clause in to their contracts. So what happened there Boris?

Edited June 15, 200916 yr by Crazy Chris

Bob Crowe is a total tosser for holding Londoners to ransom with these strikes. Tube drivers start on 41k I read. WTF and they want MORE. What planet is Crowe on cos he ain't on this one. LU should call his bluff and sack anyone who doesn't turn up for work. I'm all for unions upholding workers' rights and negotiating a decent wage but they're not skilled workers or graduates so 41k is damned good. I'm sure they'll be striking during the Olympics too. :angry: I'm beginning to regret voting for Boris too. He said he'd try to put an end to these tube strikes and try to negotiate a "no strike" clause in to their contracts. So what happened there Boris?

 

And just WTF gives you the right to slag off ANY worker out there you workshy scrounger....? <_< You have no credbility to even have an opinion on issues concerning workers' rights, or employment, seeing as how you've not done a day's work in 30 years...... No-Strike clauses are completely out of order IMO, the only recourse a worker has is the right to withdraw their labour, something you MAY actually appreciate when you've actually done a day's work.... :rolleyes: This strike was VOTED on in a DEMOCRATIC ballot of tube workers.....

 

And just where do you get this figure of 41k anyway.....? Source please..... And, no, The Scum doesn't count as a credible source.....

 

And just WTF gives you the right to slag off ANY worker out there you workshy scrounger....? <_< You have no credbility to even have an opinion on issues concerning workers' rights, or employment, seeing as how you've not done a day's work in 30 years...... No-Strike clauses are completely out of order IMO, the only recourse a worker has is the right to withdraw their labour, something you MAY actually appreciate when you've actually done a day's work.... :rolleyes: This strike was VOTED on in a DEMOCRATIC ballot of tube workers.....

 

And just where do you get this figure of 41k anyway.....? Source please..... And, no, The Scum doesn't count as a credible source.....

 

I have no problem with tube drivers getting a fair wage but 5% is what I have a problem with, even 2% is overly generous atm with inflation as it is, if anyone deserves 5% it is people like nurses not tube drivers, 4.5% over the rate of inflation is a total pisstake and I would not be surprised if Crow planned strike all along and this 5% he wanted was just plucked out of thin air by him when infact all he wanted was a strike in the first place as a power trip for him

 

I think legislation should be bought in that unions that strike over unrealistic wage claims, anything over 1% above the rate of inflation, should be open to legal action for compensation by businesses and individuals that have lost revenue as a result of the actions of unions

They want 5% more over what they've already got?

 

They should be f***ing grateful that in a recession they still have jobs and are able to put food on the table and a roof over their heads. There are millions of people in developed countries far worse of than them, add to that the billions in developing countries.

 

I have no problem with industrial action what so ever, i do believe if you are going to go on strike and hold a city with a population greater than Scotland and many European countries to ransom then you should do it over something worth while. A strike over working conditions perhaps.

 

These greedy bast*rds have no reason to strike, they are well paid comparatively to their economic group. They have been offered an above inflation pay rise. In these tough economic times they should say thank you very much for giving me a job and get their lazy arses back to work. 5% in a recession :lol: what a bunch of f***ing r*t****. Like there was anyway on gods earth they were getting anywhere near that. [i would imagine their union leader would know that tho] These strikes are bully tactics. It's time for the LU to tell them to accept a smaller offer or not to consider coming into work again. There are plenty of people who would be quite happy to have their jobs right now.

 

RE: CrazyChris. Until you get off your lazy drunken workshy arse and put in a hard days graft. You have no ethical right to comment on matters that involve industrial action, or work of any sort. And don't bother whining about your benefits going up by the rate of inflation, some people don't even get that.

I have no problem with industrial action what so ever, i do believe if you are going to go on strike and hold a city with a population greater than Scotland and many European countries to ransom then you should do it over something worth while. A strike over working conditions perhaps.

 

Actually, that's part of it as well... The media always focuses on the money, but never looks at the other issues which are just as important... Jobs and disciplinary issues are also part of the overall thing the RMT has called the action over... There are certain facts about this that the media just doesn't want you to know about - such as the 10 hours of negotiations the day before the strike was called, and the last minute deal which management reneged on when it actually looked as though things were going to be settled before any action even took place....

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8090608.stm

 

Boris Johnson's fingerprints are all over this tbh, the man is an utter arsehole who I wouldn't let run a whelk stall let alone a city like London....

Imagine an automated tube train breaking down in a deep tunnel in early August in a heat wave with temps of 40°C… There would be fatalities.

 

Like with most working class if jobs the tube drivers didn’t stand up for themselves they’d end up with less. People on wages of less than 25k a year are progressively getting poorer.

Imagine an automated tube train breaking down in a deep tunnel in early August in a heat wave with temps of 40°C… There would be fatalities.

 

Like with most working class if jobs the tube drivers didn’t stand up for themselves they’d end up with less. People on wages of less than 25k a year are progressively getting poorer.

 

Exactly... With "stealth taxes", rises in Council Tax, utility bills, the abolition of the 10p rate of tax, etc, the poor are getting poorer under this so-called "Party of the Working Classes", it's really only people like Bob Crow who are actually standing up for the working man and woman.... I'm sure he'd be standing up for the rights of shop workers, hotel, restaurant and bar staff as well, but it's not exactly in his remit as head of the RMT is it.....? These workers NEED someone like Bob Crow to stand up for their rights and secure them better pay and conditions..... The Minimum Wage is a bloody joke in this country, you cant possibly live off that in London or South East....

 

As far as I'm concerned Bob Crow is a hero....

Imagine an automated tube train breaking down in a deep tunnel in early August in a heat wave with temps of 40°C… There would be fatalities.

 

Like with most working class if jobs the tube drivers didn’t stand up for themselves they’d end up with less. People on wages of less than 25k a year are progressively getting poorer.

 

Bringing in air conditioning would help solve that, all of the Far Eastern automated trains have air con, its like sitting in a fridge when you are on them, its beautiful

Exactly... With "stealth taxes", rises in Council Tax, utility bills, the abolition of the 10p rate of tax, etc, the poor are getting poorer under this so-called "Party of the Working Classes", it's really only people like Bob Crow who are actually standing up for the working man and woman.... I'm sure he'd be standing up for the rights of shop workers, hotel, restaurant and bar staff as well, but it's not exactly in his remit as head of the RMT is it.....? These workers NEED someone like Bob Crow to stand up for their rights and secure them better pay and conditions..... The Minimum Wage is a bloody joke in this country, you cant possibly live off that in London or South East....

 

As far as I'm concerned Bob Crow is a hero....

 

Crow only cares about 1 person and that is Crow himself, he is just on an ego trip like Scargill was

Crow only cares about 1 person and that is Crow himself, he is just on an ego trip like Scargill was

 

Yeah, right, whatever Craig, you NEVER support those who truly stand up for the workers, you're a bloody TORY :rolleyes: ..... If he IS like Scargill, then he's just as correct as Scargill was.... EVERYTHING Scargill said became a reality.... Absolutely no question about that....

 

The Miners' Strike was 100% legit, it's a crying shame they never won and brought the bitch Thatcher to her fukkin' knees.....

Bringing in air conditioning would help solve that, all of the Far Eastern automated trains have air con, its like sitting in a fridge when you are on them, its beautiful

All public Transport down under has Air-Con :wub:

 

 

 

As far as i am concerned, 5% is f***ing ridiculous.

All public Transport down under has Air-Con :wub:

As far as i am concerned, 5% is f***ing ridiculous.

 

I'd be in 100% support of air con on the tubes... I just cant travel on them in Summer, it's unbearable.... And the absolute stink of BO is pretty overpowering as well...... :puke2:

 

As far as I'm concerned, every worker in the land should demand a 5% pay increase.... I'd really love to see how many of these newspaper editors or columnists bitching about the tube drivers and public sector workers, etc would actually do their jobs for what a teacher, bus driver or a nurse gets..... I bet they sure wouldn't.... The editor of the Torygraph is on a very high six-figure salary, WITH a bonus.... So, frankly, he can just p!ss off...... :rolleyes:

Bringing in air conditioning would help solve that, all of the Far Eastern automated trains have air con, its like sitting in a fridge when you are on them, its beautiful

 

Come on this is London public transport you’re talking about even if they installed air con it’d break in a couple of months. :lol:

Come on this is London public transport you’re talking about even if they installed air con it’d break in a couple of months. :lol:

 

It's gotta be better than just doing nothing and risking people flaking out on the trains..... Mind you the buses are scarcely any better.. I was sitting on one today upstairs and it was blasting HOT AIR through the upper carriage.... Unbelievable.....

RE: CrazyChris. Until you get off your lazy drunken workshy arse and put in a hard days graft. You have no ethical right to comment on matters that involve industrial action, or work of any sort. And don't bother whining about your benefits going up by the rate of inflation, some people don't even get that.

 

 

 

Am I not allowed opinions on anything just because I'm unable to work through no fault of my own? I have an inquiring mind and have every right to state my opinions. My wife uses the tube just Wednesdays and her journey took twice as long, even though the Jubilee line was running. So if it affects someone close to me I have every right to comment and also as a London resident. It should be illegal to strike for anything more than 1% over the current rate of inflation. That seems fair to me.

Edited June 15, 200916 yr by Crazy Chris

Crow only cares about 1 person and that is Crow himself, he is just on an ego trip like Scargill was

 

 

Agreed BA. It's time he was brought down a peg or two. :angry: