Arriva North West bus strike

[33109]

RE: Potential Arriva North West bus strike

(20/07/2022 22:00)djb Wrote:  It may be that goodwins had drivers on term time only contracts willing to do extra work given some schools have broken up already. One of the goodwins family was driving on the 281 as well today.

Regards Macc outstation, obviously time has moved on (and the depot closed at some point)but I remember on a previous strike (2017?) services ran because the drivers there were either not unionised, or a different union.

Yep at macclesfield there's only a few drivers in the union so hence a full service still.

[Bevan Price]

RE: Potential Arriva North West bus strike
Indefinite / prolonged strikes are a dumb thing to do. Workers can lose far more money than they can ever hope to gain by improved offers.

So, Arriva Yorkshire drivers were on strike for a month ? That means they have lost roughly 8% of their annual wages (unless their TU fully makes up for their "lost" money.) Chances of getting the current pay offer to be increased by 8% above the existing offer ? Zilch.

Yes, I have sympathy for drivers - they deserve better pay offers. But they have to consider financial reality - will they lose more than they gain by having prolonged strikes - or are they just assisting militant TU leaders to pursue futile pseudo-political aims ?

Also long strikes will lose customers (passengers), further increasing the chance of service reduction - and consequential lost jobs. Remember how Scargill thought he was invincible - but helped to destroy the coal industry ?

Perhaps they ought to contemplate ways of inconveniencing the employer - Arriva - without going on strike and losing wages ?

[1466]

RE: Potential Arriva North West bus strike

(21/07/2022 10:17)Bevan Price Wrote:  Indefinite / prolonged strikes are a dumb thing to do. Workers can lose far more money than they can ever hope to gain by improved offers.

So, Arriva Yorkshire drivers were on strike for a month ? That means they have lost roughly 8% of their annual wages (unless their TU fully makes up for their "lost" money.) Chances of getting the current pay offer to be increased by 8% above the existing offer ? Zilch.

Yes, I have sympathy for drivers - they deserve better pay offers. But they have to consider financial reality - will they lose more than they gain by having prolonged strikes - or are they just assisting militant TU leaders to pursue futile pseudo-political aims ?

Also long strikes will lose customers (passengers), further increasing the chance of service reduction - and consequential lost jobs. Remember how Scargill thought he was invincible - but helped to destroy the coal industry ?

Perhaps they ought to contemplate ways of inconveniencing the employer - Arriva - without going on strike and losing wages ?

Firstly Scargill didn't destroy the coal industry, the government of the day did. Secondly TU leaders are representing their members not pursuing so called "pseudo-political aims". Working people have had enough of their wages not keeping up with inflation, strike action is a last resort that nobody takes lightly.

[motormayhem1]

RE: Potential Arriva North West bus strike

(21/07/2022 10:17)Bevan Price Wrote:  Indefinite / prolonged strikes are a dumb thing to do. Workers can lose far more money than they can ever hope to gain by improved offers.

So, Arriva Yorkshire drivers were on strike for a month ? That means they have lost roughly 8% of their annual wages (unless their TU fully makes up for their "lost" money.) Chances of getting the current pay offer to be increased by 8% above the existing offer ? Zilch.

Yes, I have sympathy for drivers - they deserve better pay offers. But they have to consider financial reality - will they lose more than they gain by having prolonged strikes - or are they just assisting militant TU leaders to pursue futile pseudo-political aims ?

Also long strikes will lose customers (passengers), further increasing the chance of service reduction - and consequential lost jobs. Remember how Scargill thought he was invincible - but helped to destroy the coal industry ?

Perhaps they ought to contemplate ways of inconveniencing the employer - Arriva - without going on strike and losing wages ?

So is the 8% worked out by total loss of weeks income for each week they strike or is the 8% based on the payment they receive off the union each week of strike ?

[mikestone]

RE: Potential Arriva North West bus strike

(21/07/2022 10:17)Bevan Price Wrote:  Perhaps they ought to contemplate ways of inconveniencing the employer - Arriva - without going on strike and losing wages ?

What do you suggest - apart from not collecting fares, which I suspect might well breach their contracts of employment?

[Bevan Price]

RE: Potential Arriva North West bus strike

(21/07/2022 23:43)motormayhem1 Wrote:  So is the 8% worked out by total loss of weeks income for each week they strike or is the 8% based on the payment they receive off the union each week of strike ?

I have no idea what money -if any - they get from their TU. One month not working is about 1/12th of a year, or very roughly 8%.

As I wrote before, I think the drivers deserve better offers, but if you lose more money by striking than you gain from any better offer in that year, you are financially worse off.

As for Scargill - he fell into Thatcher's trap - a battle that he and NUM were never going to be allowed to win. He (unintentionally) showed that the country could manage without coal from NUM workers and their pits - and Thatcher took adnantage of that to let many pits be closed.

And beware of Tory leader candidates who express a love of Thatcherism - they may be equally willing to "sacrifice" sections of other industries, including public transport......

[Mayneway]

RE: Potential Arriva North West bus strike
When GNW drivers went out on continuous strike last May drivers were told they would get £50 a day strike pay, which would equate to £250 a week. That’s half what most earn when working. Many threatened to return to work after the first week so it was bumped up to £350 a week. Still shy of a full wage.

[childwallblues]

RE: Potential Arriva North West bus strike
Where I live if you are fit enough you can walk to public transport run by Stagecoach or Northern Rail. I do realise that others do not have that luxury.

[knutstransport]

RE: Potential Arriva North West bus strike
Any strike pay would surely be funded by union subscriptions. So they'll either pay through higher subscriptions or through an inferior service available to members.

[Mayneway]

RE: Potential Arriva North West bus strike

(23/07/2022 07:03)knutstransport Wrote:  Any strike pay would surely be funded by union subscriptions. So they'll either pay through higher subscriptions or through an inferior service available to members.

Nope. I know of lads who went down to the picket on day one, signed up there and then and received the same strike pay as someone who’s been a member for 40 years. Unite don’t take subs from you during Industrial action so some cancelled membership the week after the strike ended and never paid in at all but got paid for 12 weeks of jollies.

This is why pictures of hundreds of workers on a picket are misleading. Yes the majority are there fighting for their rights but many are there because of pier pressure, or simply to have a break from work.