[hibeejim21]

Seems like its open season on RMT union for daring to speak up for their members and try and get them better conditions. The BBC interviewing someone who couldn't get to wakefield, a pub being quieter and some outraged yank tourist to rub in how awful this is.

xxxx them. I hope RMT win, they shouldn't back down.

[theo_luddite]

Conservative Gov't made the beds they don't want to lie in. They chopped up British Rail into franchises to stop the collective bargaining. Meaning folk could move from one franchisee to another to get a better wage. When Covid hit the franchise model stopped working. So they did the Labour thing, and renationalised it. Wonder who else suggested this a while back?, hmmm. Why didn't that work out I wonder?

Anyway, now everyone is working for HM Guvunmint again, and they just lob "cost plus" money at the former franchisees, there's no need to move jobs, because you get the same pay (sort of). So now you are back to arguing with effectively British Rail again, but the Conservatives are too thick to realise this. They want to blame anyone and everyone for the furcups that all land at their door because every man jack in the cabinet is either bone idle or as thick as several short planks. It's doubtful there's two braincells to rub together between the lot of them. Their best effort at modernisation is to shut down the ticket offices because everyone can apparently find the cheapest tickets online - except when you want to collect the tickets at the station and all the kit has gone for a burton. This is your "high pay, hi-tech Guvunmint at wurk".

[0762]

Some of the narrative used by the Tories in the past week is absolutely disgraceful. Marxist Unions??? Union barons???? Then attempting to present a bill to replace strikers with agency workers???? All confrontational stuff from these c#### - THAT'S HOW THESE FASCISTS OPERATE!! Re their agency gambit, that is easier said than done btw - lotsa pitfalls when trying to "play that card" causing bad faith and huge practical probs amongst employees, and appears to be highly political rather than sitting around the table and start negotiating/being pragmatic and understanding re the situation.

[theo_luddite]

Grant Ponzi Scheme Schnapps appears have been on the Schnapps big time since the weekend. Only a few short weeks ago he was (supposedly) highly critical of P&O replacing contracted staff with agency workers on a fraction of the wages. He even wanted (wants) ports (some run by P&O's owners - how's that going to work?) to refuse to service/dock ships paying "less than the minimum wage".

That's working out so well, he now proposes to replace striking staff with "agency workers". Where exactly are all these agency rail staff who are fully qualified in all the H&S etc. that's required to inspect/repair track, let alone actually drive a train or be in charge of signalling? If they were out there - wouldn't the Guvenmint owned train companies/Network Rail already be using them?

[hibeejim21]

Using agency workers on our rail network would be nigh on impossible, the signalling staff alone require about 2 years training.

They think people are stupid, sadly in a lot of cases they are.

[theo_luddite]

Precisely, which shows that when it comes to joined up thinking, this lot don't only fail to recall the last set of lies they told, they couldn't join up the dots in a kids dot-to-dot colouring book.

Dowden has resigned as Chairman over last nights By-election results. The ruffian in Rwanda, or clown in Kigali (take your pick) likely thinks a 30,000+ swing in votes to the Lib Dems is a victory for his policies, if only he had some.

From the Grauniad- "The Tory candidate, who had endured a sometimes tricky campaign, locked herself in a room set aside for media interviews at the West Devon count, reportedly refusing to speak to the press." Presumably she couldn't find a walk in fridge.

[Lord Snooty]

So Johnson is in Rwanda today is he?

Well let's hope Patel had him on a one way ticket.

[theo_luddite]

Apparently they nearly didn't let him in for not having all the required medical certificates. So, how are refugees going to have theirs?

[hibeejim21]

That tiverton result should have a lot of Tory MPs sweating.

[theo_luddite]

That "Vote of No Confidence" would likely have had a very different result if they'd held it next week.