Al Bundy Posted November 8, 2023 Share Posted November 8, 2023 11 hours ago, hauxwell said: We could do with some AI at the moment in the North East to drive the Go North East Buses. The pesky bus drivers are on strike until the 24th December. Crikey, that's a long time. Why so long? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hauxwell Posted November 8, 2023 Share Posted November 8, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, Al Bundy said: Crikey, that's a long time. Why so long? I’ve copied this for you to read Al. It’s heartbreaking seeing what this strike is doing to peoples jobs, business watching old people struggling with shopping walking along the road. The unions run the country. The drivers are bing paid £70 a day while they remain on strike. I don’t think they will be in a rush to end the strike. The talks were brokered by the reconciliation service ACAS and ended after four hours when Unite walked out, Go North East said. Ben Maxfield, from the operator, said: "Passengers are facing unacceptable levels of hardship. But instead of a constructive dialogue all we get from the local Unite representatives is a set of moving goal posts, escalating demands, and a succession of U-turns." Go North East said its offer of a 10.3% pay increase would make the drivers the best paid in the region and its drivers in Manchester worked to "far more flexible" scheduling rules. Unite regional officer Dave Telford said members would not back down. "I urge Go North East to put its hands in its pocket and come up with the money that it will cost them to end this dispute - pocket change for a company making £85m in profits," he said. Mr Telford was asked by the Local Democracy Reporting Service about the impact the strikes are having on passengers. He added: "They [drivers] don't want to be on strike, they want to be taking passengers around the North East to where they need to get to. "This is a last resort and we have been frustrated because the employer will not address the pay disparity." They have already been on strike for four weeks. Edited November 8, 2023 by hauxwell 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Bundy Posted November 8, 2023 Share Posted November 8, 2023 I've absolutely no doubt the workers on strike will be on the picket line every day rather than on holiday or fishing somewhere. 🙄 I see the socialist worker rag is already calling the office workers who are trying to void the gaps, scabs. Such lovely folk. Unions are just extreme left wing bullies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 8, 2023 Share Posted November 8, 2023 6 minutes ago, Al Bundy said: I've absolutely no doubt the workers on strike will be on the picket line every day rather than on holiday or fishing somewhere. 🙄 I see the socialist worker rag is already calling the office workers who are trying to void the gaps, scabs. Such lovely folk. Unions are just extreme left wing bullies. Unions are sometimes just extreme left wing bullies, as are right wing employers sometimes too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Padders Posted November 8, 2023 Share Posted November 8, 2023 1 minute ago, Organgrinder said: Unions are sometimes just extreme left wing bullies, as are right wing employers sometimes too. Every benefit you have today, and the list is endless, Has been fought for by the Trade Unions over the past 100 years. The Tories are slowly chipping away and eroding these benefits. Soon we'll have now't. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 8, 2023 Share Posted November 8, 2023 29 minutes ago, Padders said: Every benefit you have today, and the list is endless, Has been fought for by the Trade Unions over the past 100 years. The Tories are slowly chipping away and eroding these benefits. Soon we'll have now't. Very true. we owe a massive debt to unions and to the old Labour party they created. I have seen occasions where they have overstepped the mark, but those occasions are far rarer than the times I have seen our governments do the same. Without unions we would still be serfs without a voice so more power to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m williamson Posted November 8, 2023 Share Posted November 8, 2023 29 minutes ago, Organgrinder said: Very true. we owe a massive debt to unions and to the old Labour party they created. I have seen occasions where they have overstepped the mark, but those occasions are far rarer than the times I have seen our governments do the same. Without unions we would still be serfs without a voice so more power to them. Years ago I was northern regional manager for a national PLC. The company had 26 branches only 3 of which were unionised . The three were London, Liverpool and Manchester, otherwise known as ' The Usual Suspects '. Manchester and Liverpool were mine. I was based in Sheffield and we won a contract with British Steel which at the time was a Closed Shop. None of our Sheffield staff were in a union so we called for volunteers to join, no joy. It was a problem and at the monthly meeting in London the MD assured me he'd every confidence in my ability to resolve the matter. At the next monthly meeting he inquired if I'd had any success and I assured him that I had. The company were paying the union dues for a number of staff. Not sure how impressed he was by that, but as it was my budget and it solved the problem it went ahead. I was also forced to join the EETPU in order to negotiate further work on site. The company did not pay for my dues ! Never attended a meeting. Unions are only necessary when the people owning and or running the business do not value their staff. In the business I was in staff had to be capable of working on their own, sometimes up to fifty miles from their office and use their own initiative on occasion. Employees like that are valued and listened to. As has been said unions played an important part in gaining rights for workers but some are now taking the urine. And some employers are doing the same and treating people like disposable objects I have no sympathy for those, they get what the deserve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baron99 Posted November 8, 2023 Share Posted November 8, 2023 Aaaaaaaaaaah! Oh, no the takeover's begun. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-67354709 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hackey lad Posted November 8, 2023 Share Posted November 8, 2023 Will someone set up a trade union for the AI workers and the important bit is , how will they pay their subs ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna B Posted November 9, 2023 Author Share Posted November 9, 2023 (edited) 22 hours ago, m williamson said: Years ago I was northern regional manager for a national PLC. The company had 26 branches only 3 of which were unionised . The three were London, Liverpool and Manchester, otherwise known as ' The Usual Suspects '. Manchester and Liverpool were mine. I was based in Sheffield and we won a contract with British Steel which at the time was a Closed Shop. None of our Sheffield staff were in a union so we called for volunteers to join, no joy. It was a problem and at the monthly meeting in London the MD assured me he'd every confidence in my ability to resolve the matter. At the next monthly meeting he inquired if I'd had any success and I assured him that I had. The company were paying the union dues for a number of staff. Not sure how impressed he was by that, but as it was my budget and it solved the problem it went ahead. I was also forced to join the EETPU in order to negotiate further work on site. The company did not pay for my dues ! Never attended a meeting. Unions are only necessary when the people owning and or running the business do not value their staff. In the business I was in staff had to be capable of working on their own, sometimes up to fifty miles from their office and use their own initiative on occasion. Employees like that are valued and listened to. As has been said unions played an important part in gaining rights for workers but some are now taking the urine. And some employers are doing the same and treating people like disposable objects I have no sympathy for those, they get what the deserve. Some Unions may have been overreaching themselves in the past. (But remember reports in a substantially right wing press would be greatly exagerated,) But Maggie took an axe to the Unions and castrated them. They have had their powers substantially reduced ever since, to the point where some kids don't even know what a Union is or for. We see the results of this demise all around us in poor working conditions, job insecurity and falling wages. The working people (that's most of us) need someone fighting in their corner to stop exploitation. That's why Unions are important. Edited November 9, 2023 by Anna B 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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