General Strike

[Bunk]

was horrified to find a tube driver makes £40k a year which was way over the rate for work of this level in the rest of the rail network and in any other industry at similar skill set

I saw a tube pulling into the station the other day and had a clear view of the driver slouched forward in his seat with his head resting on his hand, looking like he was half asleep. I wish I'd been quick enough to get a photo because the papers would have paid well for it given that this was a day or two after they'd been on strike. He definitely didn't look like he deserved his 40k.

[CheeseSlice]

These days UAVs are flown by people thousands of miles away - there is no reason why those trains can't be driven either automatically or by people keeping an eye on a few monitors.

I've actually been to a number of foreign cities now where there are no metro drivers. I dont know if they're fully automatic or driven remotely, but it all just seems a bit wrong.

Its only a matter of time before the papers have some horror story about an old lady getting dismembered by automatic metro trains.

[SupremeSpod]

You see the problem is most people in this country believe that as the country was rich in the past, it must be rich now and in the future.
And most people don't realise that the last boom was artificial and that we are now bust(ish).

You're first on my list if we do have civil unrest. I'm going to torch your ex-council house and steal your shed.

[Doggy Styles]

It's not like the days where there were 4 channels and we always kept some powdered milk "just in case".

There were only three channels during the Winter of Discontent, and the 3-day week before it. And we were bloody grateful to have three!

[Doggy Styles]

Well, to be fair recent big jump in deficit was due to bankers bailout.

That is not true.

[BoredBloke]

I would not say that it is a massive amount to live in London.

These days UAVs are flown by people thousands of miles away - there is no reason why those trains can't be driven either automatically or by people keeping an eye on a few monitors.

I would say that it is more than somebody with limited qualifications could hope to earn

Pay Tube drivers' salaries range from £19,448 to £40,714 - usually 29k after 3 years. So start training at 18 and you are on 29k by the age of 21.

Hours Maximum of eight hours a day. Train operators must take a break of at least half an hour after four hours and 15 minutes.
Train operators get 43 days' holiday per year (including bank holidays).

[AtW]

Train operators get 43 days' holiday per year (including bank holidays).

And how many of them work there? Tube carries 3 mln people a day, I think minimum price of ticket is like £5, so that's at least £15 mln revenues per day or £5.4 bln per year (assuming every day traffic is the same which it isn't but average ticket price must be higher as well), that's enough to pay 136,875 drivers, how many actually employed?

Now repeated strikes over small things just to show their force is out of order, but it's not like they earn £100k or something.

[MrRobin]

Heard a really interesting debate on Radio 4 with Bob Crow invovled and then a kind of wash up by the presenters afterwards and was horrified to find a tube driver makes £40k a year which was way over the rate for work of this level in the rest of the rail network and in any other industry at similar skill set. The one and only reason for this is Bob Crow blackmailing everyone with threats of strikes. There is no mediation, no give and take, just outright abuse of his postion knowing full well the disruption he can cuase and how much it costs the city. It was quite shocking. Listening to the guy and what he does he just appears to have lost the plot and gone power mad.

Train drivers basic salary is about £40k too, although it's possibly more complex than a tube driver's job, but then again you do get to see daylight most of the day.

Someone I know who worked for TfL told me that you can't just walk into a tube driver's job... a hierarchical type thing works in TfL and tube driver is at the top. You have to have had several years working the platforms, ticket offices etc etc before you even get a look in to become a driver.

[MrRobin]

I think minimum price of ticket is like £5

You don't visit London very much, do you?

[AtW]

Someone I know who worked for TfL told me that you can't just walk into a tube driver's job... a hierarchical type thing works in TfL and tube driver is at the top. You have to have had several years working the platforms, ticket offices etc etc before you even get a look in to become a driver.

Sounds like the police...