Rail chaos despite no strikes: Fury as HUNDREDS of stations are closed or are forced to run reduced services for entire Christmas period because of union overtime ban - as timetable ends for most at 3pm on December 24

• Rail passengers still face chaos on non-strike days due to RMT overtime ban
• More than 40 stations serviced by SWR in and around London disrupted 
• UK hit with a wave of strikes by NHS staff, civil servants and rail and bus workers 
• More than 3,000 people could be denied an ambulance by striking staff 

Whilst I think the RMT should stop its strike and accept the independent review bodies rise, I am wholly in favour of any worker being able to refuse to do overtime in virtually any circumstance.

 

 

4 hours ago, MRToMRT said:

Whilst I think the RMT should stop its strike and accept the independent review bodies rise, I am wholly in favour of any worker being able to refuse to do overtime in virtually any circumstance.

 

 

There is no rail independent pay review body. 

11 minutes ago, cleopatra2 said:

There is no rail independent pay review body. 

Ah yes you are right, its a private company not a government institution. In my, admittedly weak defence, the RMT's constant call for the government to start/join negotiations has addled my brain.

3 minutes ago, MRToMRT said:

Ah yes you are right, its a private company not a government institution. In my, admittedly weak defence, the RMT's constant call for the government to start/join negotiations has addled my brain.

This is because the DfT have issued a limit to ToC to give a 3% rise. 

 

It should also be noted that the Christmass /Boxingday is a busy engineering period for the railways. This normally results in lower or no services available for some routes. 

7 minutes ago, cleopatra2 said:

This is because the DfT have issued a limit to ToC to give a 3% rise

I thought they had already been offered more, 8% I read.

 

"The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) has rejected an eight percent pay offer from train operators aimed at resolving a long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions. The UK's biggest rail workers' union was offered an eight percent pay rise and guarantee of no compulsory redundancies before April 2024 by the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) in a bid to prevent strikes over the Christmas period. "

15 minutes ago, MRToMRT said:

I thought they had already been offered more, 8% I read.

 

"The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) has rejected an eight percent pay offer from train operators aimed at resolving a long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions. The UK's biggest rail workers' union was offered an eight percent pay rise and guarantee of no compulsory redundancies before April 2024 by the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) in a bid to prevent strikes over the Christmas period. "

I understand that this was over 2 years with conditions such as removal of guards and closure of ticket offices.

 

https://www.ft.com/content/f181e88b-777e-4285-902c-55f925213fd8

9 hours ago, MRToMRT said:

Whilst I think the RMT should stop its strike and accept the independent review bodies rise, I am wholly in favour of any worker being able to refuse to do overtime in virtually any circumstance.

 

 

It's cheaper for the employers to pay overtime than to employ the right number of staff. There's no other reason this happens.

 

I remember once after working 13 days in a row (not unusual), my manager got angry because I wanted to not work overtime on the 14th day (Sunday) so I could see my wife and kids.

I look forward to the day when UK railways are returned to public ownership and passengers are no longer ripped off to satisfy the greed of shareholders and railway bosses.