The Angry Thread.

[monkeyseemonkeydo]

So it turns out America is even more backward and retarded than I thought... 

[Tom Booth]

Insane isn't it.

[JT!]

Don't get me started.

[Tom Booth]

Please, start

[JT!]

Roe v Wade simply meant no state could make abortion illegal. Now that it's been repealed, it's up to the states.

I live in a fairly left learning state, so this really won't effect my friends and foamily too much. But I feel for the women in bible belt states who really don't have any options anymore.

[Mikee]

@JT! Surely no individual state would fully ban it though? Even for extreme circumstances, like incest, rape and if the mother's life is at risk? Are the "bible belt states" really that against abortion?

I haven't followed this story much, as it doesn't affect us in the UK. Genuinely curious.

 

[JT!]

2 hours ago, Mikee said:

@JT! Surely no individual state would fully ban it though? Even for extreme circumstances, like incest, rape and if the mother's life is at risk? Are the "bible belt states" really that against abortion?

I haven't followed this story much, as it doesn't affect us in the UK. Genuinely curious.

 

Some already have. There are what's called "trigger laws" which were laws banning abortions as soon as Roe v Wade was repealed.

In a lot of right leaning states, abortion is illegal and is ONLY legal if the mother's life is at risk.

In those states, if an 14 year old rape victim has become pregnant, she is legally forced to carry her baby to term.

[Alyksett]

And unfortunately "mothers life at risk" sometimes only applies when the mother is in immediate risk, so they either have to get it someplace else or wait until they're literally dying to be allowed to get one.

[JT!]

2 hours ago, Alyksett said:

And unfortunately "mothers life at risk" sometimes only applies when the mother is in immediate risk, so they either have to get it someplace else or wait until they're literally dying to be allowed to get one.

And by that point, it could may well be too late. Women will die because of this.

[JT!]

Surprise rainstorm 6 hours after I stained my deck. Awesome.

[bikeperson45]

These bloody train strikes... I'd been training and getting ready to break my longest bike ride record the past few months and the plan's out the window now. Really resent the weekend strikes.

[Mikee]

2 hours ago, bikeperson45 said:

These bloody train strikes... I'd been training and getting ready to break my longest bike ride record the past few months and the plan's out the window now. Really resent the weekend strikes.

I don't understand striking. In my mind... If you don't like your pay and/or working conditions, find a different job with better pay and/or working conditions.

Unions are the problem.  Goddamn Commies.

[Mark W]

If all the people who are striking decided to "find a different job" then there'd be a lot more than just a few weekends here and there of disruption happening with the railways.

[Mikee]

@Mark W It wouldn't happen all at once, there would just be a high turn around of staff. People leave jobs for better positions all the time. And if a company has a real problem with retaining staff, they will look into why and address those issues. Hiring and training staff is expensive after all.

I have and I expect most of us have left a job over pay before. Striking just makes people seem so entitled to me.

 

[DJEHB]

10 minutes ago, Mikee said:

@Mark W It wouldn't happen all at once, there would just be a high turn around of staff. People leave jobs for better positions all the time. And if a company has a real problem with retaining staff, they will look into why and address those issues. Hiring and training staff is expensive after all.

I have and I expect most of us have left a job over pay before. Striking just makes people seem so entitled to me.

 

Have you looked into the reasons why they’re striking? It’s not simply over pay. 
 

There’s hardly an abundance of work in the country at the moment, not to mention the crippling conditions so many are facing due to this sickening government. I highly doubt many of those striking have the funds aside to miss a month’s payslip between roles.

[Mikee]

I never said it was only about pay, but it seems to be at the forefront of the negotiations. Asking for a 7% pay rise to help with the cost of living.

I've been hearing in the news recently that job vacancies are outnumbering jobseekers at the moment. And companies are having trouble filling positions. Why would they lose a months pay? It would be silly to leave a job before securing a new one.

[MadManMike]

25 minutes ago, Mikee said:

I never said it was only about pay, but it seems to be at the forefront of the negotiations. Asking for a 7% pay rise to help with the cost of living.

I've been hearing in the news recently that job vacancies are outnumbering jobseekers at the moment. And companies are having trouble filling positions. Why would they lose a months pay? It would be silly to leave a job before securing a new one.

You normally miss a month when you change jobs, at least I have done in the past.

And why shouldn't people ask for more money? Cost of living has increased massively, company profits are also soaring - time to share the wealth a bit, no?

[craigjames]

27 minutes ago, Mikee said:

I never said it was only about pay, but it seems to be at the forefront of the negotiations. Asking for a 7% pay rise to help with the cost of living.

I've been hearing in the news recently that job vacancies are outnumbering jobseekers at the moment. And companies are having trouble filling positions. Why would they lose a months pay? It would be silly to leave a job before securing a new one.

It's not as simple as leaving one job and getting another, a lot of the people that end up striking over pay and conditions are in specialist fields that require skills that aren't always transferable to other careers. They also feel that they should get paid adequately for their specialist skills/qualifications/experience.

Others are in jobs where the conditions, shift patterns and/or pay don't provide for what most would consider a reasonable quality of life. What's wrong with expecting a job to pay you sufficiently to be able to survive? Or provide you with a contract that states you will be paid for a fixed number of hours every week rather than zero hours contracts?

A lot of jobs have have had pay freezes for extended periods of time, or if they have been "lucky" a pay rise that doesn't track with inflation.

On the flip side there are the minority that just want to strike because they're demanding money when they're already in a well paid/compensated job.

There's plenty of money out there, it's just not very fairly distributed.

[Mikee]

40 minutes ago, MadManMike said:

You normally miss a month when you change jobs, at least I have done in the past.

And why shouldn't people ask for more money? Cost of living has increased massively, company profits are also soaring - time to share the wealth a bit, no?

Not getting paid for hours worked is illegal. There might be a delay of pay, with different pay days, but you will be paid.

Nothing wrong with asking for more money. It's the reaction to the answer that bothers me. But the cost of living increase is effecting everyone and the rail strikes are impacting people who rely on trains to commute to work.

 

41 minutes ago, craigjames said:

It's not as simple as leaving one job and getting another, a lot of the people that end up striking over pay and conditions are in specialist fields that require skills that aren't always transferable to other careers. They also feel that they should get paid adequately for their specialist skills/qualifications/experience.

Others are in jobs where the conditions, shift patterns and/or pay don't provide for what most would consider a reasonable quality of life. What's wrong with expecting a job to pay you sufficiently to be able to survive? Or provide you with a contract that states you will be paid for a fixed number of hours every week rather than zero hours contracts?

A lot of jobs have have had pay freezes for extended periods of time, or if they have been "lucky" a pay rise that doesn't track with inflation.

On the flip side there are the minority that just want to strike because they're demanding money when they're already in a well paid/compensated job.

There's plenty of money out there, it's just not very fairly distributed.

That's unfortunate, but that's life. Specialist skills/qualifications/experience does not automatically mean big money. But it would be interesting to see some pay statistics for the rail workers, if you've seen any? I wouldn't be surprised if they were already making pretty good money.

Your quality of life point could be solved by seeking other employment. Employees are not shackled to their current jobs. They are free to move on to somewhere that suits them better. Jobs are often a balance between lots variables. Pay, hours, enjoyment, commute distance, stress etc. We can't always have it all. Zero hour contracts is something that I think should be dealt with. But trying not to sound like a broken record, find a different job with set contracted hours.

Pay freezes are effecting lots of people. These issues are not exclusive to the rail industry.

[MadManMike]

27 minutes ago, Mikee said:

Not getting paid for hours worked is illegal. There might be a delay of pay, with different pay days, but you will be paid.

 

Pay freezes are effecting lots of people. These issues are not exclusive to the rail industry.

"Miss" was probably the wrong word. I meant when there's a gap. For example, you get paid on the 17th, leave your job and then have to work a full month before getting paid again. Some people can't afford to bridge that gap.

Personally I support strikes, I know they're a pain for other people, but if they weren't, they wouldn't work. Just because other people are in a worse position, doesn't mean you can't fight for better conditions.

As craigjames said, it's not always easy to jump ship and find a better job if you're in a specialist role.

[craigjames]

1 hour ago, Mikee said:

Not getting paid for hours worked is illegal. There might be a delay of pay, with different pay days, but you will be paid.

Nothing wrong with asking for more money. It's the reaction to the answer that bothers me. But the cost of living increase is effecting everyone and the rail strikes are impacting people who rely on trains to commute to work.

 

That's unfortunate, but that's life. Specialist skills/qualifications/experience does not automatically mean big money. But it would be interesting to see some pay statistics for the rail workers, if you've seen any? I wouldn't be surprised if they were already making pretty good money.

Your quality of life point could be solved by seeking other employment. Employees are not shackled to their current jobs. They are free to move on to somewhere that suits them better. Jobs are often a balance between lots variables. Pay, hours, enjoyment, commute distance, stress etc. We can't always have it all. Zero hour contracts is something that I think should be dealt with. But trying not to sound like a broken record, find a different job with set contracted hours.

Pay freezes are effecting lots of people. These issues are not exclusive to the rail industry.

Trains are shit, get a car..... or is it not quite that simple? You do make it sound easy to just go out and find a job that offers adequate pay and decent conditions etc. I mean, if that's the case what are all these people striking and moaning about.... What are they supposed to pay the bills with whilst they're looking for these readily available well paid jobs? 

You sound a little like an entitled Tory politician, life is not as simple and clear cut as you seem to believe or are making out.

[Rusevelt]

For a few yrs I kept seeing bottles of this sh*t on the streets and always wondered why so many are being used.

 

[isitafox]

The strikes are hitting me hard and it's wank. 

On one hand there was good reason for them, NWR have always had a clause in contracts that they couldn't just sack maintenance staff as the RMT always push to make sure that is included in any negotiations. Currently they want to get rid of thousands of track workers which on one hand could work in favour of those who are almost ready to retire and would take an early payout package but the issue is the fact that instead of replacing them they want to delegate their work to the staff that are leftover and also use trains to do certain jobs like assess the condition of the track instead of people. 

To the general public this might sound like progress but to us on the railway it is a terrible idea, the majority of the rail network is patrolled weekly (though bosses have even tried cutting that back) and trains can only identify certain issues meaning the potential of life threatening accidents would shoot up considerably. 

The wage deal is just a normal negotiation done every two or three years but since we came under the governments control we got hit with the same pay freeze as civil servants and the NHS. This is the bit that doesn't make sense as whilst NWR is partially funded by the government it is also paid for by lots of private firms who run railways in different countries, they are taking record profits every year, spending that money elsewhere and then trying to say there is no money to fund a pay rise which is absolute bollocks. 

The thing that is starting to piss people off is the RMT have their own agenda, we were offered 8% over two years last month (not amazing but in the current climate still alright) along with the no compulsory redundancy deal RMT wanted but as they knew us members would probably take the deal they flat refused it without even consulting us. We're now stuck with having to strike when we could have had it all sorted and losing money which we'll struggle to recuperate even with a pay rise. 

That and the fact that the planned strike dates have hit half the staff harder than the others, if we were still atriking this week it would be the 5th and 6th for me when some have only had 1 or 2.

Be interesting next month as our strike vote runs out so will have to be retaken and I'm not sure people will say yes this time round..... 

In addition to this NWR f**ked us over by paying us the original strike days "by mistake" and going on to take the money from this months wage along with another two days strike pay to back us into a corner. 

 

[monkeyseemonkeydo]

TL;DR: The rail network is f**ked, trains suck and unions are only out for their own ends. Who knew?

Sorry Dave

[isitafox]

To continue the useless train rant, I'm working currently, train sat in sidings waiting to go, shunter asks if I can clear signal towards sidings for shunt move so I tell him when the train that's there has departed as I've cleared the route for it. 

Train departs, shunter starts radioing again asking for signal so I ignore him and pull the signal for the shunt move as previously agreed. 

Shunter then radios AGAIN asking if the signal is for him and his shunt move, I somehow resist calling him a bellend. f**king morons....