Rail strike, RMT & Mick Lynch appreciation

Started by Joeythelips, June 22, 2022, 01:48:52 PM

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gallsman

"Wage/price spiral"

That doesn't mean people shouldn't demand wage increases though, and be prepared to fight for them. Some try to take the piss too much though. Is it true that the lads at the Caterpillar site turned down a 9% increase?

Tony Baloney

Quote from: gallsman on June 22, 2022, 04:35:43 PM
"Wage/price spiral"

That doesn't mean people shouldn't demand wage increases though, and be prepared to fight for them. Some try to take the piss too much though. Is it true that the lads at the Caterpillar site turned down a 9% increase?
Absolutely. If a company is raking in money (profit not turnover) and times are tough then I'd say they should be looking after the people who are making the money. Not easy if you are a company where shareholders are looking for their slice.

blasmere

The train drivers are a very tiny proportion of the membership of the RMT, most of the train drivers who are in a union are in ASLEF. The media, including the BBC, are twisting the narrative by adding in train drivers salaries to make the average salary of those striking look much higher than it actually is.

As for inflation in the current circumstances it is supply led inflation that is driving it rather than demand as a result of people having more money to spend which most clearly don't due to energy prices etc. No easy solution to it though but higher interest rates are penalising people whilst rewarding bankers.

Mick Lynch is a cool customer, took Burley to town and also Richard Madeley.
A sure cure for seasickness is to sit under a tree

RedHand88

Quote from: johnnycool on June 22, 2022, 02:52:01 PM
Quote from: RedHand88 on June 22, 2022, 02:45:40 PM
Quote from: imtommygunn on June 22, 2022, 02:43:04 PM
The line that payrises will cause more inflation is a cracker too.

There was and is going to be a period of civil unrest with the way the cost of living is going vs wages. Wait until winter and people need to pay for heating too and with petrol fast approaching 2 pound sterling a litre plus.

They do.

How?

We're talking about people here on the breadline, not increasing someones already large disposable income.

A ticket collector getting 33k is not on the breadline ffs.

Tony Baloney

Quote from: blasmere on June 22, 2022, 05:10:31 PM
The train drivers are a very tiny proportion of the membership of the RMT, most of the train drivers who are in a union are in ASLEF. The media, including the BBC, are twisting the narrative by adding in train drivers salaries to make the average salary of those striking look much higher than it actually is.

As for inflation in the current circumstances it is supply led inflation that is driving it rather than demand as a result of people having more money to spend which most clearly don't due to energy prices etc. No easy solution to it though but higher interest rates are penalising people whilst rewarding bankers.

Mick Lynch is a cool customer, took Burley to town and also Richard Madeley.
The median average salary of the strikers (excluding train drivers) is £36k which is £5k more than the UK equivalent.

blasmere

Quote from: Tony Baloney on June 22, 2022, 06:01:33 PM
Quote from: blasmere on June 22, 2022, 05:10:31 PM
The train drivers are a very tiny proportion of the membership of the RMT, most of the train drivers who are in a union are in ASLEF. The media, including the BBC, are twisting the narrative by adding in train drivers salaries to make the average salary of those striking look much higher than it actually is.

As for inflation in the current circumstances it is supply led inflation that is driving it rather than demand as a result of people having more money to spend which most clearly don't due to energy prices etc. No easy solution to it though but higher interest rates are penalising people whilst rewarding bankers.

Mick Lynch is a cool customer, took Burley to town and also Richard Madeley.
The median average salary of the strikers (excluding train drivers) is £36k which is £5k more than the UK equivalent.

According to the RMT it's £31k, excluding train drivers. A good number of those striking will be on a lot less than £31k. There's more to than just pay, conditions of employment, cutbacks on maintenance staff and probably other things. I'm not necessarily in favour of the strikes but what does annoy me is the hatchet job the fascist press are doing on this, calling out Starmer when the incompetent and corrupt government are making no discernible efforts to even attempt to solve this, they love it, yet another example of divide and rule.
A sure cure for seasickness is to sit under a tree

imtommygunn

The uk media are a joke these days. They are blatantly mostly Tory, or Tory crony, owned. They should be calling out the lies of Johnson daily and the leaving of the eu for the disaster it is but instead nonsense like this.

Eamonnca1

I just watched the Piers Morgan interview where Morgan wasted two minutes going on about why Mick uses The Hood from Thunderbirds as his FB profile pic. Utterly hilarious!

Franko

Quote from: Tony Baloney on June 22, 2022, 04:18:47 PM
Quote from: imtommygunn on June 22, 2022, 03:40:26 PM
Quote from: RedHand88 on June 22, 2022, 02:45:40 PM
Quote from: imtommygunn on June 22, 2022, 02:43:04 PM
The line that payrises will cause more inflation is a cracker too.

There was and is going to be a period of civil unrest with the way the cost of living is going vs wages. Wait until winter and people need to pay for heating too and with petrol fast approaching 2 pound sterling a litre plus.

They do.

Yes they may do. Who's peddling the line though? The MPs who voted to give themselves a payrise by any chance?
It's not really a line. Wage Push Inflation is a thing. Pay workers more > increase price of goods and services to maintain your profitability due to wage increases > inflation rises > never-ending circle of wage increases chasing increasing inflation.

This is where your argument fell over Tony

A lot of these companies are immensely profitable and pay generous dividends to shareholders

Eamonnca1

The railways have been subsidized for years while shareholders make a packet. Rail privatization in GB has been one big ongoing transfer of wealth from the public purse to private pockets.

Franko

Quote from: Eamonnca1 on June 22, 2022, 07:56:21 PM
The railways have been subsidized for years while shareholders make a packet. Rail privatization in GB has been one big ongoing transfer of wealth from the public purse to private pockets.

Absolutely

Another thing - anyone using the term 'wage-price spiral' (in a serious way) has already been indoctrinated with the latest Tory/Murdoch propaganda phrase

Major red flag

Eamonnca1

Indeed. Inflation was sorted out years ago. The current inflation is a one-off because the world economy's adapting to the pandemic coming and going. It's a flash in the pan that has damn all to do with wage increases. Working people moving from barely-getting-by to actually-getting-by is not going to drive any excessive demand, certainly not enough to trigger an inflationary spiral.

RedHand88

Quote from: Eamonnca1 on June 22, 2022, 09:00:22 PM
Indeed. Inflation was sorted out years ago. The current inflation is a one-off because the world economy's adapting to the pandemic coming and going. It's a flash in the pan that has damn all to do with wage increases. Working people moving from barely-getting-by to actually-getting-by is not going to drive any excessive demand, certainly not enough to trigger an inflationary spiral.

Inflation was nearly 10% last month and its getting worse. What planet are you living on?

Eamonnca1

Quote from: RedHand88 on June 22, 2022, 09:31:45 PM
Quote from: Eamonnca1 on June 22, 2022, 09:00:22 PM
Indeed. Inflation was sorted out years ago. The current inflation is a one-off because the world economy's adapting to the pandemic coming and going. It's a flash in the pan that has damn all to do with wage increases. Working people moving from barely-getting-by to actually-getting-by is not going to drive any excessive demand, certainly not enough to trigger an inflationary spiral.

Inflation was nearly 10% last month and its getting worse. What planet are you living on?

The one where people read all sentences before hitting the reply button.

gallsman

Quote from: Franko on June 22, 2022, 08:01:07 PM
Quote from: Eamonnca1 on June 22, 2022, 07:56:21 PM
The railways have been subsidized for years while shareholders make a packet. Rail privatization in GB has been one big ongoing transfer of wealth from the public purse to private pockets.

Absolutely

Another thing - anyone using the term 'wage-price spiral' (in a serious way) has already been indoctrinated with the latest Tory/Murdoch propaganda phrase

Major red flag

Or, you know, has taken some basic Economics classes at GCSE or above.