• Our new ticketing site is now live! Using either this or the original site (both powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!

ATW Strike info (thread not for staff bashing)

Status
Not open for further replies.

Greenback

Emeritus Moderator
Joined
9 Aug 2009
Messages
15,268
Location
Llanelli
I thought there was more than that. 3 each way at least, I'm sure.

Sorry, you are right! There are three, the 1556, 1721 and the 1935 to London. Plus the 1316, 1514 and 1721 to Carmarthen.

Still not much use for a trip to Swansea though!
 
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

Flamingo

Established Member
Joined
26 Apr 2010
Messages
6,806
True. But why would you want to go to Swansea on a Sunday? <D
 

Flamingo

Established Member
Joined
26 Apr 2010
Messages
6,806
Can anyone confirm that ATW are nit working this Saturday (12th)? It said yes on the BBC, but I have spoken to ATW staff who say it is not confirmed yet.
 
Joined
3 Mar 2011
Messages
60
Can anyone confirm that ATW are nit working this Saturday (12th)? It said yes on the BBC, but I have spoken to ATW staff who say it is not confirmed yet.

It is confirmed as of this moment in time but I suspect ATW will try to hold talks with ASLEF tomorrow/Thursday with a view to agreeing to allow a ballot in order to postpone the strike, at least until after the rugby. I'm afraid it's a case of 'watch this space'.
 

merlodlliw

Established Member
Joined
8 Mar 2009
Messages
5,852
Location
Wrexham/ Denbighshire /Flintshire triangle

tirphil

Member
Joined
27 Jan 2011
Messages
275
Location
Wales
Can anyone confirm that ATW are nit working this Saturday (12th)? It said yes on the BBC, but I have spoken to ATW staff who say it is not confirmed yet.

Current word is that the strike and ALL work to rule is off pending talks a week tomorrow. Apparently ATW have something new to discuss and ASLEF have called off the action as an act of good faith whilst waiting for this 'news.'
 

rodders133

Member
Joined
26 Feb 2011
Messages
22
Aslef are a complete joke. ATW must be laughing all the way to the bank. Seriously, the strikes and o/t ban has been called off because.......... wait for it......... They have agreed to talk on Monday.
This was the one. People on the thread who say yeah but the punters are sorted now, I agree, but they always would be. There is no way ATW would have let a strike go ahead this weekend. This means they have to make us a decreased offer without the Sundays, which is all everyone wants, and the unions couldve accepted it over the table. Any other working day would not have the same impact so ATW can afford to sit it out.

Calling off a strike for the reasons given (I dont yet know the full story) is unbelievable. I hate to say it, but on every pay deal that has come up over the years, I suspect more and more that there are brown envelopes being passed around in these meetings.

Time to look into joining RMT
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Current word is that the strike and ALL work to rule is off pending talks a week tomorrow. Apparently ATW have something new to discuss and ASLEF have called off the action as an act of good faith whilst waiting for this 'news.'

Heard it all before. There was a similar situation years ago when the commonwealth games were on. ATW made a decent offer that was accepted. After the games, ATW went back on the offer saying nothing was in writing. If there was an offer worth taking, it would have been offered today
 

seagull

Member
Joined
28 Feb 2011
Messages
619
A couple of points though:

1) IF ATW do indeed give ASLEF the run-around and back out of offering anything better next week, it will not only make ATW look bad (rather than a union insisting on ploughing ahead with action) and therefore backfire badly if they are trying to get the public on their side, but also

2) if that did happen I'd imagine the solidarity among drivers would then be even greater in the subsequent reinstatement of action.

I gather that the insulting Leppard has been sidelined and now its the MD of ATW involved, which can't do any harm, I would think. We shall see what transpires.
 

rodders133

Member
Joined
26 Feb 2011
Messages
22
The thing is, aslef has handled this whole thing terribly. There is ATW on one side giving great spin with the 12% malarky.... `we cant offer any more` etc. Aslef know full well their members are more than willing to take considerably less, but to keep conditions, so why arent they going into more details to the press.
If I was head of aslef, and I truly wanted what my members wanted, which is no committed Sundays, I would have handled it all so differently.
I honestly feel like a mug that I pay subscriptions to these people.
 

seagull

Member
Joined
28 Feb 2011
Messages
619
The thing is, aslef has handled this whole thing terribly. There is ATW on one side giving great spin with the 12% malarky.... 'we cant offer any more' etc. Aslef know full well their members are more than willing to take considerably less, but to keep conditions, so why arent they going into more details to the press.

I see where you're coming from, but I have to say: just because the media haven't published ASLEF's 'more details' doesn't mean they haven't been given it. Take the RMT's excellent press release which came out a few days ago, breaking down exactly what the problems are. How many newspapers have you seen that published in?

My point is: I don't think it makes the slightest difference what union is involved, there is a distinct anti-union bias in most of the media which means they will always publish the company stance in full and the union stance in brief, using selective quoting. Which then makes members feel they are not being represented properly. I have no doubt there is room for improvement, but in this country, in this economic climate, the press just are not going to publish the union 'propaganda'. Only have to look at the Royal Mail and BA strikes to see that - I bet their workers had a similar feeling.
 

rodders133

Member
Joined
26 Feb 2011
Messages
22
I see where you're coming from, but I have to say: just because the media haven't published ASLEF's 'more details' doesn't mean they haven't been given it. Take the RMT's excellent press release which came out a few days ago, breaking down exactly what the problems are. How many newspapers have you seen that published in?

My point is: I don't think it makes the slightest difference what union is involved, there is a distinct anti-union bias in most of the media which means they will always publish the company stance in full and the union stance in brief, using selective quoting. Which then makes members feel they are not being represented properly. I have no doubt there is room for improvement, but in this country, in this economic climate, the press just are not going to publish the union 'propaganda'. Only have to look at the Royal Mail and BA strikes to see that - I bet their workers had a similar feeling.


Yes, true. I did think that maybe the media put their own bias across. If thats the case, maybe aslef shouldnt talk to the press at all, unless they can be assured they will put both arguments across. The press would soon change their tune I think if they are not getting a story due to their selective editing.
As for the difference in what union is involved. At least RMT have a backbone. They only withdrew the last six nations strike because they knew they would lose the high court battle, not because they were due to talk next week.
I`m telling you, there must be something going on. Drivers were on the verge of getting a fair `no Sundays` deal had aslef stood their ground.
For some reason aslef want ATW drivers to have a commitment to Sundays. Its not the subscriptions, as committed sundays require no extra drivers, but even if it was...... how bad is that. This whole thing stinks.

Aslef vs ATW are right back to square one now. People have striked, passengers have been inconvenienced, for nothing.

These latest developments, while seem good for the average public, they are not. If aslef stood strong, the dispute would have been settled this week. As it is, it is far more likely that this dispute will be ongoing, with further strikes proposed and more disruption.

It is ironic, but the worst thing aslef could do for the general public is to back down on the six nations strike, and they have done just that.
 

Greenback

Emeritus Moderator
Joined
9 Aug 2009
Messages
15,268
Location
Llanelli
To get out of Llanelli ;)

I heard they've go eelctric light in Swansea now, wanted to see if its true!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Yes, true. I did think that maybe the media put their own bias across. If thats the case, maybe aslef shouldnt talk to the press at all, unless they can be assured they will put both arguments across. The press would soon change their tune I think if they are not getting a story due to their selective editing.
As for the difference in what union is involved. At least RMT have a backbone. They only withdrew the last six nations strike because they knew they would lose the high court battle, not because they were due to talk next week.
I'm telling you, there must be something going on. Drivers were on the verge of getting a fair 'no Sundays' deal had aslef stood their ground.
For some reason aslef want ATW drivers to have a commitment to Sundays. Its not the subscriptions, as committed sundays require no extra drivers, but even if it was...... how bad is that. This whole thing stinks.

Aslef vs ATW are right back to square one now. People have striked, passengers have been inconvenienced, for nothing.

These latest developments, while seem good for the average public, they are not. If aslef stood strong, the dispute would have been settled this week. As it is, it is far more likely that this dispute will be ongoing, with further strikes proposed and more disruption.

It is ironic, but the worst thing aslef could do for the general public is to back down on the six nations strike, and they have done just that.

Not talking to the media at all would be even worse than the media not putting the union message across correctly.

The stirke being caleld off is a good thing. No one will lose any pay, and no passengers will be inconvenienced. Perhaps the strike was in danger of weakening?

I am confident that the issues can now be resolved without the need for any further action.
 

rodders133

Member
Joined
26 Feb 2011
Messages
22
I heard they've go eelctric light in Swansea now, wanted to see if its true!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


Not talking to the media at all would be even worse than the media not putting the union message across correctly.

The stirke being caleld off is a good thing. No one will lose any pay, and no passengers will be inconvenienced. Perhaps the strike was in danger of weakening?

I am confident that the issues can now be resolved without the need for any further action.

There was no chance of the strike weakening. The strike being called off is a good thing in the sense that the strike will not go ahead, which is what everyone wants. However, the strike was never going to go ahead. Like I said, there is no way ATW would have allowed this strike to go ahead, and the only way to go about it would be to withdraw their forced Sundays. I am confident they would have done exactly this leaving everyone happy.
ATW drivers have been completely let down by their union here and its not the first time. Aslef really need to watch themselves or they will find themselves with no members.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
edit - every driver I have spoken to is absolutely livid at these latest developments
 

CarterUSM

Established Member
Joined
4 Jan 2010
Messages
2,495
Location
North Britain
I would be rather annoyed also. Fair play, if you get what you are looking for, but you'll need to wait and see. It feels like being led on a merry dance.
 

airwolf21

Member
Joined
7 Mar 2011
Messages
19
Still ATW could take the whole offer off the table and spend the £2 million plus on something else. Leasing more trains or recruiting more staff. To put the offer in perspective the sum is equivalent to leasing every year another eight Class 158's or recruiting 100 extra Platform staff.

ATW spend in excess of £30 million per annum on Drivers salary's alone on a income of £225 million.

Dunno where you get that from, we have 650 odd drivers at the mo so 650 multiplied by 34 grand is 22million
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
To be honest im shocked at some of the pro RMT comments on here. The last strike they did was a disaster from start to finish, the picket line wasn't fully manned at all hours so as a result aslef drivers didnt have an excuse not to come in. They balloted members who had left and gone to aslef so had retired and have not re-balloted or done anything meaningful since the aborted strike day. The general consensus between the drivers is one of disapointment at the moment, if obviously the aslef deal is good then its a load of hot air but aslef are doing themselves no favours by not publishing whats been discussed. it's just fostering ill feeling towards the union.
 

Greenback

Emeritus Moderator
Joined
9 Aug 2009
Messages
15,268
Location
Llanelli
An Edison Kinetoscope was due to have been displayed at The Vine public house, Station Rd in Llanelli last Saturday evening, but I gather that the local suffragettes objected to the ribald nature of the moving pictures. Apparently, there was even a short piece involving a kiss...there was a great deal of concern over the objectification of women...fortunately Mrs Greenback and myself prefer to steer well clear of such outrages so we had a mug of cocoa and retired at 8pm sharp.

Llanelli is not yet ready for such things!

BAck on topic, I do hope that the company is serious about proper talks. If the company does not follow through with a serious offer, taking into consideration the concerns over Sundays on the staff side, that people remember this if industrial action is called again later on.
 

313103

Established Member
Joined
13 May 2006
Messages
1,595
Dunno where you get that from, we have 650 odd drivers at the mo so 650 multiplied by 34 grand is 22million
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
To be honest im shocked at some of the pro RMT comments on here. The last strike they did was a disaster from start to finish, the picket line wasn't fully manned at all hours so as a result aslef drivers didnt have an excuse not to come in. They balloted members who had left and gone to aslef so had retired and have not re-balloted or done anything meaningful since the aborted strike day. The general consensus between the drivers is one of disapointment at the moment, if obviously the aslef deal is good then its a load of hot air but aslef are doing themselves no favours by not publishing whats been discussed. it's just fostering ill feeling towards the union.

So now you have balanced the books by giving a anti RMT stance.
 

1V53

Member
Joined
23 Feb 2011
Messages
368
RMT were awaiting the outcome of their recent appeal re strikes being ruled illegal on technicalities. They felt it unwise to spend more money on a ballot that could be ruled illegal on the tiniest discrepancy (and any large ballot will have them). I assume that if talks are not productive next week then the RMT members will then be balloted.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top