ASLEF Ballot Results

[Starmill]

Voted yes but I'd be happy for Aslef to hold fire for a month or two as suggested earlier up the thread.
It's a very high vote and Aslef could say they thank the members and hopefully all parties can see how clearly drivers support the call for a pay award and that this is not some union led crusade.

And that Aslef look forward to more talks at a national level & at each TOC level and will decide on steps after those talks. That Aslef hope and expect the TOC's will now make an offer, any offer, so it can be discussed by the union and put to the members for a vote - as has happened at ScotRail......

Puts it back in the Govt hands to do something

They certainly didn't hold off at Greater Anglia and there have already been a number of strikes.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 11 Jul 2022 ==

The train drivers should effectively take a 10% pay cut to allow other poorer paid workers providing a public service to catch up. A fairer deal for all in public sector.
Why does my wife's NHS pay slip say only £25,655 pa for being a Registered COVID Vaccination nurse?

I don't particularly think a flat proportion cut is at all likely or desirable. However, the government could set up an independent pay review body which would undertake benchmarking studies as they do for almost all other public sector workers, including MPs. The benchmarking would be likely to recommend several years freeze for the highest paid workers or perhaps a few percentage points cut. Most workers would probably be recommended for a small absolute rise. Recommending small real cuts to some salaries in order to fund small real rises to others isn't such a rare thing.

 

[Efini92]

The train drivers should effectively take a 10% pay cut to allow other poorer paid workers providing a public service to catch up. A fairer deal for all in public sector.
Why does my wife's NHS pay slip say only £25,655 pa for being a Registered COVID Vaccination nurse?

Thatchers greatest achievement, turning the working class against each other.
There’s a lot of jobs that should pay more, demanding others take a pay cut isn’t going to give them the salary they deserve.

 

[irish_rail]

My question: Is it morally right for ASLEF to ask for anything more than a nominal rise when they are so well paid?

Yes. Actually most Aslef members would be quite happy with 5 percent or so (witness scotrail) provided there aren't daft conditions attached to it. So well below inflation despite what the media say.

And as for drivers earning more than the general public, id say we warrant it. Most jobs don't involve having 1000s of lives in your hands every single day. Most jobs don't involve 3am alarms or 2am finishes. Most jobs don't put the employee at risk of death due to travelling at high speed behind a window. And when it goes ti*s up , it really goes ti*s up and thats when we really earn our salary. For a skilled profession I don't think train drivers demands are at all unreasonable. 3 years without a payrise just isn't acceptable, most of us have mortgages that reflect our wages and these constant pay freezes make paying that mortgage increasingly hard.

 

[yorkie]

Thatchers greatest achievement, turning the working class against each other.
There’s a lot of jobs that should pay more, demanding others take a pay cut isn’t going to give them the salary they deserve.

If everyone was simply paid more, what do you think would happen?

And as for drivers earning more than the general public, id say we warrant it.....

I agree.

Train drivers are paid a very good wage and I think they do warrant a very good wage.

This isn't under threat, now or at any time in the foreseeable future. The level to which it is above the average wage is subject to debate and change but there is no doubting it is going to remain significantly above, and justifiably so in my opinion.

 

[Starmill]

Thatchers greatest achievement, turning the working class against each other.
There’s a lot of jobs that should pay more, demanding others take a pay cut isn’t going to give them the salary they deserve.

To be fair, precisely that has happened in various ways for public sector workers over the years. For example it's common to see a pay award made with bands so that most of the higher rate tax payers are only awarded around 2%, while the average rise is around double that.

 

[irish_rail]

Thatchers greatest achievement, turning the working class against each other.
There’s a lot of jobs that should pay more, demanding others take a pay cut isn’t going to give them the salary they deserve.

Agreed. It always seems to be those on the lowest pay who hate what a driver earns. It smacks of petty jealousy. I was chatting to an Airline pilot the other day who reckons drivers are underpaid compared to pilots.

 

[Annetts key]

It is relevant when the average household income is reducing & we are getting poorer with inflation at 9%.
The last ONS data (for 2021) said it was £28,028 and reducing.
This is only 52% of the £54,000 Train driver pay fiqure quoted above.
My question: Is it morally right for ASLEF to ask for anything more than a nominal rise when they are so well paid?

So if everyone only has a nominal pay rise, everyone looses out. The average household income will continue to fall compared to the rising costs of goods and services. Then what happens the following year?

 

[dk1]

They certainly didn't hold off at Greater Anglia and there have already been a number of strikes.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 11 Jul 2022 ==

Two so far with another on Saturday 23rd July which is during Lattitude & the first weekend of the school holidays.

 

[mandub]

Great. Here we go. Time to log off.

Another round of posters subjectivity determining what the salary should be for different professions and happily ready to implement pay cuts or pay freezes until an as yet undetermined 'deserving' level is reached.

 

[Horizon22]

I wonder if it sets up for a coordinated union strike. This might have the most impact, which is often the aim in strike.

 

[Efini92]

If everyone was simply paid more, what do you think would happen?

Less money for the top. More for the working man.

 

[ainsworth74]

Due to the recent news from ASLEF and TSSA it has been decided to set up one dedicated thread for discussing the industrial disputes that are currently live. Therefore see this thread for further discussion and note the opening post.