"Over By Christmas"?

[Thirteen]

I really hope that there is a breakthrough and resolution this side of Christmas , devolved administrations resolving their transport disputes certainly will apply some pressure , but even if the national dispute with the RMT & ASLEF is resolved unless the treasury unlock the funds required to make rest day working agreements then I suspect little will change on the front of non strike day chaos.

I know it's a separate dispute but I do wonder if the RMT/London Underground dispute will get resolved anytime soon. That one is a bit different to the National Rail one.

 

[DanNCL]

I think its a bit off the mark so suggest that people cannot be struggling just because they have what without any context sounds like a decent salary .

I mean they might be on £40k but be the sole income in the household . They might have had a mortgage that has just gone up £500+ a month and already been running a tight budget . Impossible to say . People who cut their cloth accordingly on high salaries will still be struggling when energy bills and mortgages have gone up way above what they may have planned for.

Oh I’m not disputing that it’ll have an impact, but it wouldn’t impact someone on that salary as much as the majority of those on benefits.

 

[muz379]

Oh I’m not disputing that it’ll have an impact, but it wouldn’t impact someone on that salary as much as the majority of those on benefits.

You couldn't possibly say that without any context .

someone on £40k+ may well have just as little wriggle room in their budget as someone on benefits . And that isnt always as you put it down to "poor budgeting"

 

[PaulMc7]

Oh I’m not disputing that it’ll have an impact, but it wouldn’t impact someone on that salary as much as the majority of those on benefits.

The fact benefits are even coming up on here is worrying to be honest because it's a completely different world to rail staff striking. Benefits need increased massively and people who have clearly never been on them don't realise how hard it is to be on them. It's a horrible thing to deal with and it's no life at all. You need to go through hell on a daily basis when benefits are your only income.

 

[DanNCL]

You couldn't possibly say that without any context .

someone on £40k+ may well have just as little wriggle room in their budget as someone on benefits . And that isnt always as you put it down to "poor budgeting"

Apart from the Mortgage example given previously I’m struggling to see how that would be the case. Things such as branded food and club memberships are luxuries that can be lived without.

The fact benefits are even coming up on here is worrying to be honest because it's a completely different world to rail staff striking. Benefits need increased massively and people who have clearly never been on them don't realise how hard it is to be on them. It's a horrible thing to deal with and it's no life at all. You need to go through hell on a daily basis when benefits are your only income.

Exactly. I’ve lived on Universal Credit before and I now volunteer at a food bank. Struggling to pay for food and electricity is a whole different world from having to consider cancelling a club membership.

I wouldn’t even wish benefits on the worst people in our society.

 

[PaulMc7]

Apart from the Mortgage example given previously I’m struggling to see how that would be the case. Things such as branded food and club memberships are luxuries that can be lived without.


Exactly. I’ve lived on Universal Credit before and I now volunteer at a food bank. Struggling to pay for food and electricity is a whole different world from having to consider cancelling a club membership.

I wouldn’t even wish benefits on the worst people in our society.

I fully agree with that. I wouldn't wish benefits on my worst enemy. It's something so many people are clueless about and it's a sad eye-opener seeing how people striking for the better think about benefits and people on them in general. Sadly, it's not just rail staff either. I've seen some pretty horrendous opinions from NHS staff, teachers etc about them too.

 

[matt]

Once there is some more concrete updates on the strikes we will consider starting a new thread.