What band 1-4 payrises? I need to ring payroll for mine to be backdated...
How much would you lose out if the Government decided that a 12 hour railway was enough for most of the country and that was all they were going to fund?
Never going to happen. We have this thing called freight.
Would the railways still have the Traffic it it had to pick up all the costs of signalling for 12hrs a day?
Very good point, and not one I'd considered. Add to that, the Green Agenda.
I am a firm believer in the use of rail for freight. I am also well aware that the railway carries around 10% of the nations freight.
There already is a national replacement bus network which is normally far better than anything the railways provide when they do lay buses on!
A very interesting question.
Looks like we're gonna get shut down then....
Exactly my point! Official rail replacement services are often a joke. I am referring to the national network of bus and coach services who will be only too glad to hoover up displaced railway passengers, as indeed will road hauliers for the freight now the driver shortage has receeded.
But that'll be a nightmare for the green agenda unless you see a fleet of electric vehicles on the horizon ?
Correct on both counts but can you see a conservative government being seen to lose this one?
Action short of a strike will do enough damage in places as we have already seen on this board, with instances of Blea Moor Box and Huddersfield Workstation (at York ROC) being uncovered for periods of time in recent weeks.
only if you cancel most of the countries regular services though, someone needs to drive them, maybe the signallers could be trained.
Wow!
They do actually. Striking is effective when you’re causing maximum disruption, highlighting the essential nature of the job you do and bringing pressure to bear on people who make decisions. Unfortunately now for the railway, it is effectively nationalised and the government calls all the shots with revenue risk. This changes the playing field significantly because the government can just keep on taking the hit as long as the politics look good. And the politics don’t look especially good for the railway, which is much less relevant to National productivity than it was five years ago.
It's the empty retail shops that are now a feature of town centres that are more noticeable to the general public.
Its ok no one cared when places like Erdington became squalid eyesores full of empty premises as jobs and money were concentrated in the city centre instead. Now i notice a lot of new places opening up near here recently as more money / time is being kept local.
That depends on your circumstances and situation doesn't it? If you rely on the extra 20% and/or do lots of overtime then yes, remaining at work was probably best. If you only do the minimum, then 80% for doing absolutely nothing while avoiding the stress and hassle of the job (including the shift work and commuting) is quite an attractive position....particularly as some companies topped up to 100% anyway.
