Boxing day tube strikes

bigjl

Don't worry we will have a stroppy tube driver along in a minute saying how he could do a Dr's job..............


It isn't the cushy number I think most are concerned about, it is the bleeting for more, more, more in these times of economic cutbacks and the general me, me, me opinions they have.


As far as not many being employed, I hate to point it out but I have heard from very different sources that the Tube Driver job is a very much closed shop these days.

But £46k driving a train for Virgin Trains, when my Ill Health Retirement is finalised later this year my application is straight in.

Homersimpson

IMHO what will happen is that they will slowly upgrade the trains as either part of complete replacement or routine maintenance with systems that can drive the train automatically.

They will then bring the systems into use probably as safety overide systems initally and then bring more functions in use until they have complete control, the driver would be retained in case of failure.

The drivers and union leaders won't bothered as its less work for them and they still have a job getting paid the same (and it will be a slow rolling programme rather than an overnight change).

After a few years when the bugs have been ironed out and the system has been proven to be reliable they will start to remove the drivers at which point it will be too late for the unions to do anything.

This might take 20 years but it will come and nothing can be done to stop it. If the unions object to the inital use of the equipment the company will make merry hell in the press about the union compromising passengers safety.

adamc260

46k to drive a train!? Im clearly in the wrong job ...

alastairq

Erm, so after 5 years of training, aged 19, you where driving the supertanker? So you where you born on the boat, as I make it you started training at 14????????????????????

Nope.....ignorance is bliss.....commenced apprenticeship age 16.....come 19, senior apprentice....company examined and offered 'promotion' to 3rd Officer, [known then as 'UnCert.3rd Officer]...2 years before able to sit 2nd Mates Cert. of Competency....[5 years 'sea-time' required].....the job itself entailed being the 3rd of 3 watch-keeping Officers.....watches divided up into 6 watches per 24 hour period.....7 day week, 6 month trips before leave taken [usually 2 months, but could be shorter/longer, depending on where next posting was]..

so...3rd Officer'swatch usually 8-12......24 hour day, 7 day week, for 6 months...no time off apart from the 8 hours off watch, which was often taken up with extra duties..for example, maintenance of safety equipment...

As Uncert 3rd Officer, actually sailing on the Master's responsibility...but whilst on watch, left alone with no supervision....as expected to 'know' what is what.
responsible, on watch, for entire ship's safety and well-being...primarily responsible for navigation.....with assistance of 2nd Officer....

This is all very much pre- technology era seamanship.....no computers, no satnav or GPS....RADAR just got HUD....techno navigation down to DECCA and LORAN...mostly navigation done, deep-sea, using sextants and reams of calculations...

Very much a 'commitment' career......but I was apprenticed to BP, so darned good employer too...


Pilots are used for local knowledge.......however, they are optional....although with 80 or 100 thousand tons of tanker, local knowledge was deferred to, but not always accepted as 'appropriate'.....

Nowadays, the ships are steered, and driven, by joysticks...with computers to warn, and take action, to avoid collisions.....

Tugs needed to assist manoeuvring...not always necessary with modern technology [bow thrusters, etc]....but essential in my time.....

'Trust' was essential....

alastairq

You also can't practice as a Paramedic without being State Registered, which means that you have to register with th HPC, and that is by law, as the term Paramedic is protected and unauuthorised use is illegal, so you aren't the only Civil Service job that need qualifications by law, actually a lot of jobs need you to pass certain qualifications by law, such as being Airside at an airport.

Is that Act of Parliament?

Or a regulation imposed by a State-sponsored governing body?

If contravened, does one appear before a Court of Law, with the possibility of fines or imprisonment?

Or does one get summoned to appear before the Governing Body?

alastairq

you think Paramedics just drive the Ambulance don't you, adfter all we aren't bening trained for CardioVersion in London and don't perform and are trained for all kinds of invasive procedures, no we just drive with the neenaws on, yup that is it, we are just drivers, not highly trained medical professionals,

well, I believe there is a case for ambulances to have dedicated drivers...leaving the medical side to the medics......I often witness ambulance drivers who seem to have forgotten/misunderstood their driver training....more so with Fire Appliance drivers.....who, round here have an appalling accident record..

a case of trying to be jacks-of-all-trades, but masters of none?

alastairq

you think Paramedics just drive the Ambulance don't you, adfter all we aren't bening trained for CardioVersion in London and don't perform and are trained for all kinds of invasive procedures, no we just drive with the neenaws on, yup that is it, we are just drivers, not highly trained medical professionals,

well, I believe there is a case for ambulances to have dedicated drivers...leaving the medical side to the medics......I often witness ambulance drivers who seem to have forgotten/misunderstood their driver training....more so with Fire Appliance drivers.....who, round here have an appalling accident record..

a case of trying to be jacks-of-all-trades, but masters of none?

bigjl

Accident free for a decade thanks, actually the recent increase in accidents is more due to the 3/400 extra trainees we have taken on for the Olympics.

But you will find that driving on Londons roads in life and death situation then accidents and misjudgments do happen, but then when a Tube Driver is so stoned he hits the buffers at Cannon Street shows you that he managed the entire line stoned and only when he got so stoned he missed the signal did he crash, so basically he could do 99% of his job of his face, mmm.

Though don't worry you have showed how skilled and able you tube drivers are , so the next time there is a one under then you deal with it theres a good chap, and actually you can deal with the next terrorist attack, it won't be long now I wouldn't have thought.


And you where the one thatsaid you where in charge of a ship at 19 after 5 years of training, 16+5 is 21 not 19, so if you can't even exaggerate properly then why should we listen to any of your other mumblings.


Now run along and complain about something at work, like having kettles instead of boilers at you rest positions, as you feel it is unfairly reducing your breaks, didn't you threaten to strike about that aswell. In fact no point denying it you did threaten to strike it is a known fact.

Note will you the Ambulance dispute back in the early '90s, the Ambo staff advertised the number of the station and responded without wages, the local population donated money to us a local supermarkets, we were demonstrating for a proper living wage as up till then we where on the same pay as a binman.

Note will you that we continued to attend all calls we were asked to, without fail, as we had more moral fibre than to punish the innocent, pity that you lot don't have the same moral fibre, but then you where overpaid then and are overpaid now, a decent human being would have the dignity to admit they were acting selfishly and thorugh greed, but no Tube Drivers try to argue their way out.

It does indeed show why they may be short of applicants as they find it difficult to find such selfish and narrow minded people in this day and age, though they sem to have found a fair few, maybe cut from the same cloth as Premiership Footballers, AMbo staff tend to be cut from the same cloth a ex servicemen or Pro Rugby players.

Ambo, Police and Firebods are willing to put their life on the line for about £10k less than a tube driver, FACT.

We may wind each other up a bit with some ribbing, and weren't impressed with the Firebods latest bit of industrial action, but the cold shoulder at some incidents and a few constructive comments and they came round, just in the nick of time, it would have been a shame to have seen them act like Tube Drivers, they are better than that.

Remember we can't all be Heros, as somebody needs to wave as we drive past, I will wave to all you Tube Drivers when you run the other way, you will know the Ambos, they are the ones telling their boss to poke it when he says withdraw, have done it before and wil do it again, if a member of the public needs my help, though not for much longer as several accidents at work have meant I will be retiring soon, never mind I can always get a job as a Tube Driver, seems easy enough, and then I can opt out of the Union as I know a good thing when I see it. And firmly believe that to punish the innocent travelling public and the economy because I never read my contract before signing it is totally unacceptable.

Surely a bunch of intellectuals, like you say you are, realised that when management give in to demands there is always a little present or two in the new contract, like the loss of enhanced pay rates when Boxing Day falls on a weekend.

The next time read your contract properly and stop punishing those who had nothing to do with it.

You chose to be a public servant, as did I, I know the risks, as did you and your mates. Now suck it up and stop moaning, this thread is getting old now.

robt_2

bigjl wrote: »

You chose to be a public servant, as did I, I know the risks, as did you and your mates. Now suck it up and stop moaning, this thread is getting old now.

Stop replying with essays then.

bigjl

alastairq wrote: »

well, I believe there is a case for ambulances to have dedicated drivers......more so with Fire Appliance drivers.....who, round here have an appalling accident record..

At this point I will mention that the driver of a fire appliance only does that, he is a dedicated driver and then runs the pump at the job.

I am surprised a highly trained SAS, MI5, CIA and FBI approved Tube driver like yourself would not have been told that on the first year of your Tube Driving masters degree, just after the bit on nuclear fusion powered tube trains and how to build a reactor out ot Oyster Cards.

On the subject of Oyster Cards, was it only LU staff that didn't see the reduction of ticket office jobs after the introduction of a universal ticket that could be topped up in a local newsagent...........oh dear management got the better of you again.