(20 Sep 2023, 8:21 pm)Adrian wrote To respond on a couple of points -
I suggested security at the Galleries Bus Station. They have rest/canteen facilities for drivers there, and it's far from uncommon for workplaces to have a security presence. Following the incident the other night, it should be considered a must, even just on a temporary basis. And I do seriously expect them to take the safety of their employees seriously.
On 'everyone jumping on a strike bandwagon', it may seem like that, but most of us who have either spent time out on strike or have ran disputes, the issues are broadly similar: workers being asked to pay the cost of a pandemic and cost of living crisis, staffing being cut to the brim and either pensions or terms attacked. For most of these people on strike; doctors, nurses, paramedics, train drivers, bus drivers, they spent the best part of the last 3 years being hailed as heroes of a pandemic. But its not only the past 3 years, its more than a decade of below inflation or frozen pay, which has all come to a head now.
Placing buses and train drivers to one side for a moment, the vast majority of these other roles, people would love to get into them. Nursing in particular, has always been a sought-after and rewarding role, with a career for an institution that looked after you for life. Again, decimated through austerity, staffing cuts and attacks on pensions, pay and terms. Applications in particular dropped by almost half, once the Government scrapped the bursary that was available to train and become a nurse. The same applies for doctors really. You've got roles that are highly skilled, require extensive education, yet education, through the rise of tuition fees, has been taken out of reach of a lot of people.
As for taking a step back, let's look at Go Ahead for example, seeing as this thread I'd about the GNE strike. Christian Schreyer, as Group CEO, is currently taking £8,333 per month in a relocation allowance*. This is on top of an annual salary of £550,000. That relocation allowance alone is worth nearly 100k a year, which is almost 4x what a new starter will likely earn with GNE... and they don't have the whopping salary to add to it.
So when you say 'every company is struggling', it's funny how they always find money for those at the top...
* see corporate governance report: https://www.go-ahead.com/download_file/view/1853/676
What should Christian Schreyer be earning?