And I was working in the ice-rink spring and summer that year.

[reddragdiva]

• Straight Eye for the Queer Guy.

At work, God help me. Parts of the tube are in fact running. The city is quiet — most people seem to be remembering 2002 and aren't bothering. So I got a train to Liverpool St, the Met to Baker Street and walked from there. Bah!

The office is a ghost town. Lots of people are getting calls at home, which serves them right and teaches them that "working from home" is only partially a euphemism for "day off."

Tube drivers are paid a lot because it's actually an incredibly stressful job — driving a train with a thousand people's lives in your hands down a black tunnel where you can see nothing, several hours a day every day, does your head in. Not to mention the train suicides. The unsociable hours allowance is also a large chunk of the cash, and they get good holidays because they bloody need them. Take care not to fall into the trap of "I don't do it so it must be simple."

(I know nurses have it worse. That doesn't make it right.)

That said, Bob Crow is in fact a fuckhead. Ask arkady about this and stand back while she rants.

Comments

[adrasteah.livejournal.com]

But it's not the tube drivers on strike.

[reddragdiva]

The ones in the RMT are. Also, the media coverage seems to be zeroing in on tube drivers' pay. That I've seen.

[adrasteah.livejournal.com]

My understanding was that it may include some drivers who belong to RMT, but is about signalmen and maintenance workers more. I know the media hasn't helped the perception that this is all tube drivers striking for better pay, which I think is what most people think it is.

[reddragdiva]

It's complicated - there's three unions on the Tube. Only one is on strike, so a service is up, though the others are tending not to actually cross picket lines.

It's a TREMENDOUS help that people are actively trying to work from home today. There should be more of this.

[adrasteah.livejournal.com]

I don't think there should be more of this.

For a lot of people it cause extreme inconvenience and unhappiness and stress.

I agree with striking in over safety issues etc and in case of grossly unfair pay structures that haven't been looked at in years etc. Unions are meant to be for the workers, but they're not showing any solidarity with workers who aren't them! 4 day weeks? Please

I also think that anyone who is striking should be on a picket line for their work hours or should be disciplined. You're either protesting or you're not and a strike is not a day off to watch a Euro 2004 semi-final

Other countries Undergrounds' workers have striked by worked but refusing to collect any fares ...

[reddragdiva]

No, sorry, I meant more of working from home, which should be encouraged.

And the not collecting fares or penalties method of industrial action really does work well. The public service in Australia favours this one. (Not bothering with pissy penalties tends to make their actual work much more efficient too ... no, I don't have numbers to hand.)

[adrasteah.livejournal.com]

No, sorry, I meant more of working from home, which should be encouraged.

Yeah, I'm all for alternative ways of working. It's just for people who really can't do their work like that, or tourists who arrive in London today, or old people etc.

[reddragdiva]

"It's just for people who really can't do their work like that"

That would be me. Gah!

[reddragdiva]

Although I should add that it is in fact quite feasible for a highly advanced sysadmin to work largely from home, and getting that good is in fact a career goal.

[hellsop.livejournal.com]

I've often believed that a sufficiently-advanced sysadmin's goal is to arrange things so that everything is so well automated that all that needs doing is for the admin to give one script a cookie after every paycheck clears, and the cookie only gives the systems permission to work for another month.

[giolla.livejournal.com]

Both the giving of the cookie and checking that the cheque clears should be automated.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_nicolai_/]

I am that good, but it requires support from your hardware and management too; you need a full set of remote consoles, power controllers, etc and hardware and software that's remotely manageable.
And some monkeys on site to swap discs, etc.
Unfortunately many managers do not realise that 24x7 operation means either having your systems remotely operable or paying sysadmins to be next to them 24x7.

[adrasteah.livejournal.com]

It's complicated - there's three unions on the Tube. Only one is on strike, so a service is up, though the others are tending not to actually cross picket lines.

I do know this and it's not that complicated really :-)

My point was that this strike is not just about tube drivers salaries and definitely not all drivers support it.

Also I went past at least 10 tube stations on my journey to work today. I didn't see one actual picket line.

[reddragdiva]

If they care they should indeed be setting up picket lines. I don't think I'd cross one if I'd encountered one. But a lot of stations are just shut.

[arkady.livejournal.com]

That's because the picket lines are at the depots, not the stations. If you go to Leytonstone station or Arnos Grove you'd see pickets.

[wechsler.livejournal.com]

Didn't see much at Leytonstone when I passed, but I was moving fairly quickly.

[reddragdiva]

Ah, got it :-)

[arkady.livejournal.com]

That said, Bob Crow is in fact a fuckhead. Ask arkady about this and stand back while she rants.

Do I really go off on one that badly??

Well. He is a fuckhead.

[reddragdiva]

I would certainly not say it was unwarranted!

He singularly fails to realise how he will play in the media. Strikers can garner considerable public sympathy if they play it right - he doesn't. I assume he thinks he wants to do well by his union's members ...

[steer.livejournal.com]

Take care not to fall into the trap of "I don't do it so it must be simple."

Thanks for that... I had heard a few people doing the "how hard can it be, it seems like they're paid loads" thing.

I'm very pro-union in general but Bob Crow does seem like a bit of an advert for how to get people's backs up -- plus I'm quite a fan of TfL and he seems to want to tip the board over in a sulk there.

For some reason I was visiting london during the strike in 2002 and it was really funny to see Londoners blinking like moles and actually walking around the city as clearly lost as I was.

[latexiron.livejournal.com]

The DLR and (I understand from Arkady, I think) the Jubilee line are both fully automatic.

Why can't we do that to the rest of the tube system, so that we don't need drivers?

[swisstone.livejournal.com]

The Jubilee isn't driverless (and isn't running today). Moreover, staff are needed to do other things than just run the trains, such as sell tickets, maintain security (Docklands trains often have a guard on them), and all those staff have an option to strike if they feel it's necessary.

The DLR is running today not because they don't have drivers, but because the RMT aren't indispute with its management.

[arkady.livejournal.com]

The DLR was designed right from the start to operate without drivers. All the other lines with automated running (Jubilee, Central and Victoria) were adapted from existing stock; the trains running on the Victoria line are 63 stock. However they still need a driver on board, as there are certain maneuvers that need to be done manually.

The Victoria line is the line that has had ATO (Automatic Train Operation) the longest; it was the simplest to convert due to its relatively short length and lack of branches or other complications. This was followed by the Central line, although for the most part it was only the actual tunnel sections that were ATO; the safety case for extending ATO to the whole of the Central line was only approved a couple of years ago. ATO was only introduced fully on the Jubilee line with the completion of the Jubilee Line Extension and the introduction of the new signalling system.

In order to bring in ATO on other lines, an extensive overhaul and rebuild of the signalling systems would be required together with drastic alterations and modifications to the existing fleets. It would be necessary to shut down entire lines for weeks on end whilst the necessary work was completed.

And at the end of all that, LUL would still not be able to do away with drivers. It was only possible on the DLR because it was designed right from the outset to run without drivers and be totally automated. If you tried to do away with drivers on the Underground, there would be uproar from all the unions. It was bad enough when they did away with guards - and a vast majority of LUL staff believe guards ought to be brought back.

[satsumagirl]

I find it funny that everytime someone thinks of a shit job, they always compare it to nursing:) I have left fulltime nursing cause I was getting burnt out, but I think driving trains must be a lot worse. At least I get some positive social interaction and the odd "thank you." Sure wages could be better, but what public sector workers can't say that?

[reddragdiva]

What is it with nursing? This isn't just the NHS - nurses get treated badly all over the world. I mean, what the fuck?

[loosechanj.livejournal.com]

I think it has to do with the fact that doctors feel they should be treated like rock stars for having done 8 years of college. Nurses just don't even come close.

[swisstone.livejournal.com]

As I say, I don't have a lot of time for Crow, not since it was quite obvious that the strikes over safety had as much to do wiuth advancing him through the RMT hierarchy as it had with (entirely legitimate) concerns that the new PPP firms were letting maintenance standards slip. But that doesn't mean the RMT don't have a case, just that they are presenting it badly. As I said in a comment to nisaba, the train strike was called off because Network Rail conceded that the RMT did have a point, and made a better offer.

[reddragdiva]

Yes. Crow is a public relations disaster.

[secretlondon.livejournal.com]

The media (I dread to think what the evening standard will be saying) will be highlighting how much money the drivers earn and making them look greedy. This is par for the course.

Another risk not yet highlighted is suicides - I understand that is horrific for the driver.

Those who are complaining should think about the number of strikes in many European countries - we have far less than most and I _think_ that strikes are at the lowest level ever in the UK.

So don't whinge!

[secretlondon.livejournal.com]

But you're English and you can't help it. It's the national sport.

[arkady.livejournal.com]

It's not only the driver who is traumatised by one-unders (that's LUL parlance for a person under a train). As the Line Information Assistant for the District line, I have camera views of the platforms of all the stations on the District and Piccadilly lines. A few months ago I happened to have the Piccadilly camera set to the eastbound platform at Hounslow Central, and glanced at it in time to see a man climb down onto the track and walk under the wheels of the oncoming train. I could see what happened to him far more clearly than the driver could.

It would also have been horrific for the station staff who came down to deal with the incident; and for the memebers of the ERU (Emergency Response Unit) who had to extract the pieces of the person from beneath the train. You have to go through extensive psychological testing to become a member of the ERU; they have to deal with some very disturbing stuff.

The worst of it is that 60% of would-be suicides actually survive. 60%! I don't know about you - but I think I'd rather choose a more sure-fire method with better odds of success.

[reddragdiva]

It was the Evening Standard's report last night I was thinking of. They completely threw out even the faintest pretense at objectivity - they despise Bob Crow and they despise Red Ken. And a huge percentage of ES sales is at newsstands outside Tube entrances ...

[deeply-spurious.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately one can expect no different from Associated Newspapers (http://www.associatednewspapers.com/). I noticed the other day that, for no apparent reason, they decided to have a front page attack on abortion... all of which would be fine if they didn't have such a monopoly on the market. At least the Daily Mail, for all its sins, has to compete with other newspapers.

Anyway, for what its worth, I agree, both on the train drivers and Bob Crowe.

Topic hijacking

[xandraius.livejournal.com]

I made my post public for you =)

[booklectica]

Unrelatedly to the topic (which I have nevertheles found very interesting):

*slightly embarrassed wave* We've not met (yet) but we have several friends in common, and I was hoping to use a photo from your gallery for something, but it's not available. Did you get an email from me a couple of days ago?

[reddragdiva]

*blush* Er, not that I recall. I may have accidentally deleted it as spam. (I get so much, even after Thunderbird's filters, that I sometimes go the hack a bit severely.) Which photo were you after?

[booklectica]

This one:

http://reddragdiva.fotopic.net/p4356766.html

I'm helping lolliepopp with some organising and she said you wouldn't mind my using a photo from your gallery... Yes, it's entirely possible my email got deleted as spam. I thought of entitling it THIS IS NOT SPAM but that probably wouldn't have helped. :)

[reddragdiva]

Ah, that would be the image lost in the fotopic server crash :-) I shall send a copy to the address in your LJ userinfo. And replace it on Fotopic.

[booklectica]

Thank you! Much appreciated.

[reddragdiva]

Sent to evilwillow at snowwhite.co.uk :-D

[booklectica]

I think that email address is having problems, damn. Er, is there any chance you could resend it to kate.joanna@gmail.com? I'll find you at B-Movie and buy you a big drink...

[reddragdiva]

Re-sent :-) Whatcha gonna do with it?

[booklectica]

Thinking about getting it printed on helium balloons. Or getting it blown up to poster size. Or both. :)