Bob Crow Post Reply

[millymoo]

Has a lot to answer for IMO...it is hard enough juggling working FT with 2 children under 4 without having to negotiate a 4 hour daily commute as well. Sorry for the rant but it can't be just me who is supremely frustrated with this annoying little man!

[tamara]

yes, selfish and a big pain.

But I have to say I don't trust Boris as far as I can throw him and he did lie about closing the ticket offices!

[schoolgatesmum]

Oh well - at least you've got a job unlike the 700 or so likely to lose theirs from TfL.

[ordinarygirl09]

I sympathise with you Millymoo, it has been a horrible few days of commuting.

And I must agree with you every time I hear bob crow talking about his fight for 'job security' for TFL workers it makes my blood boil, what other organisation has job security...?

[Mrs Contractor Mum]

Employment rights act 1996 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/18/contents will give you some rights. Unless you're on a short fixed term contract or 0 hour contract then by law you have some employment rights. Redundancy, claims against discrimination or malpractice etc - I'm not an employment lawyer but they seem to get brisk trade on this website.

Thankfully as employees you do have some rights within your contract which were hard fought for by trade unions. People may dismiss them as troublemakers causing nothing but chaos for ordinary workers but without them instead of fretting over which school to send your child to the majority of people would be wondering which work house or employer to send your children to work for.

I was on the Northern line today and it's been the first time since Christmas I actually got a seat.

[schoolgatesmum]

Well said Mrs Contractor Mum.

[BFW]

You are probably right but I would not want a trade union leader that goes on £10,000 holidays fighting for my rights....

http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/new ... 370515.ece

[tamara]

Boris Johnson cannot be trusted.

He cannot be trusted by his wife

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/po ... 36709.html

And he cannot be trusted by the electorate.

He *promised* not to close ticket offices.

From the Guardian

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfre ... ube-strike

In his manifesto he also promised to ensure that "there is always a manned ticket office in every station". He repeated this promise again in 2010. And yet today the closure of ticket offices is being billed as something which tube workers should have been expecting all along – despite the fact that the mayor had been saying the opposite for a number of years.


And now he is going to.

I don't like Bob Crow and I don't like Boris and I think they're both as bad as each other

[Mrs Contractor Mum]

I don't understand? Who would you rather go on a £10k holiday? I banker, a corporate lawyer, the mayor, the head of Wandsworth council, a nurse, a teacher? If the guy has shown he can earn enough money or save enough money to go on a £10k holiday then well done to him!

[BFW]

While he is, of course, entitled to a holiday, you'd think that he would have shown some semblance of sensitivity towards the union members who pay his salary and face losing their jobs.

Mrs CM do you know how much Crow earns? He currently earns £145,548, and on top of this he lives in council housing, which he is refusing to move out of.

This shows a complete disconnect from the pay freezes and jobs losses affecting the workers he supposedly battles for.

I don't think there can be a better example of hypocrisy than this man...

[millymoo]

I didn't mean to start a political debate on this but did want to add that I think we are amazingly fortunate with all the transport options available in this city - I guess that not having a full tube service has made me appreciate how well it works on a normal day.

On a lighter note, looking at the pic of Mr Crow on holiday, perhaps he should take up a bit of exercise (consider hiring a Boris bike?!)...

[Mrs Contractor Mum]

Possibly you don't like how much he earns or that he lives in a council house but his wage is paid for by subscriptions that members sign up for. Now if people stopped paying for their subscriptions and decided to represent themselves he wouldn't earn that much. Obviously his members seem to think he is doing a good job, he certainly has helped train drivers have a pretty decent salary plus overtime if you believe the Daily mail. Then you have to consider how many train drivers or ticket office workers can afford an employment lawyer to represent them in a dispute?

As for the council property, there hasn't been a law passed yet that says workers earning over a certain amount are forces to give back there homes to those considered more deserving. In the same way there hasn't been a law passed to say those who made a fortune buying their council homes in the 80's should pay a bigger tax if they sell it after the appropriate period. You might not like it and consider it unfair but it's not illegal. If you don't like it, why lot lobby your MP for a change in the law..

So you don't like what he represents and find it unfair because he and Boris have reached a stalemate and so decided to inconvenience a lot of people. It's not much different to the banker bashing, Wandsworth council CEO bashing etc that goes on via this website too. As far as I'm aware though, complaining about it hasn't changed anything - bonuses are back, housing market it out of control, services are being cut across the council and Paul Martin has been awarded another big pay rise. Still, if it makes you feel better moaning about it you go right ahead.

[Mrs Contractor Mum]

Mungomuffit - you are absolutely in your right to strike. It's enshrined in law as is not having the risk of losing your job if you strike. You may chose not to strike, you may have a much more satisfactory way if airing any grievances you have in your working conditions or are just happy in your job knowing you are neither at risk of losing it nor having any contractual rights changed.

There is one thing to get annoyed at the public face of these issues ( Bob Crow, Ed Balls, Boris Johnson, David Cameron) but moaning about how unfair it all is will only make you feel angry, upset, annoyed, frustrated without actually achieving anything. And without wanting to sound like Yoda - negative thoughts only lead to the dark side

So, how about some positive action instead? How about discussing the issue with your politicians who may or may not choose to do something about it? Or is any of you are employment lawyers, how about offering your services to help with the stalemate of 700 people at risk of losing their jobs? Raise an petition to have a debate on who is allowed to own council properties. Do something positive to make the change you want rather than bashing away at someone's personality because of opinions formed by the daily mail/ the guardian or because you were inconvenienced for a few days.

People power managed to save the wheatsheaf!

[Mrs Contractor Mum]

Something annoying to comment on is how difficult it is to write a comment on an iphone. Apologies for the state of my grammar and language in my responses.

[Mrs Contractor Mum]

I didn't realise I was moaning? (apart from about my phone but it really is difficult sometimes to type with big fingers on a small keyboard)

I was merely commenting on people's perception on whether they had job security or a right to strike. Oh, and whether people are allowed to spend their money (however they choose to earn it) on going on holiday.

I have made no judgement on whether I thought the strike was 'right or not' nor whether I think Bob Crow is an odious toad or deserving of a knighthood.

I actually don't have an opinion of him as a person as I've never met him and I'm sure he doesn't have an opinion of me as a person. I may have an opinion on the policies and politics he represents but I was bought up never to discuss politics or religion with strangers.