[gurney-slade]

Originally Posted by chinchin

You've changed your tune. Strikers approved of! *Faints*

I didn't say I approve - striking is a form of blackmail - but the bus drivers deserve more sympathy than Bob Crowe's bunch of whingers.

[chinchin]

Originally Posted by gurney-slade

I didn't say I approve - striking is a form of blackmail - but the bus drivers deserve more sympathy than Bob Crowe's bunch of whingers.

*Immediately recovers after finding out all is well with the World*

[makeba72]

Originally Posted by gurney-slade

striking is a form of blackmail -

Those paying wages and setting working conditions are just as guilty of that, though, through the ages. It's about where we draw a line in the sand, I think. And before anyone asks, no, I don't support Bob Crowe in all that he does.

I know this is an LBC thread, but I just heard some 'proper' journalism from Simon Lederman on Radio London about this strike, and I longed for the days when I could have heard the same on LBC.

A tory GLA member was on the radio using inflammatory language to mask the facts, but Lederman pierced the smokescreen every time without raising his voice. Just one example -

GLA member "the drivers came within a whisker of getting the offer they wanted"
Lederman "well, they were offered 68% of what they wanted, that's not within a whisker"

It's the kind of so-called 'fact' that too many LBC presenters just seem to accept without challenge these days

Whatever you may think of the strike, I want to hear the facts AND opinion, not just opinion presented unchallenged

[Virgin Queen]

Originally Posted by gurney-slade

I don't, on the whole, agree with strikes but I do think the bus drivers have a better case in asking for a bonus than Tube drivers. Tube drivers don't have to deal with the public, whereas bus drivers are going to have to cope with nightmare traffic and thousands of tourists who won't have the faintest idea where they're going, what an Oyster card is and expect to get change for a £20 pound note.

My thoughts precisely, g-s.

[bob up and down]

Brother in law is a London bus driver - I don't know if he has gone on strike though. Drivers put up with some real scum bags... spitting at them, verbally abusing them, threatening them and having to deal with the traffic in London. I don't blame them for striking for a bonus.

[Charlie Drake]

Originally Posted by bob up and down

Brother in law is a London bus driver - I don't know if he has gone on strike though. Drivers put up with some real scum bags... spitting at them, verbally abusing them, threatening them and having to deal with the traffic in London. I don't blame them for striking for a bonus.

Yes, and that's just from the bosses. They have to put up with a lot of bad behaviour from the public as well

[bob up and down]

Originally Posted by Charlie Drake

Yes, and that's just from the bosses. They have to put up with a lot of bad behaviour from the public as well

They do indeed!

[jack patterson]

Originally Posted by MartinRosen

I wonder if anyone has seen the programmes on tv recently about compulsive hoarders?

Can we not think of somebody that always seems to buy two (minimum) of everything? This person is always buying box sets of DVDs. His house must be crammed. Didn't he recently fall when he tripped over something?

I wonder if it will be his house that will be featured soon?

I won't mention any names

You dont mean the one who also collects halogen ovens, and J.OB podcasts do you?

[chinchin]

Originally Posted by MartinRosen

I wonder if anyone has seen the programmes on tv recently about compulsive hoarders?

Can we not think of somebody that always seems to buy two (minimum) of everything? This person is always buying box sets of DVDs. His house must be crammed. Didn't he recently fall when he tripped over something?

I wonder if it will be his house that will be featured soon?

I won't mention any names

Towels, candles, Chinese rugs?

[bob up and down]

Originally Posted by chinchin

Towels, candles, Chinese rugs?

Snow Globe Music boxes, assorted dolls..... Christmas lights, £50 notes.

[MartinRosen]

Is Chinchin trying to create a record for the number of posts in one morning (or is he just trying to bump up his total for the next FOAMAR stats? )

[Mutleykaz]

What a cringeworthy interview Nick had with Boris this morning! It made my toes curl! I only caught it halfway through - something about Steven someone who is organising security for the Olympics, but who claims not to know anything about security. Boris insisted he was just being modest.

[Mutleykaz]

Originally Posted by gurney-slade

I didn't say I approve - striking is a form of blackmail - but the bus drivers deserve more sympathy than Bob Crowe's bunch of whingers.

My office is just opposite a bus garage. Most of the drivers feel they're more expendable than train drivers because the training only lasts for two weeks, whereas train drivers take up to a year.

Very unfair I know but they just don't have the clout that Crowe and his cronies have.

[gurney-slade]

Originally Posted by Mutleykaz

What a cringeworthy interview Nick had with Boris this morning! It made my toes curl! I only caught it halfway through - something about Steven someone who is organising security for the Olympics, but who claims not to know anything about security. Boris insisted he was just being modest.

It's a wonder Boris managed to get a word in past Nick's constant interruptions.

[MartinRosen]

Originally Posted by chinchin

Good on the bus drivers! I used to work for a bus company and know just what the drivers put up with. Truly envious people ringing up and whining they are not getting a bonus. How about joining a trades union then or starting a campaign?

Originally Posted by gurney-slade

I don't, on the whole, agree with strikes but I do think the bus drivers have a better case in asking for a bonus than Tube drivers.

Personally I don't think anyone should get a bonus. They are all doing a job which they are paid for. If there are times when it is very quiet (summer holidays?) do they have a pay cut?

If it takes somebody extra time to get into their office because of the Olympics should they get a bonus for 'struggling' to get in? What about the immigration people at our ports / aircraft terminals because of the extra people coming through?

There must be many more professions that have a knock-on effect because of the Olympics. So why are the transport workers being singled out (just heard IT staff at TfL want a bonus as well !).

Saying all that, if there are to be bonuses then I agree with G-S that bus drivers are more entitled than the tube drivers. The bus drivers will get a bonus, because firstly other transport workers have got one, and secondly the Government / Mayor will not let thousands of visitors come to the country and face great transport problems, which would result in chaos.

[gurney-slade]

I've had to turn J O'B off yet again this morning. We expect argument, and the point of phone in radio is for callers to challenge the presenter's opinion but James' response to anybody who disagrees with him is becoming increasingly snide and unpleasant. His first two calls were with a man and a woman who he sneered at and belittled for trying to express a different point of view. I was expecting him to end with 'nah-nah-nah-nah-nah!'

[gurney-slade]

Originally Posted by MartinRosen

Personally I don't think anyone should get a bonus. They are all doing a job which they are paid for. If there are times when it is very quiet (summer holidays?) do they have a pay cut?

If it takes somebody extra time to get into their office because of the Olympics should they get a bonus for 'struggling' to get in? What about the immigration people at our ports / aircraft terminals because of the extra people coming through?

There must be many more professions that have a knock-on effect because of the Olympics. So why are the transport workers being singled out (just heard IT staff at TfL want a bonus as well !).

Saying all that, if there are to be bonuses then I agree with G-S that bus drivers are more entitled than the tube drivers. The bus drivers will get a bonus, because firstly other transport workers have got one, and secondly the Government / Mayor will not let thousands of visitors come to the country and face great transport problems, which would result in chaos.

According to the Nick/Boris discussion this morning, it's par for the Olympic course and they had the same reaction from transport workers in Barcelona and Sydney. Not Bejiing though - they know how to deal with bolshie workers!

[chinchin]

Originally Posted by Mutleykaz

What a cringeworthy interview Nick had with Boris this morning! It made my toes curl! I only caught it halfway through - something about Steven someone who is organising security for the Olympics, but who claims not to know anything about security. Boris insisted he was just being modest.

Once again blustering Boris couldn't answer a straight question with a straight answer. The man is a total moron. Fancy allowing someone who knows nothing about security to be in charge of security. Sack Boris now!

[chinchin]

Originally Posted by MartinRosen

Personally I don't think anyone should get a bonus. They are all doing a job which they are paid for. If there are times when it is very quiet (summer holidays?) do they have a pay cut?

If it takes somebody extra time to get into their office because of the Olympics should they get a bonus for 'struggling' to get in? What about the immigration people at our ports / aircraft terminals because of the extra people coming through?

There must be many more professions that have a knock-on effect because of the Olympics. So why are the transport workers being singled out (just heard IT staff at TfL want a bonus as well !).

Saying all that, if there are to be bonuses then I agree with G-S that bus drivers are more entitled than the tube drivers. The bus drivers will get a bonus, because firstly other transport workers have got one, and secondly the Government / Mayor will not let thousands of visitors come to the country and face great transport problems, which would result in chaos.

TBH Martin I am not a big fan of bonuses, believing everyone should get a fair wage. The worse offenders, of course, are the bank and big industry bosses who have their big snouts in the trough and get rewarded for failure.

[chinchin]

Originally Posted by MartinRosen

Is Chinchin trying to create a record for the number of posts in one morning (or is he just trying to bump up his total for the next FOAMAR stats? )

Only time will tell regarding the FOAMAR stats.

[gurney-slade]

Originally Posted by chinchin

Once again blustering Boris couldn't answer a straight question with a straight answer. The man is a total moron. Fancy allowing someone who knows nothing about security to be in charge of security. Sack Boris now!

You do talk absolute rubbish. He received a mandate from the voters and he's there for another four years. Get over it!

[chinchin]

Originally Posted by gurney-slade

You do talk absolute rubbish. He received a mandate from the voters and he's there for another four years. Get over it!

Didn't Adolf get a mandate from his voters? That is no answer to the point I made!

[gurney-slade]

Originally Posted by chinchin

TBH Martin I am not a big fan of bonuses, believing everyone should get a fair wage. The worse offenders, of course, are the bank and big industry bosses who have their big snouts in the trough and get rewarded for failure.

Don't generalise - which particular big industry bosses are you referring to? Are any of these industries nationalised? If they aren't then it's up to them what they choose to pay their employees. If I had access to a trough my snout would be in it - can you honestly say yours wouldn't?

[MartinRosen]

Originally Posted by chinchin

TBH Martin I am not a big fan of bonuses, believing everyone should get a fair wage. The worse offenders, of course, are the bank and big industry bosses who have their big snouts in the trough and get rewarded for failure.

If these bosses have gone beyond their remit and have implemented policies that make the company very profitable, surely they are entitled to a 'thank you'.

[Radiomaniac]

The bus drivers where I live, deserve a fortune alone for having to deal with the awful foul-mouthed arrogant brats, er, I mean dear little schoolchildren, that make every journey a misery between 3-4pm daily. I support their strike.