BE strike [Read 1st post before posting]

Hilly Bill wrote: »

Better choose a different career path so if all those years of studying only gets you a low paid job. I'm on more and I've never been to college.

Good for you. I suggest reading this article to see what % of people earn more or less than you:

http://www.thejournal.ie/readme/high-earner-ireland-755580-Jan2013/

It's from 2013 and does include people with zero income for some figures (which will skew it lower) but its a good summary of what most people earn.

I remember a while ago Michael Noonan made some comment about the "squeezed middle" but his definition included people well into the the top 10% of earners. Which is just nuts.

blackwhite wrote: »

When you go on strike looking for more!

Do you somehow think that is whats happened here?

One of the complaints he seems to be making is that they don't get paid their extra allowances when they're on holidays-who the fcuk does?

The Gardai do.

Still nothing happening with the talks it would seem.

https://twitter.com/DermotLeary/status/849948268620599296

horseburger wrote: »

It's interesting to note, the 'they get paid enough for what they do' type comments, from people in this thread, who then say that they don't care, if Bus Éireann routes are taken over, by other bus companies.

It is quite clear, that the people in this discussion who make comments like that, have a very low regard for drivers of buses, trains, and other forms of public transport, no matter if it's Bus Éireann drivers, or drivers of the various other operators like Aircoach, JJ Kavanagh's, Dublin Coach, City link, and all the other private bus operators, that operate throughout the country.

So what, if you don't have to go to college, to train to drive a bus, or learn to drive a train, or a Luas tram?

There's many people who went to college and studied particular courses, just because they managed to get the points for those courses, and not out of a deep interest in those courses, and are now unhappy working within those professions.

I don't think anybody's looking down on anyone because of their profession.

The problem is that supporters of BE drivers who appear to be earning the average professional wage are complaining that wage is ridiculously low.

It seems reasonable to point out in response that earning an average wage for an average job is actually perfectly fair.

There's plenty of people unhappy in all professions, and they're perfectly free to go and look for a different job, or indeed go on strike for better conditions in the same job. But they're not all paid for out of the public purse. And if this situation arose in the private sector, people would have to face the reality that they'd either have to look for a job elsewhere, or take the required cuts, otherwise the company would fold.

But BE seem to think they're above all that, and they should just be bailed out by the taxpayers. If anyone is looking down on everyone else it's them.

horseburger wrote: »

It's interesting to note, the 'they get paid enough for what they do' type comments, from people in this thread, who then say that they don't care, if Bus Éireann routes are taken over, by other bus companies.

It is quite clear, that the people in this discussion who make comments like that, have a very low regard for drivers of buses, trains, and other forms of public transport, no matter if it's Bus Éireann drivers, or drivers of the various other operators like Aircoach, JJ Kavanagh's, Dublin Coach, City link, and all the other private bus operators, that operate throughout the country.

In any job, if a company is facing insolvency costs need to be cut. It is entirely fair to point this out.

It is also entirely fair to point out that the drivers are paid well, both compared to similar roles in the private sector and compared to the average earner in general.

The drivers have a stressful job with antisocial hours and they should be (and are) well paid for it.

Or at least they will be unless BE becomes insolvent. You could equally say that people who are content to shout "Forward comrades!" until they all lose their jobs have no respect for the drivers.

what, if you don't have to go to college, to train to drive a bus, or learn to drive a train, or a Luas tram?

There's many people who went to college and studied particular courses, just because they managed to get the points for those courses, and not out of a deep interest in those courses, and are now unhappy working within those professions.

100% right that not everyone should go to college, and that shouldn't stop them from earning a good wage. But when people are saying that the drivers wages are low it's entirely legitimate to compare them to other jobs and point out that drivers are not low paid.

bk wrote: »

horseburger, irrelevant, the company is almost brankrupt, simple as that.

Either the company cuts costs, of which the wages bill is a major cost area and becomes profitable again or it goes bust.

That is simply the reality of every company operating in the real world and the reality of every employee working for them.

If the staff don't like the salary, then they are completely entitled to look for employment elsewhere.

The point is, that the posts to which I refer, are basically insulting, to the people, whose job it is to operate public transport, both in Bus Éireann and in other bus companies, including Aircoach, JJ Kavanagh's, Dublin Coach, City Link, Go Bus, and all the other companies who operate throughout the country, all of which I have spoken of in a positive manner in previous posts, in this discussion and other discussions in recent years.

The attitude and superiority complexes of the posters, who make comments denigrating the job of driving buses, is not irrelevant. Their insulting, ignorant and ill - informed attitude, influences the comments they make, in this discussion.

If the people who make those comments, think that the Bus Éireann employees have a lesser job - of driving buses - than the profession in which they are employed, well then, it follows, that they also think that the drivers, who work for other bus companies, are also, in a lesser job than theirs.

horseburger wrote: »

You are missing the point that I am making, which is that if people think that Bus Éireann drivers, operate a lesser job than them, well then, it follows that the people who say that, also consider that drivers, who operate buses for other companies, also operate a lesser job than them.

The posters who write the comments to which I refer, ultimately have very little regard for the job of operating buses, trains and trams, and their attitude cannot be discounted, when assessing the comments, made by those posters, in this discussion, on the current dispute between Bus Éireann management and its employees.

Driving a bus cannot be compared to say civil engineers or a engineer designing a car engine.

At the end of the day, it's a classic semi -skilled job. such workers in these jobs are under downwards social mobility for the first time in recent history. What I mean by that is the assumption that each year or two brings increased earnings is not not sustainable and real earnings are now falling.

bk wrote: »

Since when is earning more then at least 50% of the people in Ireland a low paid job!

It proves that others are on low pay as well.

Hilly Bill wrote: »

It proves that others are on low pay as well.

Low relative to what?

If you think that everyone below 40k is low paid then 60% of the people in Ireland are.

What would you consider to be average pay? Or highly paid?

These are all subjective terms so there's no right or wrong, but as I've said before it leads to ridiculous situations where everyone below 100k considers themselves to be low/average.

27061986a wrote: »

One of the complaints he seems to be making is that they don't get paid their extra allowances when they're on holidays-who the fcuk does?

The Gardai do.

It's one the staff could concede in an effort to play ball. It's mad to get allowances when you are not in work.