Morning:
8°c
Thousands face nightmare journey home as strike hits Liverpool Street
Dick Murray and Rashiq Razaq30 Jul 2009
Rail commuters face horrendous journeys home this evening in a repeat of the delays they suffered getting into London this morning.
And they will suffer more travel misery tomorrow in the second half of the 48-hour strike affecting all National Express East Anglia services to and from Liverpool Street station.
Liverpool Street, usually packed with commuters, was today a ghost station during the morning peak as commuter rail lines were brought to a near-standstill by the walk-out.
National Express East Anglia services to and from Liverpool Street were crippled, with just a skeleton service as more than 150,000 passengers faced major disruption.
Many took hours longer to get to work and some gave up and went home. The regular timetable was scrapped and replaced with an emergency hourly service to London from Colchester and Southend Victoria. The Stansted Express ran once an hour instead of every 15 minutes and there was a small number of peak trains on the Norwich to London route. Routes from the east run by other operators, including the East Coast main line, c2c and First Capital Connect, suffered worse overcrowding than usual as commuters tried other routes into London.
The industry's two most powerful unions, Aslef and the RMT, joined forces to bring virtually the entire franchise to its knees, ordering the strike in a long-running row over pay and working conditions. Pickets, including RMT leader Bob Crow, were on duty at main stations, including Liverpool Street, and train depots. Three more 48-hour stoppages are scheduled for consecutive Thursdays and Fridays next month.
Mr Crow, on the picket line at Liverpool Street, said: “The strike has been solidly supported across the franchise. Managers are running a token ghost service on a handful of lines as a publicity stunt. We're available today. We're calling on the company to get around the table.” He said the strike had been caused “by greedy National Express bosses who have soaked up £2.5 billion in taxpayer subsidy in the past 10 years and are now milking the franchise for every penny they can get while treating their staff like dirt”.
Andrew Chivers, the firm's managing director, said: “The unions' demands are totally unrealistic. We have offered salary increases above the rate of inflation and remain available for discussions to reach a sensible, affordable and fair agreement.”
He said Aslef wants a minimum pay increase of 2.5 per cent, a four-day working week and four per cent more drivers. Andy Morrison, district officer for Aslef, said this was a “total fabrication”. “We have never put a figure on the pay claim and never demanded 2.5 per cent or a four-day week.”
The unions say National Express has offered “peanuts” with only a 0.5 per cent pay rise or a lump sum of £200 to East Anglia employees. They say it can afford to pay more after it slapped a six per cent above-inflation fare rise on commuters in January and cut 300 jobs.
Reader views (36)
I am no great fan of Great Eastern (as I insist on calling it) either, a message from them earlier this month tells me that they have no plans to upgrade the trains on the Shenfield-Liverpool St Metro line any more comfortable for the passengers, so we will have to continue to travel in cramped hot conditions; however; Bob Crowes quote of 2.5bn over a decaade is incorrect, National Express has only had the franchise for four years (the won it from First Great Eatern) and their control of the NXEC route has only been in operation for two. so one has to question his facts and statistics. Neither side is right and the passenger is always the one to bear the burden.
both sides should talk and Crowe should stop his quest of using bully boy strike tactics which hurt the people he should be appealing to the most - us. 2.5% and a four-day week in the midst of recession - wake up and smell the coffee.
- Robert, Stratford, 31/07/2009 08:21
Report abuse
The utter envy and jealousy that pores from these readers' views is objectionable. So you gave up your right to be represented by a union. That's your prerogative. But don't criticize the RMT and ASLEF which are democratically run and are constantly hamstrung by oppressive anti-union laws that still persist in this country. 95% of ASLEF drivers and 91% of RMT members voted for action. This action has taken place not on a whim but after week upon week of negotiation where NX refuses to reward the very unique assets that make them the profits which have helped prop up the folly of the East Coast Main Line bid. There is NO demand for a big payrise, a figure has not even been set! There is NO demand for a 4-day week. The former-WAGN side of NX already has a 35 hour/4-day week in place anyway. Please, commenters. Place facts ahead of blind prejudice and envy!
- Sj Redmond, romford, uk., 30/07/2009 23:14
Report abuse
I'm sorry for the people who have been "inconvenienced" by the strike action taken by the staff of NXEA. But don't you think that people have the right to fight for their pay and conditions (no matter what your job is) and that not all that is reported in the popular press is correct..
The company made over 100 million pound profit last year, share holders received there bonuses, managers received there bonuses and pay rises. No mater what they say about inflation rates, my bills have increased for shopping/gas/electricity as I'm sure your's have
- Steve, Ipswich, Suffolk, 30/07/2009 22:37
Report abuse
Forty eight hours is draconian, and well sap public support.
- Mark, Venice, Italy, 30/07/2009 22:25
Report abuse
BOB CROW SAYS THAT THE COMPANY ARE ONLY INTERESTED IN PROFIT, NOT THE STAFF OR THE CUSTOMERS..IF ONLY FOLKS COULD FINE ANOTHER WAY TO TRAVEL THAT WOULD BUGGER THE RAIL COMPANIES, AND OF COURSE THE STAFF..BOB CROW DOES NOT CARE ABOUT THE CUSTOMERS, ONLY HIMSELF, HE STILL GETS PAID PLUS EXTRA . I HAVE SEEN THE LIKES OF HIM NEAR THEIR HQ DRINKING ON MEMBERS MONEY. HE IS A COMMUNIST. WHO HAD THE MONEY IN THOSE COUNTRIES, NOT THE PEOPLE.
- Ken, Paris,France, 30/07/2009 21:21
Report abuse
As a fare-paying commuter, I can`t help feeling one of the main reasons for this strike, the 6% fare increase (versus the 0.5% pay offer) should have been addressed by the Government.The only alternative way of commuting to Liverpool Street is by car, which is neither realistic nor green.I feel angry and frustrated that I`ve been hit with a fare increase and now a strike, both of which I simply have to accept.
- Stephen, Brentwood UK, 30/07/2009 21:04
Report abuse
Everybody should take notice....when the traffic controlers pulled the same stunts in USA ronald reagan trained the army to do there jobs and made a rule that these services couldnt go on strike if they did they would be sacked.so next time they went on strike, he sacked them all and got the army to come in and stop the bully boys controlling everything with strike action...
- Fifi, london-paris -munich, 30/07/2009 17:57
Report abuse
Not a fan of either Crow or The rail franchises, but 2.5 billion pounds of subsidy is a lot of money for providing basically a rubbish service.
I also dont like this strike at the drop of a hat union, but real inflation is rampant just look at your food bills and fuel, so 0.5pc is a joke.
It really isnt good enough for people here to say i took a pay cut, therefore so should they, this is the politics of defeatism and the road to exploitation for ordinary folk.
Mnay bankers are enjoying nice fat pay rises, and the heads of these organisations that hammer there precious staff make sure that there own pay rises are superb , while taking away from the people who make there companies work.
Working people should try and stop exploitation of themselves by greedy company owners who use the economic climate to make unnecesary cuts to there staff and staff wages.
I work for a company who is struggling at the moment , but our MD is a decent person , he has forgone a pay rise so we dont have to, thts proper management.
- Brian, Wiltshire, 30/07/2009 17:51
Report abuse
I worked for a department in L.T. which was subsequently privatised. There was no backing or objections whatsoever from the train drivers unions. They chose to look the other way and pretend it wasn't happening.
- Ed, Hornchurch Essex, 30/07/2009 17:40
Report abuse
Saw Bob and his cronies at the top of the escalators in Bishopsgate this morning. Oh how he enjoys it all, laughing away they were, it was hard to resist the urge to thump him. Why should they get a pay rise at all? I don't know anyone else who did this year.
- Nicky, Ongar, Essex, 30/07/2009 16:53
Report abuse
as i work in a shop in romford station which is closed because of the strike and i cannot work i am losing 2 days pay i am not on stike but am one big loser who is going to compensate me for loss of wages i would like to ask mr crowe
- Sheilagh, romford essex england, 30/07/2009 16:23
Report abuse
Dear Colin Barking from Essex. Presume your in the RMT then.
The 'sack em all brigade' as you term it are your customers. They are therefore right. They pay your wages mate and they are flippin fed up with Crow's antics. There will be a reckoning and mighty soon imo.
- Ethan, The sack em all brigade HQ, UK, 30/07/2009 16:09
Report abuse
If you have to man a picket line, is it compulsory to be fat?
- Carl, London, 30/07/2009 15:56
Report abuse
STRIKES IN ESSENTIAL SERVICES SHOULD BE ILLEGAL BUT CAN YOU IMAGINE BROWN HAVING THE COURAGE TO EVEN CONSIDER THHAT. HE CANT EVEN EXPRESS AN OPINION.
TWO MEMBERS OF MY FAMILY ARE OUT OF WORK, WHILE MY EQUITABLE LIKE PENSION IS REDUCED BY TWO THIRDS, THANKS AGAIN TO BROWN, AND THE INTEREST ON MY SAVINGS IS 0.44%. SO I HAVE NOT GOT A LOT OF SYMPATHY FOR RAILWAY WORKERS, AT LEAST THEY ARE WORKING, MANY ARE NOT.
- Alan Green, Woodford Green, 30/07/2009 15:56
Report abuse
Jools, I wouldn't be surprised if certain posters didn't have a vested interest in keeping the ridiculously impractical things on the roads.
- Kevin T, Beckenham, Kent, 30/07/2009 15:55
Report abuse
How Bob Crow can sleep at night I do not know thousands of workers are made to suffer.So he can make a bad train service even worse sleep well Bob.
- David Smith, Croydon, 30/07/2009 15:17
Report abuse
As usual the sack em all brigade come to the fore.The union asked for a cost of living rise.They would accept 1% with no strings.It is the Company that want them on a four day week in line with the staff at the old WAGN franchise.
- Colin, barking essex, 30/07/2009 14:41
Report abuse
£36k p.a. for the oh so tough job of steering those trains along the tracks! Typical work shy British Sack them all!
- Richard, London, 30/07/2009 13:41
Report abuse
Is there any connection between dinosaur Bendy Buses and dinosaur socialists?
Bendy Buses are bad news for cyclists, drivers (they block the roads) and the environment (some auto-combust). They are good news only for fare dodgers.
- Jools, London, 30/07/2009 13:37
Report abuse
Bob Crowe - Im sending my taxi receipts to you to personally reimburse me for my journey into work today. Unfortunatley, I have to struggle in to work otherwise I lose pay or holiday because you dont understand that holding the rest of us to ransom over your pathetic pay increase demands is causing the rest of us to lose any repsect for you and your union. Now get back to work and stop behaving like a spoilt little brat.
- Nat, London, 30/07/2009 13:23
Report abuse
What a load of aggravation.All this hassle and that's before these unfortunate people even get in to work.
At the end of the day there's a lot to be said for living off the state.It's all laid on.I'm seroiusly considering it.Life's too short.
- Steve, London, 30/07/2009 13:11
Report abuse
THESE TRAIN DRIVERS ARE TAKING THE BISCUIT! EVERYONE KNOWS THAT YOU GET SUPPOSEDLY POOR WORKING CONDITIONS AND PAY "GOD WE HEAR ABOUT IT ENOUGH"...BOO HOO!!! I DONT KNOW ANYONE THAT GOD A PAYRISE ARE THESE SO CALLED PEOPLE FOR REAL! ITS A JOKE! AND ANOTHERTHING WHILST IM GETTING 6 BUSSES AND TRAINS TO WORK TOMORROW, IF I GET MUGGED BY A GROUP OF CHAVS ON A BUS (THEIR LOCAL HANG OUT) WILL THE ALMIGHTLY UNION REPS PAY ME COMPENSATION? I DONT THINK SO. SO THEY CAN STICK THIS IN THEIR PIPE AND SMOKE IT AS FAR AS IM CONCERNED!!! AND DO ONE!
- Bb, romford, 30/07/2009 13:09
Report abuse
Most working people that I know, have not recieved a pay rise this year and have a lack of sympathy for this action. Unions need to stage this kind of event in order to justify their existence....
- Lbwf, Ex, 30/07/2009 13:05
Report abuse
Bob Crowe - possibly the most hated man in London!
if they aren't happy with the above inflation pay rises on their already large salaries, perhaps their jobs should be given to the unemployed? How difficult is it to drive a train anyway?!
On the other hand the National Exrpess line is awful, the trains are ancient and falling apart and the fares go up and up and up. If they go much higher it would be cheaper to drive!
Neither the Unions or National Express are perfecr, they should perhaps focus on us their customers?
- Matt, Essex, 30/07/2009 13:00
Report abuse
Some of us had to get into work today as our companies were not sympathetic. Yes the trains are still running but 1 train an hour is not enough when you're paying £3,000 for a yearly season ticket!! Also, the trains may not have been busy but that is because people have stayed away - I'm not sure that employers will continue to let staff take time off every Thursday & Friday in August so 1 train an hour will not suffice.
With all of the redundancies that are happening at the moment the train drivers need to be grateful they have a job and that their cost of inflation payrise is more than what the majority of the country has received - most of us like myself received nothing!!
Why do we have to suffer when all we're doing is trying to get to work??
- Annoyed, Chelmsford, Essex, 30/07/2009 12:45
Report abuse
"Nor have we demanded a four-day week ACCROSS THE COMPANY."
So basically, you have demanded a 4 day week just not for every worker, at what point is the company lying?
"have never demanded 2.5 per cent"
How much did you demand then? I'm guessing 2.49%.
I love unions, they never actually state publicly what they want but they'll deny anything that is made public by the other side, even if it comes very close to lying.
- Bob, Cheam, 30/07/2009 12:32
Report abuse
I would urge commuters to adopt a wartime spirit and take these unecessary strikes on the chin for as long as it takes and wait for the RMT and ASLEF and it's deluded members run out of cash like in the miners strike and then when the table has turned we can turn our backs on their greedy plight. It is unfortunate but society these days does not have any social conscience. Just look out for family and friends unless you happen to cross a genuine deserving case.
- Steve, havering, 30/07/2009 12:18
Report abuse
Both parties are at fault. Somebody needs to bang heads together, quite hard.
- Frank, Home Counties, England., 30/07/2009 12:12
Report abuse
He added: “Every single line is running with a serious delay. We're available today. We're calling on the company to get around the table.”
And you are PROUD of the Bob ?
For a least fifteen years the tube and the rest of public transport in London have been the last areas of Britain to be held to ransom by these relics of 1970's style Union activism. Strikes like this should be BANNED. You do not have the right to hold the rest of society to ransom.
- Jason Stone, Stratford, Newham, 30/07/2009 11:57
Report abuse
I have no sympathy for the drivers at all. There are poeple working in London who have not had a pay rise for 2 years and yet had to swallow fare increases. We all would like to work 4 days a week for the salary we were getting for a full 5 days. But sorry lads - do not do this to people at the worst possible financial time. Ordinary people don't need more pressure and more struggles.
- Jan, Romford, 30/07/2009 11:29
Report abuse
Bob Crowe is a disgrace to humanity instigating these strikes. Thousands of people are affected by this and these people should be grateful that they have a job when so many are being made redundant, having pay freezes or cuts.
- Cat, Essex, 30/07/2009 11:07
Report abuse
"Union bosses, who ordered the strike in a long-running row over pay and working conditions"
Yes, but they are very good to many people in small and medium sized companies. As a result of the "credit crunch" friends have had pay cuts, been made redundant and had unsocial working hours made more unsocial. One even now gets paid on the 5th of the following month instead of the 28th!
So there is no sympathy from most people for these greedy "bar stewards". They need to get real!
- Man U Fan, London, 30/07/2009 11:03
Report abuse
Good cheer for the unemployed, not the only ones that cannot get to work.
- William, Hay~Heath UK, 30/07/2009 10:45
Report abuse
I like the argument that the company sees nothing wrong with 6% fare increases while offering 0.5 % payrises, while takeing 200 million pa off the taxpayer.
Customers should concentrate on directing their anger towards the MD, not the people at the sharp end
- Andrea, Amersham, 30/07/2009 10:42
Report abuse
Its on days like today that Artic buses prove how vital they are both in keeping London moving and in fact acting as a weapon in brakeing strikes.
Artic route 25 will transport record numbers of commuters who normally use rail and I suggest Boris and Andrew get on their bikes and head out along this route.
The sooner Boris realises Bendy Buses are the 21st Routemaster the sooner he will stop wasting money on a bus that was designed for the middle of the last Century. This is the 21st Century when everything happens.
- Melvyn Windebank, Canvey Island, Essex, 30/07/2009 09:34
Report abuse
This strike is NOT on the East Coast route (from Kings Cross) it is on the East Anglia route (from Liverpool Street).
- Oliver, Exmouth UK, 30/07/2009 09:12
Report abuse
