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Horace Sebastian Smyth, Notting Hill - and what about the people who WORK FOR these 'bankers' (and perhaps just one or two other employers)? How do these lower level workers get to work so that they can pay their bills and put food on the table? How do they get to where they provide even 'working class fools' with the services that they need even more than the 'bankers' and those one or two other employers you so readily sneer at.

- Rogan, Irving

"Bosses of Unite, London's biggest transport union, ordered the stoppage when the company imposed a pay freeze, blaming the recession"

strike because of a pay freeze? idiots. i too am subjected to a pay freeze, as are i dare say millions of people in London. get real and get on with it. be pleased you have a job in the first place.

- Jimmyjames, london

Andrew, nail on head. I had sympathy for the posties and for the firemen when they were protesting pitiful wages. I would be completely behind our troops in Helmand if they downed weapons and refused to fight until they were better paid and properly equipped.

This lot are just taking the mickey. They are paid very well and it is obscene for them to prevent millions of poorer people from getting to work because they think it's unfair they should suffer the same pay freezes as everyone else.

- Kevin T, Beckenham, Kent

"3. there are lot of people doing considerably better than a mere tube worker, the resentment is of the disruptions caused to their commute, not jealousy of oppportunity. Personally I object to unskilled, grunt labour not being happy with a supra-normal set of conditions."

Scotty, I did not make any comment on whether or not I believe it is right that commuters are disrupted did I?

Scotty, why do office workers quite their jobs to become train drivers?
Perhaps you work or have worked on the railway, to conclude that all the jobs are unskilled!
What is more enticing for some, is not for others scotty!

Why are office workers on here during working hours, writing comments on here and not doing their jobs?
There is an ignorant comment for you scotty!

Anyway, do continue your abusive crusade...I shall not reply to any further comment from you!

There are two sides to respect.

- Student, London

What a load of rubbish, i say sack all those and bring in new workers.

- Patrick Bateman, london

Unions always stir up trouble when there is a national socialist, fascist, communist Labour government in power,always has, always will,they are just dumb morons.

- Lord Lucan, O2 Arena London

I hope none of the people complaining about this are Labour voters because, quite simply, you backed a Government financed by the Unions and you are responsible, so thanks very much from the rest of us.

- St, London

Tessa - you missed the point, I don't feel hard done by, I choose to do what I do. No one forces someone to drive a train or a bus. If they don't like it, instead of striking they should resign, and as mention by so many others, let those who want to work do so. I don't see why they should hold my work to ransom...

And if they do earn 40k a year I will be joining the probably very long queue for a job application form!

As for all the other pro driver propaganda can anyone take STUDENT seriously?

- Ken, UK

Scotty, (The same name as my dog I might add)
You are an incredibly tedious being!

You seem to of missed the point totally (as usual) *rolls eyes in despair*

Scotty,

1/ I ststed that the correct Underground driver's salary is actually 40k and not 50k.....which is a fact, check for yourself!

2/ proves how daft people are when they start ranting on about automatic trains.....again, do your research you'll find the D.L.R was close to striking!
If the control room staff went on strike, that means passengers would be out of contact with anyone that can get them help should they..... fall ill, the train fails or for any other reason

3/ Legally, a railway cannot operate without adequate health & safety procedures in place......ask any railway director about this scotty!
NOTE: I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT MONEY!

4/ David Cameron and Boris Johnson are a pair of unrealistic middle class fools....they cannot stop strikes and they know it!

Yes indeed scotty, I do know drivers' that use to work in offices'
What is imaginary about that!

Scotty, if you are far more "superior" to those that work on the railway, then why portray such aggressive behaviour?

Yes Scotty, I am a psychology student...who enjoys challenging obnoxious behaviour!

- Student, London

I seem to remember Crow playing Livingstone at all our expense a few times too . This is never going stop until essential services are deunionised

- Paul ., Central London

My dad's been an FE lecturer for 20 years and still doesn't get paid as much as a Tube driver. I'm not even sure what my monthly Oyster card goes towards - I sincerely doubt it's customer service, since a bus driver yesterday ignored about four people pressing the stop button and sailed past the bus stop, forcing an elderly man to walk ten minutes back in the opposite direction just to get back to where he originally wanted to be.

I mean, surely, the only thing you have to remember when driving a bus is a) to not flatten cyclists and b) to stop when people ask you to?

- Sian, Whitechapel

Greedy, greedy lazy fools. Why don't we just shut the tube network completely, concrete over the rails and we can have nice safe underground cycle lanes to use to access central London.

- Mr Opinion, London

Isn't it really about class warfare and the abuse of a monopoly position. If you are on £50K - strike action isn't that painful on the pocket compared with being a postie or a bin man.

- Andrew, London

To Student

I remember dockers comming out with many of the same (or simular)comments in the 60's. Oh yes and the printers in the 70's and 80's. See a trend???

- Very Angry At Mp'S Expenses, Home Counties

Thank you from a 4 month pregnant woman who is still having morning sickness, lives in Hackney and relies on the buses to get to work. I suppose the days the idea of service and the impact that not delivering the service on
the pregnant, disabled, elderly and young mums with children doesn't merit consideration.

- Mikki, London

Why all this strife since Boris become mayor? what is he doing to antagonise bus drivers and tube drivers this badly that they are prepared to lose money over it?

- Brian, Wiltshire

"Rail Worker" changing your name to "student" doesn't make your claims any less bizarre. though why you post the same things, irrespective of relevance, to every tube related article is reminiscent of graffiti rather than analytical discourse.

1. so its 50K and not 40K? so what? the only issue is over *how much* they are overpaid by.

2. they don't want adequate health and safety, they want more money. if these barnacles cared about health and safety, they wouldn't be trying it on for more cash. plus where is the evidence for sub-standard health and safety conditions? where is the deterioration since the last strike?

3. there are lot of people doing considerably better than a mere tube worker, the resentment is of the disruptions caused to their commute, not jealousy of oppportunity. Personally I object to unskilled, grunt labour not being happy with a supra-normal set of conditions.

4. what is the relevance of these imaginary office workers, who now drive imaginary trains? you keep typing this day after day as if it has some meaning? when the only meaning could be low barriers to entry.

this isn't even clever or intelligent propaganda, its just clumsy.

- Scotty, London

Oh dear, do they only earn £40 grand? How do they cope? That fully justifies shutting down the transport network so that temps on minimum wage can't get to work or get paid.

- Kevin T, Beckenham, Kent

Let's get the REALISTIC facts right....

1/ Tube drivers' DO NOT earn 50k.....the correct answer is 40k

2/ Automated trains cannot stop strikes...The D.L.R was close to a complete shutdown when the control room staff came close to walking out.

3/ A railway cannot operate without adequate health & safety.

4/ The Conservatives know they cannot stop strike action, as Buffoon Johnson nearly admitted in a recent interview.

5/ what's with the ignorant comments such as "sack them all" those that portray such ignorance are possibly jealous that they haven't got the kind of opportunities that they have!

6/ I am aware of a number of train drivers' that previously worked in offices (just like a number of people on here at this very moment) and gave their 35k office jobs up for a 40k drivers job!

- Student, London

They could get the public sympathy (including that of the poorly paid, understaffed, overworked emergency services and other members of society who have minimum wage jobs) if they did as they have done in Ireland in the past and keep all services running but not charging anyone, i.e., keep barriers open at tube stations and not worry about the oyster readers on buses (granted a lot of the bendys already are free buses anyway). You'd soon be able to keep commuters and tourists happy and 'stick it to the man'. Very simple, unless it is just an excuse for more days off, but surely that couldn't possibly be a reason could it?

- S-M Hearmon, London, UK

Johnson's response akin to '... let them eat cake' will simply not do. Management has to sit down and negotiate with the Unions. And tboth need to remember that its the public that suffer in misery. They've no choice.

- Dhan Raj, Basildon

1979. The revolution is nearing. The remaining unions will be destroyed. (Well it's a nice dream)

- Bj, East London

Let them strike for six months: after that time, we will all have got used to living without public transport and will no longer have to pay £28K salaries for bus drivers and £50K for tube drivers. Our lives will be transformed. I personally will save £116 per month and will be a happier, healthier person!

- Neil, London, London UK

Wasn't too surprised that this happend but funny how the Unions always say they don't mean to make the passengers suffer and yet this morning not one driver decided to tell the people waiting for the 15 that it won't be coming.

I wish I was on their salary but I accept I get paid what I do and if I don't like it I'm free to find another job that pays more.

- Devon, Blackwall, London

I noted last week that Metro disclosed TFL bonus figures, wonder if this just may be instrumental in what is fast becoming a 'winter of discontent' ? Or is it just the few Trade Unions that still exist in this country (with any clout that is) holding the once great City of London to ransom yet again ? Surely not with the moderate Brother Crow's involvement.............

- Andy Woodhead, London, ENGLAND

What they want to remember is that any barely sentient idiot can drive, and that their earnings and lifestyle depend upon doing a job that 99.9% of the adult population do as a matter of course on top of their proper job. Tube drivers don't even steer. Roll on automated trams and tubes.

- Squiz, Islington

we have all had enough of being blackmailed by these people who seem not to understand what is going on in the real world. bring in the army engineers to maintain the tube, give volunteers 2 hours training to drive the trains and let's keep it runnung!

- Tony, london

Ken,if you feel so hard done by,become a Train or Bus driver,simples.

- Tessa Barnes, London

As Horace Smyth says earlier,what's good for the Goose,is good for the Gander.

- Raymond Clarke, London

Wow. Who'd have thought it another strike. Maybe I should try the same and refuse to work because my pay has been frozen for the last 12 months, with another 12 months to go. But wait; I work for a private firm, I understand that the recession means my firm isn't making as much in revenue as they used to. I appreciate we have to all do our bit to keep as many people in work as we can. I also understand they'd fire me for not pulling my weight, something that maybe these lot should be threatened with. As for working conditions, like a huge majority I regularly do more than a 40 hour week and in ten years never been paid overtime.

I could understand demands to be better paid if these services were huge profit making industries but they're government subsidised essential infrastructure. Thing is these firms aren't staffed through National Service. The staff do have their own free will and if they don't like the wages, conditions and their current way of life then step down and let those desperate to work gladly take the jobs.

I hope these ridiculous strikes don't eventually do so much damage I lose my job because of them.

- Ken, UK

I would sack them all and give their jobs to unemployed people who are not workshy and don't mind getting up in the morning.

- Lord Lucan, Olympic Village London.

Get the army etc ready to step in. Anyone in a paid secure job threatened to strike and prevent working Londoners keep their companies going and their jobs should be shunned.

Jeopardising millions of Londoners livelihoods, by preventing them getting to work, when your jobs are secure whilst plenty of private sector workers are having heavy pay cuts or losing their jobs is simply a disgrace.

- James, London

Don't these working class fools realise,that without transport, us Banker's will be unable to get to our plush offices to get our million pound bonuses.

- Horace Sebastian Smyth, Notting Hill

i see the children are throwing there toys out of the pram again, tube workers are paid very well and get very good holiday entitlement and work less hours then most maybe they should get another job and see what the real world is like instead of holding london to ransom everytime they have a gripe

- Simon, HEMEL

Boris Johnson's "no strike deal" pledge is going really well, I see.

- Helen, West London

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