I look forward to the RMT calling for wage restraint amongst its members to help curb the rising costs of the tube network so that fare rises can be curtailed.

@Ian

I am looking forward to right-wingers ending the false accusation that the tube fare rises are anything to do with RMT wage settlements (most recently 1.5% – a real wage freeze after inflation).

There are 14,400 London Underground staff, including both
drivers (on less than the average male full time wage in London) and station staff (on far less than this).

Assuming they are all on £40K (a massive overestimate as TfL don’t provide stats), the total wagebill is £576 million.

The tube network costs £2,200 million to operate (ignoring the costs of capital investment). Greedy LU staff take less than 26% of this

A 1.5% pay increase cost – in nominal terms – less than £9
million.

When TfL estimate that their fare rises on the tube will raise £42 million, your argument that it’s the fault of greedy staff looks like the bullshit it is.

Clearly labour and the unions like to bash Borris but dont take everyone for fools , labour propoganda is as clear to spot as the huge bugit deficit.

@2 Sevillista

To be fair, employing people costs more than just the salary (I’m thinking pensions mainly) but I generally accept the point – it’s highly unlikely that the entire reason for the increase is wage settlements.

I would like to see some real examples of people being priced off public transport, rather than just the rhetoric. Car drivers have seen prices shoot up over the last year (unleaded up almost 27% over the last year) but those who cannot avoid those costs, for instance if public transport is unable to get them to work, simply have to make economies elsewhere. Compared to that, 3.9% tube fare increases seem paltry.

Firstly I am not a Tory in any shape and form, much to the left and I am very much against Boris Johnson’s over the top fare rises on public transport in London but my question is why do the unions make a huge fuss over Tory fare rises but when it was Labour they were much quiter? If you ask me New Labour, Conservative (and Lib Dem) are just as bad as each other and I don’t like how most trade unions turn a blind eye to the current right wing government yet are happy to jump on the Conservatives

@markm

“To be fair, employing people costs more than just the salary”

But I have already vastly over-estimated average pay as most LU staff are not tube drivers and so on far less than £40K. I don’t know if TfL have published the cost of this years’ settlement anyway to get a better estimate of its’ cost than my back-of-envelope one, or if they publish info on LU’s wage-bill including employer NI and pensions contributions.

On your second point, the real cost of driving (including car purchase) has decreased massively since 1997, at a time when public transport fares have rocketed (ONS publish good stats on this – I’d
find the link if I had time). And don’t
forget we are talking about London – 40% of
households do not own a car and 90% of journeys to the centre are by public
transport.

@MartynP

“I am very much against Boris Johnson’s over the top fare rises on public transport in London but my question is why do the unions make a huge fuss over Tory fare rises but when it was Labour they were much quiter?”

These are by far the highest real fare increases since the creation of the Mayoralty – and this time they take place during a recession!