Tube strike

andy

@missannie What's gained in price savings is often lost in higher co-ordination costs and the loss of institutional knowledge. As anyone who has ever used a train will understand. Lots of big outsourcing decisions are being reversed and brought in house, especially where big complex networks are involved (Boeing have bought lots of stuff back in house, for example). One of the big cases (that not enough people make) in favour of the NHS is that because it is all in-house it is one of the best places in the world to do good clinical trials and link up academics with patients. As a country it's one of the things that makes us globally excellent at research and development. You could save a handful of % outsourcing it all, but at the cost of breaking the UK's R&D research base into tiny pieces.

ADGS

"<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', tahoma, sans-serif; line-height: 20.799999237060547px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">By asking outside contractors to compete against each other on price and service they will be getting a better deal." - yes, because this has worked out so well when it comes to the railways, utilities, hospital cleaning, care homes...I could go on, but the litany of penny-pinching profiteering from the decay of what were once public services would just be too depressing.</span>

kreuzkav

Agree so  much with ADGS and CrankyGuy. Outsourcing cuts down on wages, tea breaks, holidays, pensions, unions so that a small proportion of the world's population can buy out all the expensive property in London and make the rest of fear for our jobs and our homes.  Oh, haven't we moved on quite nicely from the idealistic post-war years.

Ali

<P>Looks like Labour is going to do something about the   property  private rented sector.  About time really going by  what people have been posting on here.</P> <P>Miss Annie Panorama was a pretty good example of privatised/outsourced care run on minimum wage etc</P> <P> </P> <P> </P>

Arkady

Paul Krugman (a Keynesian) famously pointed out that wherever rent controls have been tried it has reduced the quality and quantity of housing. It’s like putting a dirty bandage on a wound. To heal the wound we need a greater supply of housing.<br><br>Good (if old) article from Krugman <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/07/opinion/reckonings-a-rent-affair.html">here</a><br><br>The stuff about encouraging longer-term rents is welcome, though.<br>

graeme

@Ali That Labour plan doesn't seem particularly useful.  Rents will still go up in line with 'market value' and 'market conditions'.  The spiralling cost of shelter in the UK (thanks to the actions of the last two governments) will mean this plan will not have any effect.  Why RICS are involved (also a benefactor/pumper of markets) is anyone's guess.  <div><br></div><div>Isn't this just the 'We ballsed it up/did very little in power, please elect us so we can fix it' classic Ed Balls approach, that the electorate are wise to?<br><div><br></div><div>Edit: it looks like Labour can't get a press release right: http://order-order.com/2014/05/01/rics-deny-labour-claim-they-are-helping-with-rent-caps-policy-rent-caps-were-not-part-of-our-recommendations/ </div></div>;

Arkady

<div><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2"><font size="2">(</font>fixed<font size="2"> graeme's link)</font></font></div><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2" style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><div><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2"><br></font></div>http://order-order.com/2014/05/01/rics-deny-labour-claim-they-are-helping-with-rent-caps-policy-rent-caps-were-not-part-of-our-recommendations/</font>;

Arkady

<div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">Anyone interested in the (high level of) overlap between Miliband's rent proposals and existing Lib Dem policy might want to have a look at this short article:</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><br></div><div><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2">http://www.libdemvoice.org/rent-reforms-miliband-to-announce-20th-area-of-liblab-agreement-today-39632.html</font></div>;

Ali

<P>seems like the posssibly  soon to be free Scots do have some regulation such as licencing and min standards on repairs etc</P> <P><A href="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/Housing/privaterent/landlords">http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/Housing/privaterent/landlords</A></P>; <P>The labour proposal is I believe based on what happens in the Republic of Ireland - any one experienced that.</P> <P>It is similar  to what goes on in <FONT color=#282828>New York, Berlin and Dubai.</FONT></P> <P>Shame the LibDems have not been able to influence the Government  in this area althought something similar has been talked about by the Tories a while back.</P> <P>Does anyone kno wwaht Venezuelan rents controls are like ?</P>

ChangN4N6

Kruezkav - 'what happened to the idealistic post war years'? . They gave us the likes of White Dee and Shannon Matthews mother. They had a very long tea/break/holiday on the hard work of all if us ordinary people didn't they ? The tube strike shows up what a mess it is and how the bully boys and there supporters need a one way ticket to N Korea. Chang

NorthNineteen

So I gather agreement was only reached after TfL put it in writing that all former staff relocated from ticket offices will keep the same pay as they currently on regardless of position they take up (particularly important as there were going to be a cut in managers/supervisors).<br><br>So basically it all boiled down to money.  What happened to their safety and customer service concerns?<br><br>Go figure.<br>

Sutent

@N19 I think you forgot the station to station review that was agreed previously will now be carried out with union members present. <div><br></div><div>There are more strikes planned by other unions. The fire services has their strike recently and the NUT will be striking again this summer. The NHS and social care is being purposely being brought to its knees, its so sad to see falling down around me. There is a mass anti austerity march on June 21st in London. I was in upper street on Saturday canvassing anti austerity on Saturday and despite the area being very affluent it was well supported by the public</div>

NorthNineteen

Should hope so on Upper St: home of the champagne socialist etc.<br><br>"One of the big demands of the union though - for a public consultation - has not been granted. And it seems all ticket offices on the Tube will still close. <p>Transport bosses have told me there is not even the mechanism within the station review to save any ticket offices. The union thinks it still can save some."</p><p>source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-27303049<br></p>;

Arkady

Not surprised the RMT folded on the consultation - they would have been hammered in it.

Ali

<P>This "marked time"  arrangement is generally what  I have seen happen  in other organiations that are making this kind of change or taking levels out of an organisation when the level of job disapears.</P> <P>This  should also allow those who are thinking of taking severance have  a full view of what the options are if they stay.</P> <P>There are going to be people who have only done the  ticket office job trained up to only push a couple of buttons to get say a Zone 1& 2 ticket etc who are going to have spend the day standing around trying to use  IPads etc to provide info etc.  That might be a difficult transition for some people</P> <P> </P> <P>The comparison to the Olympics is not right. At that lots of people where going to places they don't usually go to so would need help  ie crowd control. Every day most people have thier heads down going to the same place everyday.</P> <P>It will be interesting how  cutsomers  the  "new" machines that can do everything get on ?</P> <P>I suspect  it will be call the call centre !</P> <P> </P> <P> </P> <P> </P>