Thursday, February 03, 2011
Meanwhile, in the Assembly Chamber
I hope to be able to post about a classic Rhodri Morgan speech once the record of proceedings is up but in the meantime here is a faux pas by a Tory AM from Tuesday's First Minister's Question Time:
Darren Millar: Another issue that may affect the availability of trains for passengers is the strike that is planned for this Friday. You will be aware that, despite a generous 12 per cent pay offer by Arriva Trains Wales, train drivers are still planning to take this strike action, following the rejection of the deal by the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers. Given that the planned strike will coincide with the opening day of the RBS 6 Nations rugby tournament, and given that it has the potential to cause maximum disruption for travellers, significant damage to the south Wales economy, and a major embarrassment for our country, what is your Government doing to ensure that this dispute is brought to an end quickly, and that passengers and businesses do not suffer as a result of the unreasonable response by the RMT union to this generous pay deal?
The First Minister: The strike is off, Darren. [Laughter.]
For the record the strike was called off at 13:27, whereas Question Time commenced at 13:30. The availability of computers in the chamber meant that most people knew about the strike being called off by looking at their Twitter feeds. Darren however, would have been preparing for his question rather than trawling the internet at that time. Still, isn't that what support staff are for.
Darren Millar: Another issue that may affect the availability of trains for passengers is the strike that is planned for this Friday. You will be aware that, despite a generous 12 per cent pay offer by Arriva Trains Wales, train drivers are still planning to take this strike action, following the rejection of the deal by the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers. Given that the planned strike will coincide with the opening day of the RBS 6 Nations rugby tournament, and given that it has the potential to cause maximum disruption for travellers, significant damage to the south Wales economy, and a major embarrassment for our country, what is your Government doing to ensure that this dispute is brought to an end quickly, and that passengers and businesses do not suffer as a result of the unreasonable response by the RMT union to this generous pay deal?
The First Minister: The strike is off, Darren. [Laughter.]
For the record the strike was called off at 13:27, whereas Question Time commenced at 13:30. The availability of computers in the chamber meant that most people knew about the strike being called off by looking at their Twitter feeds. Darren however, would have been preparing for his question rather than trawling the internet at that time. Still, isn't that what support staff are for.
