Train strikes

[Folkevermore]

The railway is so out dated, they called of a train strike on either the Thursday or the Friday, and are so inefficient that they could not run a 100% service on the Monday or Wednesday that was meant to be the strike days.

What does that tell you!

I’m a timetable planner and this comment shows you literally don’t understand how railways work lol, they had already published the amended timetables that have to go out by a certain date - they can’t be amended past that because of security risks.
Timetable planners also work Monday - Friday as it’s a normal 9-5 office job so we could not just revert the entire network by the Monday when we were told the strikes were off at 4:30pm on a Friday even if we did implement a last minute pull in the system. We all have jobs and families, and a lot of people have kids and other responsibilities so we’re not going to stay past our normal working hours, especially not for the wage we get paid. Timetable planning is also pretty complex and like fitting a huge jigsaw puzzle into place so it’s hard to plan a new timetable at a moments notice, especially when there are so many moving variables such as crew and stock diagramming to take into account.

As the strikes were already planned all of the rolling stock planning had been adjusted so we wouldn’t be able to get the trains in the right place to start their journeys from the depot.

Most railway operations are heavily reliant on overtime (which is paid at the normal hourly rate btw) and as they hadn’t bothered to arrange overtime on strike days, even if the issues mentioned above were resolved, there wouldn’t be staff to run the trains.
All services (at least on my network) we’re back to normal by the wednesday.

please also note train timetable planners work their asses off to try to get things moving, and haven’t been on strike at all this year (at least not where I work), so its kinda shitty that we work our arses off just to get mocked by the general public

 

[kev1974]

Buckle up, here come the train strikes.

LNER every Sat and Sun from August 31 until November.

https://www.archive.is/oldest/https...hs-train-strikes-weekend-August-November.html

 

[OnlyHereForTheLolz]

Have no sympathy for the rail workers. All the good will there had been has certainly disappeared now

 

[IngressUK]

I know my TOC does open advertisements that anyone can apply for. Obviously you’re more likely to get the job if you have front line railway experience though, because you know more about procedures and safety

Even on UK Rail Forums, staffed by Industry professionals and knowledgeable individuals, it has been stated that as an outsider (ordinary person looking for work) you have no hope of becoming a TfL tube driver. Promotion is from within, and only after x years of doing a job in areas such as front line customer service.

So 'closed shops' do still exist on the rail network.

I personally consider this to be a discriminationary union practice. As it shuts out any member of the public applying for a position, only those currently within the organisation will get knowledge of positions, and be allowed to apply for them.

The only positions the Unions don't seem to have issues with being advertised publicly are the lower end jobs, such as ticket gate operatives, and customer service. Anything higher paid is reserved for those already in, despite someone on the outside being more than qualified.

 

[Folkevermore]

They’re screwing over staff in more than just the monetary sense too. My partner works on the railway, and the general rule for their shifts in the past is that they will work approximately two full weekends plus an additional Saturday or Sunday out of a five week rota, and if they don’t have weekends of they will get two days off in a row in a week to allow for a proper rest.
He just got his new shift pattern options through. All of them have them working 4/5 weekends, and their days off in the week aren’t even together, so he’ll get say a Monday and a Thursday off instead.
no work life balance at all. He only earns £25k, does horrendously unsocial shift hours and he commutes to London for work too, so it’s honestly not becoming worth it anymore.
the old office job (government work) that he left four years ago now pays more, even though the railway was a pay increase for him at the time.
I think people have this belief that all railway workers earn big money, and are therefore greedy, but for most of them this isn’t the case at all.

 

[Warpaint]

I think after the December ones it will really force everyone into a deal (one that obviously works for all sides) as I think the public will be really pissed off this time. It's the height of travel for people getting home for Christmas.

 

[OnlyHereForTheLolz]

Buckle up, here come the train strikes.

LNER every Sat and Sun from August 31 until November.

https://www.archive.is/oldest/https...hs-train-strikes-weekend-August-November.html

Oooh, I hope there are strikes on 4 sept. I booked a super expensive ticket (£85) for something that's not happening anymore. I need a refund

 

[Beverley Macker]

Aren’t many less people using the trains now though? They are nowhere near as busy in London, due to so many people now working from home.
Redundancies surely must simply be inevitable? It’s sad but it’s just like any other industry that loses customers and users.

 

[kev1974]

More ASLEF action: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-67978562

Why? What will it achieve that the last 18 months of strikes hasn't achieved?

 

[Affiliatedlink]

Unfortunately strikes happen when they will cause the most disruption..that’s the point.

 

[Millyve]

Kay Burleys interview with Mick Lynch sums up what is wrong with the media.

Let’s not blame the members fighting for a pay rise while the cost of living is increasing.

 

[betchyhin]

And yet these train drivers get paid more than the majority of the country. Selfish so and sos

 

[epl000]

Can people please reply to the consultation about ticket office closures - https://www.gwr.com/haveyoursay

This is really going to affect people like me who are disabled. But given what's happened to me this year in regards to assisted travel, I know I'm not welcome on GWRs services.

This really makes me sad to read, public transport should be for everyone, and I really think that cutting costs has severely impacted vulnerable people the most.

 

[PinkandTwinkly]

Inner city and suberban routes, where you have frequent stations you could do without a Grd.
On longer distance routes where you go 30 kins, half an hr without a second compentant person and your are putting the passengers safety at risk.
If an incident happens on the journey, the Drivers job is to be responsible for the train. That would leave no one to assist passengers, and provide information.
The incident maybe a unit issue or the train might have hit a tree and worse a person. The passengers will want assistance, support, information and in any/all of those cases tbe Driver will be be able to provide it

But this strike isn't just Grds.
I've said before but it's what makes it so hard for poeple to understand everything RMT want
Network Rail signallers and perm way staff are striking, over pay/conditions but also over changes they feel will impact on them doing there jobs safely.
Yesterday was the anniversary of the Clapham Rail disaster, the cause of which was poorly installed/maintained signalling which was due to a poor health and safety culture (which workers knew and managers ignored)
Do we really want to risk something like that happening again?

It also shows why decent pay is important for Rail Staff, and Nurses and anyone invoked in safety.
Prior to privatisation rail staff (Inc drivers) were pretty poorly paid and worked every hr they could to take home a decent wage. The signalling tech "responsible" had worked every day for the last seven weeks. Staff that are skint, that will try and cram all the overtime in to pay their way are not going it be as effective as fully rested staff.

Luckily nowdays they are many safety systems in place to prevent errors (and rules around the hours someone can work), but I still worry when poeple work the "legal" 13 out of every 14 - especially when the shifts we work are more knackering in the first palce

 

[gossipgirlxxo]

I’m so glad there’s a thread for this! Has there been any update for the strikes 16th/17th december yet? I’m desperate to see my family before Christmas and that’s the only weekend I can go it’s my nan’s first Christmas without my grandad. I couldn’t go to his funeral either because it ended up on a strike day. I’m so sick of this!!

Ps, I don’t drive

 

[CrackingOwlSanctuary]

If the government had just let the TOCs agree their own deals instead of insisting they had to have a blanket agreement across all TOCs handled by the RDG/DfT then it would have all likely been resolved ages ago. The government has even admitted it's cost more to stay in dispute than it would have to just deal.

It may have made some sense to try and take the negotiations by the reins if there was any talent left in government but based on their recent track record I'm not sure why they thought they would win against the two strongest unions in the country.

 

[Folkevermore]

I can’t believe they still haven’t resolved this. My partner hasn’t had a payrise in over four years and it’s ridiculous.
And the “no one travels by train” thing they keep saying is a load of crap. My commuter train to/from Euston every morning is full and standing

 

[Grizzlybear]

@Jmx i support workers and I genuinely hope you get everything you ask for. The narrative that nurses haven’t had a pay rise either and are on worse money isn’t something this country should be shouting about imo. We need change.

 

[CrackingOwlSanctuary]

The media reporting on that offer is frankly astounding, claiming the RMT 'refuse to save Christmas' by rejecting it. The deal is being totally misrepresented, agreeing that offer is essentially agreeing to axe your own job for a lot of grades. This is what is actually on the table:

These proposals set out a two-year pay package which provides 4% increases for years 2022 & 2023. These are way below the current and predicted future rates of inflation and equate to a 20% pay cut.
A conditional no compulsory redundancy commitment is set out, but only until 1st April 2024.

1. That all Workforce Changes are accepted without reservation or industrial action;
2. Closure of all ticket offices and displacement of all retail staff;
3. Creation of a new multi-skilled station grades;
4. A mass job severance programme;
5. Driver-Only Operation of trains in all companies and on all passenger services;
6. New arrangements for mandatory Sunday working;
7. A review of all On-Train Catering services leading to cutbacks in provision and jobs;
8. Review of Fleet grades' working practices and depot driving;
9. Flexible working contracts, working and rosters;
10. Mandatory adoption of new technology with no payment;
11. New Attendance Management scheme;
12. Review of Stood Off arrangements;
13. New annual leave and sick pay arrangements.

All this supposedly because 'no-one is using the train' but I see plenty of trains full and standing. Even if the RMT agreed this, ASLEF and TSSA are still in dispute.

 

[Melian]

Can people please reply to the consultation about ticket office closures - https://www.gwr.com/haveyoursay

This is really going to affect people like me who are disabled. But given what's happened to me this year in regards to assisted travel, I know I'm not welcome on GWRs services.