EMT strike

[Qwerty133]

Anyone what's this about as all that's being said is its maintenance workers striking?

 

[EM2]

Anyone what's this about as all that's being said is its maintenance workers striking?

Train maintenance staff at Neville Hill that are members of Unite.

 

[Qwerty133]

Train maintenance staff at Neville Hill that are members of Unite.

Must have an effect on Etches Park or Eastcroft as well as it's almost exclusively local services cancelled and only HSTs are maintained at Neville Hill

 

[High Dyke]

Must have an effect on Etches Park or Eastcroft as well as it's almost exclusively local services cancelled and only HSTs are maintained at Neville Hill

And i'm stuck on nights when there will be freight running...

 

[bengolding]

Presumably, EMT will have fewer HSTs to work with during this period? Cramming a HST load of passengers onto a 4/5 car Meridian will be fun especially if it's the 075x or 0829 from Bedford!

 

[High Dyke]

Presumably, EMT will have fewer HSTs to work with during this period? Cramming a HST load of passengers onto a 4/5 car Meridian will be fun especially if it's the 075x or 0829 from Bedford!

Not just HST sets... Judging by the amount of failures that the 153, 156 and 158's are suffering the last few weeks. Nice to see that most local routes have been sacrificed next week except for the Nottingham - Skegness service. Then again EMT daren't disrupt that service...

 

[Qwerty133]

Personally I think it'd have been best to completely scrap Liverpool to Norwich services, as most of the route has other services, or can be covered by other services (LIV-MAN, MAN-SHF, SHF-NOT NOT-LEI LEI-PBO PBO-Norwich).

 

[High Dyke]

Personally I think it'd have been best to completely scrap Liverpool to Norwich services, as most of the route has other services, or can be covered by other services (LIV-MAN, MAN-SHF, SHF-NOT NOT-LEI LEI-PBO PBO-Norwich).

Like i'm beggared if i'm going to have to buy a ticket (if EMT lose the service / gets cut) whilst i can get free travel on the current service.

 

[Qwerty133]

Like i'm beggared if i'm going to have to buy a ticket (if EMT lose the service / gets cut) whilst i can get free travel on the current service.

I didn't mean permanently , but during the strike instead of cancelling services with no rail alternative I'd have cancelled Liverpool to Norwich, while admittedly inconvenient does, and for longer journeys buses can almost match journey times if they are express

 

[edwin_m]

Cancelling Liverpool-Nottingham would remove over half the capacity between Manchester and Sheffield where trains are always busy, and probably also have an impact on Manchester-Liverpool but I don't use that enough to comment on loadings. Alternative routes between Nottingham and Manchester/Liverpool would involve either a wait of nearly an hour at Sheffield for the residual TPE service (which just misses the Nottingham-Leeds), slow routings via Huddersfield, or the use of Derby-Stoke which if running at all would be unlikely to be any more than the usual 153.

From Peterborough and east, going via Leeds is often quicker and doesn't use EMT at all.

 

[DT611]

I didn't mean permanently , but during the strike instead of cancelling services with no rail alternative I'd have cancelled Liverpool to Norwich, while admittedly inconvenient does, and for longer journeys buses can almost match journey times if they are express

even as express a bus is a major downgrade for people who wish to use the rail service, a short journey might be tolerable but on a long journey i'd imagine the people will be wanting the train, the post above mine explains why canceling this particular service is a non runner.

 

[edwin_m]

It's possible to drive Nottingham to Manchester via the A52 and M6 in a similar time to the train, but only if you don't hit a peak hour anywhere along the way. However I'm pretty sure the train beats driving between Sheffield and Manchester and a coach would be slower still. There's also the risk, as with diversions such as Birmingham-Derby, that if a reduced train service continues to run every bus will be timetabled to be overtaken by a train so a lot of people will wait for the train... only to find it is completely rammed.

 

[CockneySparrow]

I didn't mean permanently , but during the strike instead of cancelling services with no rail alternative I'd have cancelled Liverpool to Norwich, while admittedly inconvenient does, and for longer journeys buses can almost match journey times if they are express

They have cancelled the Peterborough to Norwich stretch of this service with the exception of a couple of trains in the morning rush hour and a couple late at night

 

[Railway Brakes]

Not just HST sets... Judging by the amount of failures that the 153, 156 and 158's are suffering the last few weeks. Nice to see that most local routes have been sacrificed next week except for the Nottingham - Skegness service. Then again EMT daren't disrupt that service...

High Dyke - what has been the causes of the 15x failures?

 

[dk1]

They have cancelled the Peterborough to Norwich stretch of this service with the exception of a couple of trains in the morning rush hour and a couple late at night

05.50/06.51/07.57 ex-Nrw
13.52/14.52/15.52/17.52 ex-Liv

These are all running as x4 158s are maintained nightly at Crown Point. EMTs must be glad of this contract with AGA. Norwich traincrews go pass by train to/from Grantham.

 

[David Barrett]

What are the issues behind the dispute?

 

[lincolnshire]

What are the issues behind the dispute?

I belive its all to do with the maintenance staffs pension,s its dates back from a reorganiseation a few years ago .

 

[CockneySparrow]

05.50/06.51/07.57 ex-Nrw
13.52/14.52/15.52/17.52 ex-Liv

These are all running as x4 158s are maintained nightly at Crown Point. EMTs must be glad of this contract with AGA. Norwich traincrews go pass by train to/from Grantham.

GA use them in the morning before they go to Nottingham/Liverpool

 

[High Dyke]

High Dyke - what has been the causes of the 15x failures?

At least two of the 153 units have run out of fuel / fuel starvation problems. A 156 arrived at Newark Castle a few weeks back with coolant loss in one engine; with other 156 & 158 units also running round on one engine. Various other faults have included doors, fire system and brake problems.

 

[sd0733]

4 units (3x156 and a 158) are currently outbased at crewe for the strike. The first drby-crewe is a bus as is the last one back but others are all operating as 3 out and back diagrams with the 4th unit a spare.

 

[LowLevel]

I belive its all to do with the maintenance staffs pension,s its dates back from a reorganiseation a few years ago .

It has nothing to do with that and everything to do with EMT giving drivers and depot drivers a larger increase than every other grade and then saying there's no more left in the pot for anyone else, despite the level of salary of drivers and depot drivers in the first place.

As a result the pay gap between the drivers and the rest of the staff has increased again (except the MD who I believe got quite an impressive increase again).

 

[dk1]

GA use them in the morning before they go to Nottingham/Liverpool

Only 1 of them used by AGA for the 05.36 Lwt. Then slots back into it's booked 07.57 departure.

 

[CockneySparrow]

Only 1 of them used by AGA for the 05.36 Lwt. Then slots back into it's booked 07.57 departure.

Thought it was Yarmouth in the morning and Lowestoft in the evening

 

[dk1]

Thought it was Yarmouth in the morning and Lowestoft in the evening

No Lowestoft in the morning has been & still is the case for several years. Covering the 19.33 Gym was only a later & temporary option that ended last year.

 

[High Dyke]

What are the issues behind the dispute?

Information here:

East Midlands Trains staff set for strike action over ‘paltry’ pay offer
25 July 2014
East Midlands Trains faces a four day strike, starting on Sunday (27 July), by its engineering and maintenance staff in Derby, Leeds and Nottingham in a dispute over pay.

More than 80 staff at the three depots, members of Unite, the country’s largest union, will strike from 06:00 on Sunday, ending at 05:59 on Thursday (31 July). This will be accompanied by a continuous overtime ban which will also start on Sunday and will continue beyond Thursday.

Unite predicted that train services would be disrupted during the big ‘get away’ weekend of the summer holidays, as schools break up.

The union called on the management to get around the table to improve on the ‘paltry’ 2.75 per cent pay offer for the year April 2014 – April 2015 – which has now been taken off the table by the bosses.

Unite regional officer Mick Millichamp said: “Our members have worked hard for this company adapting to the many changes asked of them. However, they were very disappointed with the current paltry pay offer, now withdrawn, at a time when household bills are going through the roof.

“The management has not applied equal treatment to this group of workers as other groups of employees have received greater improvements to their terms and conditions.

“The timing of this dispute was set by the employer’s failure to recognise Unite members’ legitimate grievances.

“It is regrettable that this employer has failed to build on the co-operation and goodwill Unite members demonstrated last year when extensive line work was carried out and the workforce at Nottingham and Derby carried out all maintenance work at the Derby depot.

“Unite believes that a large number of the working public will relate to unfair treatment and being undervalued in the workplace.

“We would welcome constructive talks with the management with a view to securing a better pay deal.

“The strike is due to go-ahead on Sunday for four days and we predict significant disruption to services, as people use East Midlands Trains to start their summer holidays.”

ENDS

http://www.unitetheunion.org/news/e...-set-for-strike-action-over-paltry-pay-offer/

 

[455driver]

In the current climate I think 2.75% (without strings*) is a reasonable offer and should have been accepted.

* As long as there are no strings attached!

 

[ExRes]

It has nothing to do with that and everything to do with EMT giving drivers and depot drivers a larger increase than every other grade and then saying there's no more left in the pot for anyone else, despite the level of salary of drivers and depot drivers in the first place.

As a result the pay gap between the drivers and the rest of the staff has increased again (except the MD who I believe got quite an impressive increase again).

Having no contact with my former colleagues now, could someone please enlighten me on the percentage pay rise received by Drivers this year

 

[Qwerty133]

In the current climate I think 2.75% (without strings*) is a reasonable offer and should have been accepted.

* As long as there are no strings attached!

Unite are accepting much lower offers in other industry's...
Shows how strong unions are in the rail industry

 

[455driver]

Unite are accepting much lower offers in other industry's...
Shows how strong unions are in the rail industry

I am all for a strong union but there is no need to take the wee wee!

I wonder if the problems are the actual percentage payrise or are there some 'extras' attached to the offer that are the problem?

 

[High Dyke]

Having no contact with my former colleagues now, could someone please enlighten me on the percentage pay rise received by Drivers this year

AFAIK the drivers got.

First stage of a 2 stage 24 month agreement with a 3% increase on basic pay and London Weighting Allowance for Mainline Drivers, and a £1,100 increase in pay for Depot/service Drivers grades employed at Neville Hill, Eastcroft and Etches Park depots with effect from the 1 January 2014.

The second stage of the agreement due on the 1 January 2014 will increase basic pay and London Weighting Allowance by 2.7% or November 2014 RPI, whichever is greater.

http://www.lrd.org.uk/services/payline/rmt/plagree.php?LRDref=AE0018

Engineering staff at EMT, who are part of RMT, were awarded the amount shown below. I have no information about any new/ongoing pay negotiations.

A one year, no-strings pay agreement, backdated to 1 April 2013. A 2.73% increase on basic pay for all grades represented within collective bargaining.

http://www.lrd.org.uk/services/payline/rmt/plagree.php?LRDref=AM234