Well it comes across rightly or wrongly that your posts are very anti RMT and very pro DOO, now that may or may not be the actual case, but it is certainly the impression i am getting from most of your recent posts.
The RMT probably see this as a must win so must fight it, by accepting DOO meekly it would be the thin end of the wedge as far as they are concerned, they also know that despite all the promises made by Govia about the OBS role we all know that they are only a short term measure.
Previous DOO schemes around London have shown that when the guards have gone no one replaces them, most certainly BR did not, and we all know that the whole idea is to 1, reduce the power the RMT has, 2, reduce the headcount, and 3 in a separate part it will eventually close most if not all ticket offices. So you can understand why they fear DOO, take London Overground they had when they announced DOO 148 Conductors and six managers, of those 65 left or took early retirement and two of the managers left. If you repeat this across Southern, Merseyrail, Northern & Scotrail (the current companies with DOO in their plans) that means a net reduction of about half the workforce in everyone of those companies.
Ive heard people say well the union should protect those roles that displaced guards fall into, if the union cant defend its stronger groups, how is it going to defend its weaker ones? The union would have to accept that there days of negotiating workers in the rail industry is at an end and just let the companies do what they want with no recourse.
It is also truly amazing when trade unions in the UK are accused of bringing the country to halt when we have the toughest and most stringent trade union reforms in the western world.
My personal preference is for there always to be a second person on board the train. This is how I prefer trains to be run, but that doesn't mean it's always sustainable.
Quite honestly if I were working for the DfT or a TOC I would find the evidence for DOO worth pursuing. It's been shown that the removal of the guard doesn't affect overall passenger satisfaction or their perception of safety. The RSSB and ORR believe that DOO is a safe way of working, and frankly that's all that matters.
The problem with a lot of (but not all) railway staff is that they don't see things from the other side. There is a pervasive them and us culture in some areas which is counterproductive. Management of course are just as guilty for the continuance of that culture.
I completely support the rights of people to collectively bargain, to strike, and defend their rights. The RMT are finally well outmanoeuvred by the Tories (whom I detest and would never vote for); unfortunately the RMT can't see this themselves and so they're continuing with industrial action, during a parliamentary recess and during a period when the TOC's most lucrative customers will be likely to be on holiday. Instead, they really ought to have been spending the last year forging relationships with disability rights groups, or passenger interest groups. But no, they'll just go out on strike, same as always. It's quite depressing in a way.
The RMT are absolutely opposed to change and don't deny it - this change fundamentally affects the bulk of the RMT's safety critical staff. These staff are the most valuable to the union because the withdrawal of their labour causes the most disruption for the company (because the trains can't run), and if the RMT don't have safety critical staff on their subs sheet, they're f***ed as an industrial force. They'll end up like the TSSA who couldn't tear a wet paper hanky in two.
Travel around Europe. You'll see DOO in a lot of places. There are not that many ticket offices open on European suburban networks.
If I was a guard on GTR threatened with moving to OBS, I'd probably be looking at changing careers. But, try and find a £33,000/year job around that uses the same skills as a guard's. You can't - and I'm afraid that's the truth.
