Shortage of drivers on GWR

[Wilts Wanderer]

Our extreme

I wear a Mankini. I find that keeps people away and me safe.

LOL!

 

[infobleep]

Our extreme

I wear a Mankini. I find that keeps people away and me safe. But seriously, we have lost quite a few drivers at our place in the last day or so as the extremely clinical vulnerable have been told to stay at home. Thank goodness for people willing to do RDW or the service would be through the floor.

Of course in the first lockdown less trains were running, which helped. May not have helped those needing to get a train but helped companies running the trains

 

[dk1]

Our extreme

I wear a Mankini. I find that keeps people away and me safe. But seriously, we have lost quite a few drivers at our place in the last day or so as the extremely clinical vulnerable have been told to stay at home. Thank goodness for people willing to do RDW or the service would be through the floor.

There's always plenty of volunteers for FDW at our depot & if the DTM offers enough as a carrot no trains will get cancelled. You could wear nothing below the waist if you want to in the cab right now. With social distancing no manager is going to come near nor by haha.

 

[Class 170101]

Can't believe Intercities haven't been reduced to hourly yet.

 

[Bald Rick]

Can't believe Intercities haven't been reduced to hourly yet.

Wh9 is going to plan the changes?

 

[infobleep]

Wh9 is going to plan the changes?

Playing devil's advoact I guess whoever made the changes back in March.

I'm not saying it's feasible or worthwhile now in practice.

 

[pompeyfan]

I believe South Western Railway have cut their nose to spite their face. Any drivers not shown as Free Day (FD) available on the weekly sheets through Central resources cannot be contacted by the Duty Resource Manager (RM) and offered FD work otherwise they get +20 on their count. As a result the usual ones that will do part jobs for a “cheeky dozen” are staying well aware.

 

[Bald Rick]

Playing devil's advoact I guess whoever maxs the changes back in March.

I'm not saying it's feasible or worthwhile now in practice.

Ah, but many of them are now on holiday, or off work for other reasons.

 

[Dr Hoo]

I believe SWR have cut their nose to spite their face. Any drivers not shown as FD available on the weekly through Central resources cannot be contacted by the Duty RM and offered FD work otherwise they get +20 on their count. As a result the usual ones that will do part jobs for a “cheeky dozen” are staying well aware.

Any chance that you could flesh this out a bit for non SWR footplate staff?

It's a long time since I worked on the SW Division of BR. Some of the terminology has obviously changed.

Cheers.

 

[pompeyfan]

Any chance that you could flesh this out a bit for non SWR footplate staff?

It's a long time since I worked on the SW Division of BR. Some of the terminology has obviously changed.

Cheers.

Noted. Posted edited above.

 

[Dai Corner]

Would this work for GWR Drivers (and railway staff in general)?

Serial testing to be piloted by South Wales Police | GOV.WALES

A four-week pilot for asymptomatic serial testing with South Wales Police has been announced by the Health Minister.

gov.wales

The main aim of the pilot is to trial a serial testing regime that will aim to minimise the number of Police staff out of work due to self-isolation following contact with a person who has tested positive for COVID-19.
A similar plan for Welsh school and college staff and students was announced last week which will start in January.
Serial testing means Police staff identified as close contacts of someone who has tested positive would be asked to either self-isolate as normal or to take a lateral flow test (LFT) at the start of their shift for the duration of the self-isolation period.
Those who test negative may continue with their normal activities; those who test positive must self-isolate and book a confirmatory PCR test.
LFTs are handheld devices which produce results within 20 to 30 minutes and can be self-administered.
Health Minister Vaughan Gething said:

The nature of frontline police work is such that there is extensive interaction with often more vulnerable members of the public - resulting in a heightened risk of transmission, infection and requirement for self-isolation. This is resulting in a detrimental impact on Police workforce capacity to address day-to-day routine law enforcement commitments.
As a consequence of the particular pressures facing the South Wales Police area, I have agreed to a proposal to commence a four-week asymptomatic serial testing pilot with South Wales Police, ahead of a possible wider roll-out of serial testing to the other police force areas in Wales, subject to an evaluation and review demonstrating the impact and efficacy of this initial pilot. This proposal has the agreement of the other police force areas in Wales.

Chief Superintendent of South Wales Police, Andy Valentine, said:

I am pleased that we have been able to work with Welsh Government and Public Health Wales and I am extremely grateful for the support we have had to establish the lateral flow test pilot for our officers and staff.
We are seeing the very serious impact that the contact tracing arrangements have on police resource levels. When officers and staff have symptoms of COVID-19 or test positive, their close contacts are legally obliged to self-isolate for 10 days. Due to the uncontrolled nature of our work, these contacts can be numerous and have a significant impact on the individuals involved and on resource levels.
This pilot will allow officers who test negative to return to their duties safely so they can continue to protect the public and keep our communities safe.

First published​

23 December 2020

Last updated​

23 December 2020

 

[bramling]

So what? There's plenty of other reasons for payroll accruals, yet they get done. In many businesses staff are salaried anyway so the cost is the same each month regardless of what leave they take, which makes it more of an operational management issue than anything else.

The trouble with deferring annual leave is it has to be taken at some point. My place did it through the spring and early summer (when to be fair many people were only too happy to cancel), and ended up with serious coverage problems during September and October.

There’s also the issue, in a safety-critical industry, that it’s not a good idea to burn-out the staff who are working.

It doesn’t help that at my place the management of the shielding people has been utterly dire - first they sat at home from March to September when in all cases they could have been set up to carry out a proportion of their work from home (I realise this isn’t practical for roles like driver), then when they did come back they’ve been on reduced hours which further takes the pee. Meanwhile everyone else is getting hammered with their workload. This all makes the thought of deferring leave less attractive.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 23 Dec 2020 ==

Ah, but many of them are now on holiday, or off work for other reasons.

And who can blame them? They must have had an absolutely hurrendous year.

 

[Bald Rick]

And who can blame them? They must have had an absolutely hurrendous year.

Indeed so.

 

[infobleep]

Ah, but many of them are now on holiday, or off work for other reasons.

Cancel all leave. :grin:

Seriously this year they have certainly earned their time off, given the constant changes.

 

[Tomnick]

I believe South Western Railway have cut their nose to spite their face. Any drivers not shown as Free Day (FD) available on the weekly sheets through Central resources cannot be contacted by the Duty Resource Manager (RM) and offered FD work otherwise they get +20 on their count. As a result the usual ones that will do part jobs for a “cheeky dozen” are staying well aware.

I guess the intention is to penalise those who don’t make themselves available but instead wait to be offered a little bit? In practice, when there’s a longer term problem, plenty of folk won’t be bothered about rest day work just because they’ve already done so much. I’m in the same boat - I’ll gladly help out if there’s something that works for me left vacant on the daily sheets, or if they ring me for a part job or even a full job, but I rarely make myself available for it beforehand.

 

[theironroad]

I guess the intention is to penalise those who don’t make themselves available but instead wait to be offered a little bit? In practice, when there’s a longer term problem, plenty of folk won’t be bothered about rest day work just because they’ve already done so much. I’m in the same boat - I’ll gladly help out if there’s something that works for me left vacant on the daily sheets, or if they ring me for a part job or even a full job, but I rarely make myself available for it beforehand.

That's lovely for you.

Meanwhile, those (the majority) who make themselves available ahead of time inline with the agreement pick up the long, intense jobs and often at times they don't really want while you come along a do half a job for a minimum payment.

This is why the agreement has been amended to try to get a fair system for all where everyone plays by the rules.

The +20 wouldn't have been required if the people had stuck to the original agreement.

It's a shame it needed to be brought in.

 

[dk1]

That's lovely for you.

Meanwhile, those (the majority) who make themselves available ahead of time inline with the agreement pick up the long, intense jobs and often at times they don't really want while you come along a do half a job for a minimum payment.

This is why the agreement has been amended to try to get a fair system for all where everyone plays by the rules.

The +20 wouldn't have been required if the people had stuck to the original agreement.

It's a shame it needed to be brought in.

To be honest I do sort of the same. Dont make myself available incase I get nights & not really bothered about working FDs anyway. The DTM usually knows what will & wont tempt me if they are stuck. We have no penalty on the FD count however we do get a £57 bonus payment if we make ourselves available in advance.

 

[PHILIPE]

For the benefit of the laymen, what does FD stand for ? Thanks.

 

[ComUtoR]

For the benefit of the laymen, what does FD stand for ? Thanks.

Free Day

Rest Day in other places and no doubt a few more idosyncrasies across the network. In a nutshell, its overtime (voluntary)

 

[dk1]

For the benefit of the laymen, what does FD stand for ? Thanks.

Free Day. The W on the end if used stands for worked.

 

[Tomnick]

That's lovely for you.

Meanwhile, those (the majority) who make themselves available ahead of time inline with the agreement pick up the long, intense jobs and often at times they don't really want while you come along a do half a job for a minimum payment.

This is why the agreement has been amended to try to get a fair system for all where everyone plays by the rules.

The +20 wouldn't have been required if the people had stuck to the original agreement.

It's a shame it needed to be brought in.

Time and a half RDW for us, six hours minimum, so those who are keen enough to work overtime (with a datum time observed) usually want the long jobs anyway and have an incentive to do so (vs other agreements that have a nine hour or greater minimum). I’ve done so much lately that I’m not bothered either way, and there’s a lot going on at home, so it’s usually either a part job to get them out of trouble or nothing at all. I’ll happily do a full long job if it needs doing and fits around my plans though.

 

[PHILIPE]

Free Day

Rest Day in other places and no doubt a few more idosyncrasies across the network. In a nutshell, its overtime (voluntary)

Thanks for that

 

[Horizon22]

Of course in the first lockdown less trains were running, which helped. May not have helped those needing to get a train but helped companies running the trains

A key point - GWR just a couple of weeks ago went back to 95-98% of the base timetable at the December change. Primarily (although since worse this week) the trains cancelled hadn't been running for 6 months anyway.

 

[Class 170101]

A key point - GWR just a couple of weeks ago went back to 95-98% of the base timetable at the December change. Primarily (although since worse this week) the trains cancelled hadn't been running for 6 months anyway.

A waste of time apparently with many cancellations. I also can't see the logic at this time of running lots of trains just to move fresh air. A shortage of drivers according to the thread title and I'd suggest a shortage of passengers too.

 

[Bald Rick]

A waste of time apparently with many cancellations. I also can't see the logic at this time of running lots of trains just to move fresh air. A shortage of drivers according to the thread title and I'd suggest a shortage of passengers too.

It takes a lot longer to change a timetable than to amend lockdown tiers / rules.

 

[Class 170101]

It takes a lot longer to change a timetable than to amend lockdown tiers / rules.

I know. Special Traffic are exhausted right now across the piste.

 

[Horizon22]

Further issues on GWR - a combination of the weather playing a part also is that Swindon - Westbury services will be cancelled for next few days due to crew shortages. Crosscountry are also starting to be more affected in the South West, although flooding has basically chopped the route in two at Exeter right now.

 

[Sleepy]

GWR insider reports cuts to services coming very shortly, appears to be cost saving related given low numbers travelling now ?

 

[irish_rail]

GWR insider reports cuts to services coming very shortly, appears to be cost saving related given low numbers travelling now ?

I'd guess the 4tph pad to bristol will be officially binned for one thing.

Losing the b and h stoppers would be another option, more worrying, as it would lead to the slowing of the fast services , however i speculate idly.....

 

[heart-of-wessex]

Freshford flood has cleared for now. Been at Westbury Station on standby with me and 2 other coaches here from 0515, originally to cover the Bath bit but now we are just covering the cancelled services, mostly the Melksham line, but I might end up with a Salisbury as the 0930 and 1030 are binned