Boxing Day: Should there be scheduled trains?

[Flamingo]

I am a Train Guard.

I don't work Xmas Day or Boxing Day because my employer does not run passenger trains on those days. If my employer did want to start running trains on those days, it would be a significant change in contract for me and my colleagues, and would probably require a vote to approve that change.

All the bitching and moaning in the world by people who either would use a train if one was running, or those who just want to complain because somebody has something they don't will not change any of that.

If the situation ever arose that my employer proposed to my union that they wished to ammend the contract, I would personally vote against it, as I would see such an amendment forcing me to work Xmas as having a negative impact on my family life, and I make no apology for that. If my choice is between my family and some total stranger who (if this thread is an indication) will probably not even consider or appreciate what I was giving up to work that day to allow them to go shopping / football / visit mum, wellI will chose my family. Anybody who would chose otherwise may be a better person than me, but probably should not be a parent.

 

[ANorthernGuard]

I am a Train Guard.

I don't work Xmas Day or Boxing Day because my employer does not run passenger trains on those days. If my employer did want to start running trains on those days, it would be a significant change in contract for me and my colleagues, and would probably require a vote to approve that change.

All the bitching and moaning in the world by people who either would use a train if one was running, or those who just want to complain because somebody has something they don't will not change any of that.

If the situation ever arose that my employer proposed to my union that they wished to ammend the contract, I would personally vote against it, as I would see such an amendment forcing me to work Xmas as having a negative impact on my family life, and I make no apology for that. If my choice is between my family and some total stranger who (if this thread is an indication) will probably not even consider or appreciate what I was giving up to work that day to allow them to go shopping / football / visit mum, wellI will chose my family. Anybody who would chose otherwise may be a better person than me, but probably should not be a parent.

Well said old friend, however the views mentioned by quite a few people will not change as we are public slaves I mean servants even though we are employed by a private company.

 

[Mojo]

If it carries on this way, then in twenty years there'll be 24-hour shopping on Christmas Day. This has all been driven by retailers.
What's so wrong in just wanting a couple of days of peace and quiet?

Because everyone is different, and some people don't want "a few days of peace and quiet."

 

[EM2]

Because everyone is different, and some people don't want "a few days of peace and quiet."

That's fine, but that doesn't mean that those that do (and that includes many railway workers) should bow to the wishes of those that don't.
If shops want to open on Boxing Day, and people want to go to them, then do. But don't complain that others don't want to indulge you.

 

[ANorthernGuard]

Ideals and values have got so bad in this country that people wanting to spend time with their families on 2 days of the year comes 2nd place to..... Shopping

So very very sad

 

[northwichcat]

I don't work Xmas Day or Boxing Day because my employer does not run passenger trains on those days. If my employer did want to start running trains on those days, it would be a significant change in contract for me and my colleagues, and would probably require a vote to approve that change.

With train employees is there any reason why operators can't introduce new employment contracts and make a change optional for existing employees but mandatory for at least a quota of newly employed staff (quota size depending how many existing employees chose to accept the changes)?

That way TOCs could cover a Sunday service on Boxing Day and also be better placed to cover normal Sundays without having to cancel services because not enough staff volunteered to work.

Can you imagine other sectors operating like the railways? A bank that's supposed to be open on Saturdays is closed because not enough staff volunteered to work Saturdays so the bank run a free shuttle bus from the bank to another bank belonging to the same chain 7 miles away?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Ideals and values have got so bad in this country that people wanting to spend time with their families on 2 days of the year comes 2nd place to..... Shopping

So very very sad

How do you know the people who go out on Boxing Day aren't shopping with family members they don't see every day, or those going to the football aren't taking an Uncle from outside the local area with them? Not everyone wants to sit around and play board games and is going out and doing things with your family really worst than sitting at home and watching TV together?

 

[ANorthernGuard]

Who mentioned tv? Have you seen the rubbish on tv this year

 

[northwichcat]

Who mentioned tv? Have you seen the rubbish on tv this year

You didn't but it's something that a lot of people who stay at home on Boxing Day do.

 

[ANorthernGuard]

With me its spending time with other family members and having another xmas dinner

 

[quarella]

If a service was introduced I anticipate a high cancellation rate due to "staff sickness." Call me cynical but trains have been cancelled at my TOC and I expect many others on Christmas Eve and today due to the sickness (which may well be genuine) of traincrew declined leave.

 

[northwichcat]

If a service was introduced I anticipate a high cancellation rate due to "staff sickness." Call me cynical but trains have been cancelled at my TOC and I expect many others on Christmas Eve and today due to the sickness (which may well be genuine) of traincrew declined leave.

Is Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve on the railways like most companies - the first to book those days off get it approved and once a certain number of people have booked it others with the same job role get requests declined? (With a bit of fiddling to make sure that someone doesn't request both Christmas Eve and New Years Eve off every year.)

 

[A-driver]

If a service was introduced I anticipate a high cancellation rate due to "staff sickness." Call me cynical but trains have been cancelled at my TOC and I expect many others on Christmas Eve and today due to the sickness (which may well be genuine) of traincrew declined leave.

Why do you anticipate that? Go back and read the posts in this thread as that question has been answered several times. STAFFING IS NOT THE ISSUE!!! As I said earlier, the volunteer list on Boxing Day generally far outweighs the work avaliable. There is no shortage of train crew who volunteer every year to cover the handful if Boxing Day jobs which exist year in year out.

 

[northwichcat]

With me its spending time with other family members and having another xmas dinner

But with cold turkey instead of warm turkey?

 

[A-driver]

Is Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve on the railways like most companies - the first to book those days off get it approved and once a certain number of people have booked it others with the same job role get requests declined? (With a bit of fiddling to make sure that someone doesn't request both Christmas Eve and New Years Eve off every year.)

Pretty much, yes. I don't think there are often any staffing problems on either day though? I've never known any.

 

[A-driver]

If a service was introduced I anticipate a high cancellation rate due to "staff sickness." Call me cynical but trains have been cancelled at my TOC and I expect many others on Christmas Eve and today due to the sickness (which may well be genuine) of traincrew declined leave.

And as for the last sentence-can you get some proof rather than just very cynical guesses? And also can you get figures from other industries aswell? Sure there are one or two drivers who may pull a sickie over the festive period but that's the same in every single job out there.

Please provide evidence to back up your post or at least justify its relevance in this discussion.

 

[bicbasher]

Why is it that we have a rail service on Easter Sunday when many shops are shut?

 

[Ascot]

Girl at our place who commutes from Stoke to Brum had a game and a half this morning due to the bank holiday service starting later than normal. I thought today was business as usual in terms of bank holidays or at least a train before 08:45?

Naturally a few LM services got cut but that's turning pretty normal over the last few months.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ANorthernGuard]

But with cold turkey instead of warm turkey?

I prefer the discription..... Rested lol

 

[Flamingo]

Staff sickness does occasionally cause cancelled trains, but it is, in my experience, always very short-notice sickness - I have had to ring in sick as I have started vomiting en-route to work, I have known staff be in car-crashes on the way in. If somebody is "throwing a sickie" I would doubt if they would leave it to within an hour of starting their shift to do so. The only staff who cause train cancellations are Drivers or Guards, both of whom are usually very aware of their responsibilities and have a mature attitude to their role.

 

[A-driver]

Staff sickness does occasionally cause cancelled trains, but it is, in my experience, always very short-notice sickness - I have had to ring in sick as I have started vomiting en-route to work, I have known staff be in car-crashes on the way in. If somebody is "throwing a sickie" I would doubt if they would leave it to within an hour of starting their shift to do so. The only staff who cause train cancellations are Drivers or Guards, both of whom are usually very aware of their responsibilities and have a mature attitude to their role.

Not only are drivers and guards mature and responsible enough to turn up for work but at many TOCs they are also unable to self certify as sick. So unlike many cushy office jobs out there if I go sick tomorrow I either don't get paid for the day or I decide I'm sick enough to go to my doctor and get a sick note. Plus some of my best mates are colleagues and I hate the thought of stitching them up with all my work if they are rostered spare or stand by.

But let's not spoil the staff bashing myths with any facts. No one goes sick in other industries apparently.

 

[Beveridges]

Before calling office jobs cushy, I have done them and they are far from cushy, bloody horrible more like. Give me 12 hour nights on a depot shunting trains and emptying toilet tanks in minus conditions any day over office work.

 

[A-driver]

Before calling office jobs cushy, I have done them and they are far from cushy, bloody horrible more like. Give me 12 hour nights on a depot shunting trains and emptying toilet tanks in minus conditions any day over office work.

I didn't mean it seriously-I was showing the same level of knowledge that I have of office jobs that many posters on here display towards my job.

 

[dk1]

Why is it that we have a rail service on Easter Sunday when many shops are shut?

Probably because Easter is seen as more religious wheras Christmas is now seen on the whole as commercial & more of what the UK now appears to stand for.

 

[Simon11]

If a service was introduced I anticipate a high cancellation rate due to "staff sickness." Call me cynical but trains have been cancelled at my TOC and I expect many others on Christmas Eve and today due to the sickness (which may well be genuine) of traincrew declined leave.

I got the first service of the day with a change at banbury to birmingham for 9am, however due to staff sickness the train was cancelled resulting in being late.

While that does happens, I think tocs should attempt to put on a better service today so commuters can still get to work, not just relying one on service to get people to work before 9am.

 

[northwichcat]

Not only are drivers and guards mature and responsible enough to turn up for work but at many TOCs they are also unable to self certify as sick. So unlike many cushy office jobs out there if I go sick tomorrow I either don't get paid for the day or I decide I'm sick enough to go to my doctor and get a sick note. Plus some of my best mates are colleagues and I hate the thought of stitching them up with all my work if they are rostered spare or stand by.

But let's not spoil the staff bashing myths with any facts. No one goes sick in other industries apparently.

I'm not sure if you're aware but these days with most people having a computer, phone and internet connection at home means a lot of people with office jobs say they are too sick to go in to work but then do some work from home. If you've got the Flu that's now seen as an excuse for not being in the office, not for not doing any work. If you've got a genuine migraine that's also causing you to throw up then that's a different matter. Oh and doing some work from home and not doing a full day work from the office does still get noted on your sick record.

I'm not suggesting that should apply to train crews in any way but I do wonder whether some people think office jobs are still like the original series of The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin.

 

[A-driver]

I do wonder whether some people think office jobs are still like the original series of The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin.

Are you honestly saying you think there are people on here who don't fully understand people's jobs but still feel they have the right to post ignorant and often fairly offensive comments about them without any real knowledge of the said job?

 

[northwichcat]

Are you honestly saying you think there are people on here who don't fully understand people's jobs but still feel they have the right to post ignorant and often fairly offensive comments about them without any real knowledge of the said job?

I think the reality is no-one knows about other jobs than their own. If you used to work in a different role then things may have changed since then and doing the same role for a different company can be a very different experience.

In the instance of Boxing Day the following groups of people all work- shop workers, air traffic control, baggage control at airport, grounds staff at football stadia, roadside recovery personnel, back room television operatives, news reporters (TV, radio and print media), light rail drivers, train crews on Heathrow/Gatwick/Stansted services, Scottish train crews. So people look at the people required for running English and Welsh train services and think why are they so different.

You can make comparisons like saying if the low paid shop workers don't get the day off then why shouldn't there be public transport to get them to work considering the transport employees are paid more but it doesn't meaning driving a train is like working in a shop.

 

[A-driver]

My post was sarcastic but thanks for the reply!

 

[455driver]

In the instance of Boxing Day the following groups of people all work- shop workers, air traffic control, baggage control at airport, grounds staff at football stadia, roadside recovery personnel, back room television operatives, news reporters (TV, radio and print media), light rail drivers, train crews on Heathrow/Gatwick/Stansted services, Scottish train crews.

Do they all have it in their contracts, which they all read before signing, that they may be required to work?

Just wondered like.

 

[theblackwatch]

Girl at our place who commutes from Stoke to Brum had a game and a half this morning due to the bank holiday service starting later than normal. I thought today was business as usual in terms of bank holidays or at least a train before 08:45?

Today wasn't a Bank Holiday - they were yesterday and the day before!