FCC Staff Shortage

[turbo mick]

we have 3 setups with drivers on fgw if you wanted not to work restdays or sundays you probably work 208 days you have 157 days off a year with my depot thats with 30 days annual leave

bascially 4 days a week you have 24 rostered sundays every year if you want to work

 

[asylumxl]

Yes. Why not ask the company why they have treated their staff in such a way as to force them to withdraw their goodwill? Why not ask the company why you 'pay through the nose'? Might it be to help pay an extra 10% to shareholders this year, not to mention Lockhead's perks, pension and salary while refusing to give even a small increase to the staff? And it is the company that are supposed to be providing a service, they should be employing sufficient drivers so that large amounts of Rest Day Working and overtime aren't necessary. But they don't want to do that as it would cost them more money! Th drivers are simply exercising their contractual right not to work Sundays, and its the employer who needs to sort this out.

Finally, why do people think that anyone who becomes a driver would be happy to work for less money? There are a lot of wannabes who simply don;t have the necessary skills and would not pass the course. Those that do pass and have the aptitude deserve tobe well rewarded.

Like I said. I knew I'd get that reaction. I'm allowed to express my dismay at the situation, though I understand the reasons and economics behind it.

Many companies have raked in money this year, yet their staff have taken pay cuts and some made redundant. That's how capitalism works. It's a selfish, self-centred system solely about individual gain, but unfortunately it is the economic model of choice for the majority of the world. These kind of games (thats all they really are) that cOmpanies like first play come with it.

It's been shown in previous threads that we have a lot of Conservative supporters on this forum. It's quite amusing that they also support Industrial Action, which is very much associated with the left wing of politics.

 

[73110]

Well!! I don't know if you are joking, if not I will reply as civil as I can to your post of which you are entitled to your opinion as much as anyone else here.

I will agree that it is ridiculous that it appears to be a rail industry standard that sunday work is voluntary - proper management of this would never lead to such a situation.

Sunday work is rostered. If you don't want to work you give 7 days notice and they get someone in who wants to work on a Sunday. The only solution is making Sundays part of the working week. To do this they have to have a vote via the paytalks through the union. SWT voted to have Sunday as part of the working week a few years ago. FCC/Thameslink have not been offered this in any pay talks that I know of. I am pretty certain though that it would be rejected by the staff if the offer did arise. So, you are wrong, it is not a standard, it is down to the individual company, not part of group standards at all.

But I imagine that, if i were and i was trying to get somewhere today, I would be entombed with furious rage that I was not able to get where I was going. 100% of that rage would be directed at drivers whose petulant attitude has led to it - not the company who refuse to give them a pay rise during a recession

Two things here. One, you would be able to get where you are going. They are laying on buses on the GN side and the TL side is running ok as far as I am aware. Two. The company giving a pay rise during a recession.. Would this be the company who are making millions profit during the recesion, pay the MD a £250.000 bonus and pay the 10% dividend to the shareholders? They are making money hand over fist to blame the recession is just a joke. The MD even said it was "a recession proof company", his words not mine. So you are wrong again.

There are thousands of people who will happily step into your job. If you are not happy with your job, quit. Then, in 6 months time when you are still queuing outside the job centre vainly trying to find something else as you edge slowly towards bankruptcy, have a little think about how important it is to prove your point by making everyone else miserable.

In six months time when the country has ground to a halt do you mean. It takes over a year to fully train a driver with roads, rules and traction these days. So if we all took your advice and jacked it in then the uk would be right in it. What on earth do you think would happen. Do you think they would take someone on off the street and say "Here is your key, here is where you need to stop, have safe day".........

Right now, no-one cares that you have not been given your 1% pay rise or whatever it is. So get over yourselves.

Contradicting yourself a bit here I think.....
(your words)

But I imagine that, if i were and i was trying to get somewhere today, I would be entombed with furious rage

Overall if you had read the thread through you would know staff are not happy with the company making millions and not giving the workers any of it. This includes platform and office staff and even the RPi's who were offered 0% this year. Someone has to make a stand and it is the drivers who are doing this.

 

[Oswyntail]

......It's been shown in previous threads that we have a lot of Conservative supporters on this forum. It's quite amusing that they also support Industrial Action, which is very much associated with the left wing of politics.

Sadly we have no truly left-wing major party in Britain at the moment. In terms of most of the rest of the world, all three major parties would currently be considered centre-left, with Labour just slightly to the right of others. If I do not support "industrial action" as a principal, it is because I have never seen it work to anyone's benefit, but also because I believe it should be unnecessary if companies were managed properly. That, I believe, is the Conservative line. Sadly, the current "government" does not have a clue about how to make sure that companies are effectively run.

 

[asylumxl]

Sadly, the current "government" does not have a clue about how to make sure that companies are effectively run.

It's hardly a new phenomenon is it though?

It was the same under Thatcher, Major, Blair and now Brown. Everything is done with short term gains in mind, and no foresight is given to the decision. If they just put more thought into their decisions and weren't so miserly, the long term gains from their investments would be much more and the cost of projects much less.

Also, am I mad. Cos basic knowledge of percentages tells me 0% this year and 3% next year is gonna result in them having more money in 2 years than had they got the rate they wanted this year and the same rate next year.

 

[jon0844]

If the MD of FCC gave up his salary completely and distributed it equally to all staff - what pay increase would that equate to?

Also, you know how all those skilled tradesmen (and women) lost a fortune to the Polish people that came over and worked for less (quite legally, I might add, just like working to rule)? Imagine if they all took jobs for a much lower salary, did the training and then brought down the level of pay significantly?

Yes, there's a union to try and prevent that - but it's the way it is likely to go. Yes, FCC treated drivers badly by not rewarding those who volunteered for the training 'out of hours', but at the same time - playing devils advocate once more - drivers haven't been very grateful for what was presumably quite a lot of overtime.

If the drivers are really saying they don't give a damn, then I would expect the passengers to side with FCC - which seems a bit of an own goal.

Rest assured, this is how the press already appears to be reporting it. I have in fact tried to balance things by commenting on the Daily Mail story, but my post was actually not approved - only the ones knocking the railway industry. This is what the drivers are up against - especially when they get Bob Crow involved.

 

[73110]

but it's the way it is likely to go.

Hi Jon, it's already happening. Southern took on a load of Dutch people, brought them over from Holland and set them up over here with accommodation and everything to be drivers not so long ago.

 

[jon0844]

Capitalism works like that. You can demand more money, but eventually you come unstuck as you become uneconomical. Nobody rewards you for loyalty.

Yes, the people at the top enjoy big salaries and bonuses - but they might be out of a job the very next day...

 

[73110]

You are not wrong there mate, not wrong at all.

 

[whoshotjimmi]

Usual crud you'd expect from a Daily Mail reading moron! 13p an hour increase Ha its probably more than he's worth. Thats why we're in a union pal to annoy prats like you!

I think for a Daily Mail reading moron I have a fair amount of support. For your information, I do not read the daily mail as it is too opinionated. I am quite capable of judging the world for myself.

Secondly, 13p an hour is more than FCC staff were getting last time I looked.........

Thirdly, I am actually the vice chairman of the Business Involvement Group where I work - which works in the same way as a union but does not have the power to call strikes. So the fact that you are in a union does not annoy me. The fact that people think they can ruin everyone else's day is what actually annoys me.

Someone suggested that I was looking for a reaction. I wasn't - I was merely sharing my opinion. However, the reaction that has been offered by certain posters has proved what a self obsessed set of people certain members of society appear to be.

Someone also mentioned that people needed to get into their thick heads that sunday work is voluntary so the only thing drivers were doing was not volunteering. Absolutely, I agree. BUT, there is a difference between not volunteering because you don't do it generally and not volunteering maliciously to cause as much disruption as you possibly can just so you can prove a point.

My post was intended to argue that there are people out there who just do not care or cannot show enough professionalism when it comes to the people it is their job and duty to serve. Frankly, some of the responses that have been offered have not only proved my point, but led me to believe that the situation is much worse than I feared. Equally, it was intended to show to people that wilfully cause disruption for menial causes that we, the general public, will not stand for it. I, for one, pride myself on my professional, dignified approach to my work and will not rest until I am certain that every ounce of performance has been dragged out of me.

It is a shame that FCC do not appear to have employees who share my view. There was a time when railwaymen were the heart and soul of this great nation - people who would stand up and be counted WHATEVER the situation they were faced with. With sadness in my heart, that appears to no longer be the case.

 

[jon0844]

You are not wrong there mate, not wrong at all.

The Royal Mail will be the one to watch. My mum, who sends about a trillion Christmas cards every year isn't sending a single one this year. She'll be one of many to send emails to people.

Many businesses are now able to use the postal service as a way of getting more companies to pay by bank transfer, doing away with cheques in the post.

And when we see more digital signatures being used, we'll do away with the need to send contracts in the post (although many are sent by courier anyway I guess).

I bet faxes are making a comeback too.

In fact, as the postal workers protest more and more, they'll soon find themselves with no employer. Direct mail (aka JUNK mail) is what keeps the Royal Mail going, and nobody actually wants junk mail do they?

The trains are a bit different - people still want to travel - but with a new Government set to come in next year, I'm sure things will change in the next few years. I wonder what Lord Adonis is going to say now that this is the second high-profile failure of a Sunday service in just a couple of months?

 

[O L Leigh]

Every time there is any sort of industrial action we have the same arguments. Every time. It happened when there were problems with EMT and LM staff taking action on Sundays and again when NXEA went on strike, and yet here we all are once again riding the same old merry-go-round. I find it enormously disappointing, especially when most of the anti-staff sentiment appears to be based on re-hashed, media-spun nonsense, or a complete failure to understand "capitalism" and how the privatised railway works within the current market, or total ignorance about staff working arrangements and the nature of the dispute. However, if folk are interested in short-cutting all this repetition and going back to see what has been said previously, I can highly recommend this forum's excellent search facility.

Consequently, I should give fair warning that my responses will be liberally sprinkled with the phrase "as I have mentioned before", or other similar constructs.

Firstly, Sunday working. I believe that I have on an earlier ocassion explained that the TOC's have as much desire to bring Sunday into the working week as the staff do; i.e. none at all. It is far, far cheaper for a company to cover Sundays on overtime than it would be to recruit, train, equip and manage the additional drivers that would be required. Where Sundays are outside of the working week and covered by overtime, staff cannot be compelled to work them as overtime is a voluntary matter. I can see the reasons why folk are upset that this situation exists, but the solution is neither popular nor economic which is why the industry has not moved on implementing it.

Where "capitalism" comes into the equation is something of a misnomer. The railways do not operate in a free-market in the same way that other industries do. It is an entirely artificial construct where any savings accrued by the TOC's just gets offset against the bottom-line. Driving down wages and conditions only makes the companies greater profits resulting in even bigger dividends and bonuses.

And this leads me to what appears to be the crux of this particular dispute. First Group are, like most other rail operators, actually doing very nicely thank you very much indeed. As has already been reported, profits are up, shareholder dividends are up and so is the MD's salary and bonus. This is not a company that is struggling financially irrespective of what may be happening in the wider economy or in certain other industries. I fail to see how it can be moral to reward only the upper echelons and yet withhold that reward from the staff that have earned them that reward. If anyone can explain this to me with specific regard to FCC and without recourse to wider economics, I would be very interested to hear.

If this dispute has any parallels with the NXEA dispute (and I have no way of knowing that it has), I would expect that one of the biggest concerns is that the company is not entering seriously into constructive and meaningful talks. It wouldn't surprise me if FCC aren't employing at least some of the same backroom tricks that other TOC's have used when dealing with the unions. Generally speaking FCC staff have been very patient when you consider that this is their 2009 pay award that is under discussion, something that most other companies dealt with months ago.

I don't believe for a moment that the drivers are ignorant to the effect that this is having on the passengers. I know that is something that was felt during the NXEA dispute. However, as I said at the time, this is not a popularity contest. It is regrettable that the public get caught in the middle, but it is the company that the staff are trying to get their message across to. No-one wants to take any sort of action and potentially lose pay, but sometimes there are times when such measures are unavoidable.

O L Leigh

 

[jon0844]

I have no doubt that drivers and managers don't want to change the current system, but the Government could do something about it. As Gordon is desperate to be liked, I would not be surprised if he doesn't prod Lord Adonis and co to actually do something about this once and for all.

I'd also expect that this would work out favourably for drivers, as against management, or would hope so.

And as for covering old ground.. wait until December and I'll start up the Christmas-day running thread again.

 

[Tom C]

Someone also mentioned that people needed to get into their thick heads that sunday work is voluntary so the only thing drivers were doing was not volunteering. Absolutely, I agree. BUT, there is a difference between not volunteering because you don't do it generally and not volunteering maliciously to cause as much disruption as you possibly can just so you can prove a point.

My post was intended to argue that there are people out there who just do not care or cannot show enough professionalism when it comes to the people it is their job and duty to serve.

I'm sorry but I don't understand.

The drivers on FCC are adhering to their terms and conditions and are still doing what they are paid to do which is serving the public.

The issue on whether people work overtime is down to the individual and has nothing to do with anybody else unless of course you are saying that rail staff should work overtime on a compulsary basis simply because FCC will not fill the enormous gaps in the driver depots?

On the issue of Sundays I would put it to you this way:

If you had the right not to work Sundays as part of your contract, as they do in other industries such as shop workers who have the right to opt out of Sunday working, would you as an individual turn around and say that it is perfectly acceptable for that to be taken away from you for nothing?

People outside of the railway industry (and some people within the railway industry such as myself where Sundays ARE part of the working week) have to accept that people are not stupid and they will not accept part of their terms & conditions being taken away unless they are suitably rewarded. Thats called self preservation and its not something which is purely within the railway industry. Whilst we go to work to serve the travelling public, we also go to work to feed our families and we are not numbers purely and simply because we work with trains, we are still human beings.

It is a shame that FCC do not appear to have employees who share my view. There was a time when railwaymen were the heart and soul of this great nation - people who would stand up and be counted WHATEVER the situation they were faced with

I do not share your view because it is totally one sided and, no offense intended, but comes from someone who is neither within FCC or indeed within the industry.

It would be completely wrong of me to say you are not entitled to your opinion but you should not assume that it something which everyone must agree with particularly as you are not within the company and have not got access to the full facts. People have to understand that the full internal dealings of a company cannot be spread out on a public forum (and that is coming from someone who has been outspoken on my employer).

If this dispute has any parallels with the NXEA dispute (and I have no way of knowing that it has), I would expect that one of the biggest concerns is that the company is not entering seriously into constructive and meaningful talks. It wouldn't surprise me if FCC aren't employing at least some of the same backroom tricks that other TOC's have used when dealing with the unions. Generally speaking FCC staff have been very patient when you consider that this is their 2009 pay award that is under discussion, something that most other companies dealt with months ago.

You are exactly right. Our pay award should have been settled months ago. FCC came to the trade unions for submissions in May but only came back with a response two weeks ago. Again, there is more to it but its not for a public forum.............

 

[O L Leigh]

And as for covering old ground.. wait until December and I'll start up the Christmas-day running thread again.

Oh no, not that old chestnut...!!!

As for Government intervention, I'm not sure that's even possible let alone likely. Sure it sounds like a nice thing to put into an election manifesto, but it would only get ignored. Any such action is going to cost the TOC's millions to recruit, train and support hundreds of new staff across the entire network and for no operational benefit. The only time it might come in handy is to ensure a service on the very few times when drivers take action to refuse all overtime.

In any case, the TOC's cannot just foist a change in conditions onto staff. Any attempt to do so (even if it came from the Government) would just provoke a nationwide dispute.

What would work better is for the TOC's to stop dicking their staff around and treat them with a little respect, then we wouldn't be in this pickle to start off with.

O L Leigh

 

[jon0844]

It isn't really about respect though is it? It's money. The same thing that is paid to managers and gets everyone else so angry!

I would never expect people to be forced to work a Sunday (probably not a Saturday either), but plenty of people now have no special value associated with a Sunday - and those drivers taking time off are bound to be using the services provided by other people who ARE working on a Sunday.

For a public service, I think there needs to be people working on a Sunday - and if this costs loads more, so be it. The current arrangement works most of the time, but falls apart on occasions like this. I guess drivers don't want to change the system because those 40% who like the overtime don't want to lose the money. Meanwhile, the TOC can't afford to employ others. Catch 22 - but it needs to be resolved one day.

In the coming years, there will be lots of changes to the railway. I guess we'll all be old and grey by then - but change is inevitable. There will be loads of upsets along the way, and no doubt many strikes and disruption too.

 

[O L Leigh]

But it is about respect.

It was the lack of meaningful engagement with staff-side representatives and the backroom shenanigans that fuelled the NXEA dispute. Had the company talked to the reps properly and had a meaningful discussion with them rather than trying to play one union off against the other, the dispute would almost certainly not have run so long as it did. Yes those discussions were about pay, but it was the manner in which they were conducted.

My issue here is that there doesn't need to be a wholesale intervention to ensure a Sunday service as the system works as it stands. The TOC's are happy because it limits their overheads and staff like it because it's an easy way of earning a little extra. As I said above, the only time the wheels fall off the wagon is on those rare ocassions when staff are in dispute. Why foist an expensive and unpopular method of working onto an industry when there is no real need for it?

O L Leigh

 

[Tom C]

It isn't really about respect though is it? It's money. The same thing that is paid to managers and gets everyone else so angry!

Trust me Jon, it is about respect!

Of course money is an issue, I would be a liar of I said otherwise. People have said in this thread that they are super professional and in broad terms that FCC staff are all b******s because they dare to speak out against First but I still believe that they go to which ever profession they have chosen to earn money.

We are all taken for fools, a number which comes in to do something then goes away again. There is so many nonsenseical Form 1's (which is a misconduct charge) yet so few thank yous. When FCC choose not to try and speak to the staff representatives if even to apologise and explain the (still to this day) unexplained delay in trying to settle our pay negotiations then people will stick two fingers up.

Rail companies sometimes seem to WANT things like this to happen. Its not just FCC, O L Leigh eluded to the situation on NXEA, we had the situation on London Midland, South West Trains, East Midlands Trains, Arriva Trains Wales, Crosscountry and I am sure many more. There seems to be a culture of a brick wall against a brick wall sometimes. The unions say its the TOC's which cause them to act in a hard line manner and the TOC's say it is the unions but it just seems as if its never the TOC taking the first steps to do what we all want which is to solve our issues behind closed doors but the unions who are vilified for doing what they were established to do which is to protect the interests of their members.

 

[asylumxl]

I'm assuming OL leighs comments were aimed at me. I'm a user of FCC Thameslink 5 out of 7 days a week. I don't need media stories or opinionated union members telling me I'm wrong when I have first hand knowledge of the effects,. I know for myself what is going on.

All staff are expendable. I am. We all are. There's always going to be someone else to do the job. If need be they can train more people to replace others. I'm sure after recent times there will be a drive to train new drivers. Drivers are skilled worker like everyone else.

 

[Greenback]

I'm assuming OL leighs comments were aimed at me. I'm a user of FCC Thameslink 5 out of 7 days a week. I don't need media stories or opinionated union members telling me I'm wrong when I have first hand knowledge of the effects,. I know for myself what is going on.

All staff are expendable. I am. We all are. There's always going to be someone else to do the job. If need be they can train more people to replace others. I'm sure after recent times there will be a drive to train new drivers. Drivers are skilled worker like everyone else.

You may have full knowledge of the effects, beng caught up in this mess, but how does that help you know for yourself what is going on within the company? I don't know what has caused the withdrawal of goodwill, I'm guessing, based on my experience in the industry plus what has been said by all sides, that there are a number of factors at work besides the 0%. This includes the fact that the company has avoided pay talks for seven months, the fact that shareholders are receiving an extra 10% dividend, as well as other issues around training.

Believe me, contrary to wat appers to be popular opinion, railway staff don't take action lightly. In my three years on the railway my union was not involved in any industrial action at all, and I can't recall there being any strikes by other unions during that period. It's far better for all concerned to resolve their problems behind closed doors at company council level. This appears to be impssible in this case as ALL First companies seem to have been instructed from on high to offer nohing this year, despite the fact that their businesses are apparently doing well enough to increase dividend payments!

 

[stut]

On a separate but related note...

Is there any way to get a refund for a ticket bought (for Sunday just gone) before the cancellations were announced? There were no services to
Biggleswade at all - even bus replacement - and the free car park offer's pretty useless if you don't drive.

(Plus, they saw fit to shut off the public-right-of-way footbridge which is my main route into town - grr!)

(FWIW, I do support the drivers in this dispute - that kind of treatment is out of order.)

 

[asylumxl]

Believe me, contrary to wat appers to be popular opinion, railway staff don't take action lightly. In my three years on the railway my union was not involved in any industrial action at all, and I can't recall there being any strikes by other unions during that period. It's far better for all concerned to resolve their problems behind closed doors at company council level. This appears to be impssible in this case as ALL First companies seem to have been instructed from on high to offer nohing this year, despite the fact that their businesses are apparently doing well enough to increase dividend payments!

I'm not fussed by the action, like I said, it has had little affect on me in reality.

But I'm so sick of FCC and their staff keeping their customers in the dark. If the drivers want respect, wouldn't it be nice for the customers to receive the same respect and be told concisely what the issues are for the action? The attitude of drivers on The forum aggitates me too. They want the customers to swallow their pride and just take it, it's so condescending towards them. Customers would be a lot more cooperative if they were kept informed? Wouldn't it be nice for the platform staff to receive less abuse from passengers as a result of this?

They can't expect support from customers if they're nor even willing to tell them why they are in this situation...

 

[Tom C]

I'm not fussed by the action, like I said, it has had little affect on me in reality.

But I'm so sick of FCC and their staff keeping their customers in the dark. If the drivers want respect, wouldn't it be nice for the customers to receive the same respect and be told concisely what the issues are for the action? The attitude of drivers on The forum aggitates me too. They want the customers to swallow their pride and just take it, it's so condescending towards them. Customers would be a lot more cooperative if they were kept informed? Wouldn't it be nice for the platform staff to receive less abuse from passengers as a result of this?

Why is it down to the "staff" (which to me is general) to be advertising internal company dealings when it a) it has nothing to do with them and b) they know just as much as you do!.

The one thing you don't know is that the drivers negotiate for themselves for pay so "staff" like myself and others on this forum are not privvy to negotiations involving drivers. All we hear is rumour and what the company choose to tell us (which is the same as what you are told!). Do you honestly think we have received a full and detailed brief as to whats going on? No, all we see is the list of alterations on a daily basis and then we go out and do our jobs.

Its not just platform staff who are getting abused either, its anyone in a uniform and yes it would be fantastic to hear a full and frank account on whats going on but we cannot do it as we don't know anymore than you do.

I am frankly sick and tired of FCC "staff" being targeted when people have absolutely no idea whats actually going on. If you have a problem with the communication coming out then speak to the company who give you that information and stop tarnishing staff who are just caught in the bloody middle!

 

[asylumxl]

I apologise for using staff in my first sentence, I meant drivers. I didn't mean to tarnish them all with one brush, it was just bad wording on my part.

My general feelings towards it remain the same though. The drivers and FCC should be honest and open about the cause. FCC has already lied on several ocassions about the reason trains are cancelled. The drivers are very vague and secretive about their reasons. I'm sure they're perfectly acceptable reasons, and I don't see why it's necessary to keep it behind doors. If they had a good support base from the customers, they'd surely be in a much stronger position to receive what they want.

 

[Greenback]

I'm not fussed by the action, like I said, it has had little affect on me in reality.

But I'm so sick of FCC and their staff keeping their customers in the dark. If the drivers want respect, wouldn't it be nice for the customers to receive the same respect and be told concisely what the issues are for the action? The attitude of drivers on The forum aggitates me too. They want the customers to swallow their pride and just take it, it's so condescending towards them. Customers would be a lot more cooperative if they were kept informed? Wouldn't it be nice for the platform staff to receive less abuse from passengers as a result of this?

They can't expect support from customers if they're nor even willing to tell them why they are in this situation...

Yes, the lack of information on the issues causing the lack of Sunday volunteers is frustrating. I should think the lack of info from the staff sie is probably to do with the fact that there is officially no dispute, it's just a case of drivers xercising their rights to opt ou of Sunday (I can find nothing on the ASLEF website) and the fact that any individuals speaking out would be in danger of being disciplined for revealing confidential informaton!

 

[O L Leigh]

I'm assuming OL leighs comments were aimed at me.

My comments were aimed at no-one in particular.

I will agree that part of the problem is how you communicate to the passengers what is really going on. However, this thread probably contains as much information as you could need to understand the main issues at hand.

One of the issues that we had with the NXEA dispute was that the media deals in soundbites which made it very difficult to get across to the public what was a very complex dispute. For all his bluster, RMT's Bob Crow does at least have an understanding of this shortfall and will try and deliver a soundbite that the media can actually use. However, a lot of the issues we were in dispute over were specific to drivers and, therefore, Comrade Bob was not privy to them. Instead, he focused his attention on the one key thread that applied to all staff; pay. ASLEF General Secretary Keith Norman apparently gave a full in-depth interview to the press (BBC East, I think) on the Cambridge picket line in which he explained precisely why the union was in dispute. Unfortunately such a long explanation is not compatible with modern news reporting and so he found his excellent contribution cut down to a ten second soundbite chosen for it's relevance by the news editor. Guess what that was? Yup. We're in dispute over pay.

What I am alarmed about is this idea that staff are expendable. Yes they are to a certain extent, but employment law rightly restricts the grounds on which an employee can be dismissed. Of course there are ways and means to winkle out the awkward squad, but I would not want to see a situation where a person can be dismissed for simply speaking out.

**EDIT**

Mind you, yesterday on the Cambridges was a reminder of the WA side in it's pomp when the Liv St service was the premier line. It was certainly heartening to see our trains full.

O L Leigh

 

[westcoaster]

Yes, the lack of information on the issues causing the lack of Sunday volunteers is frustrating. I should think the lack of info from the staff sie is probably to do with the fact that there is officially no dispute, it's just a case of drivers xercising their rights to opt ou of Sunday (I can find nothing on the ASLEF website) and the fact that any individuals speaking out would be in danger of being disciplined for revealing confidential informaton!

ive not spoken about the pay talks yet ,and i dont think i will either, but all i will say is you have hit the nail on the head here with this statement, in regards to what we as staff can say.

also heard on the grape vine that the staff shortage is plus 1, with the md leaving soon.

 

[Greenback]

I thought so, although I no longer work on the railway I still have friends who do, and i would not repeat anything they have told me about their companies for fear of dropping them in the brown stuff, and they have told me plenty!

I should also point out that none of my friends work for FCC!

 

[mackenzie_blu]

I feel the need to add that the driver training is no-where near finished. I know drivers who start their training in August 2010. And this comes from the driver himself as he's been inform that. So yes the driver training is partly the problem.

The root cause is that someone didn't want to recurit new drivers a few years ago and this was only realised awhile afterwards, too late for the damage. Divers are in very short supply at FCC but they refuse to recurit for them due to the fact it costs the company 70k and a year then once passed out the drivers can rightly leave meaning FCC have just paid out all that money and time/effort and get nothing back. Thios needs to be addressed fairly for new drivers then maybe this porblem won't occur in the future.

Im disagreeing with some posters on here but the passenger generally (around 80%) actually support the drivers once they learn why services are being cancelled. No before anyone tries to disagree I work in the Core and all I do is deal with customer so I know their feelings on the matter. In fact customers questions echo the staff at FCC.

Its the ones who are replaceable getting all the crap, getting the worst pay offer and still not knowing whats going on. But hey thats the job but things may get alot worse.

Also note that FGW offered drivers 4% pay rise but the other First TOC didn't offer anything to their drivers, this unbalances the arguement for the recession along with points other raised.

Rumours, as is normally with a time like this, are flying inside and outside FCC and its doubt full the true story will come out until its all sorted (hopefully soon).

I would say that what right have people (on here and else where) got to demand drivers do overtime because of a lack of staff? I bet anyone else having overtime forced on them would be refusing and the drivers are no different.

 

[ungreat]

Yes, the lack of information on the issues causing the lack of Sunday volunteers is frustrating. I should think the lack of info from the staff sie is probably to do with the fact that there is officially no dispute, it's just a case of drivers xercising their rights to opt ou of Sunday (I can find nothing on the ASLEF website) and the fact that any individuals speaking out would be in danger of being disciplined for revealing confidential informaton!

Correct on all counts.