Transpennine Express Industrial Action

[Nym]

So put yourself in the shoes of those who are employed and have mortgages, families, and ever increasing bills!

My salary isn't going up!

Still I am on a London wage at the moment, thats quite pleasing...

Job #2 is still NMW, and always will be...

 

[Legzr1]

but I find it a bit condescending for recipients of public money to suggest the public should keep their nose out.

With all due respect,the negotiations between my colleagues,their employers and their union officials regarding wages and T&C's should be a private affair.

If they offer the information then fine but it's wrong (IMHO) that certain rail staff have to answer for themselves to strangers on a bloody internet forum.

I find it annoying that certain members on here feel it's their right to comment on issues they have little knowledge of because the TOC some drivers work for receives public subsidy.

If the privatised network had been set up properly (knocking on for 2 decades and it still isn't right) and no subsidy was to be paid

If,if,if...


I feel sorry for those that will be inconvienced during any (possible) strike action but there comes a point when enough is enough.

Don't you agree?

 

[ANorthernGuard]

With all due respect,the negotiations between my colleagues,their employers and their union officials regarding wages and T&C's should be a private affair.

If they offer the information then fine but it's wrong (IMHO) that certain rail staff have to answer for themselves to strangers on a bloody internet forum.

I find it annoying that certain members on here feel it's their right to comment on issues they have little knowledge of because the TOC some drivers work for receives public subsidy.





If,if,if...


I feel sorry for those that will be inconvienced during any (possible) strike action but there comes a point when enough is enough.

Don't you agree?

Of course it shouldn't be in the public eye but when you have papers like the Daily Wail spouting their bile and quite a few anti staff posters you will always get that in a forum, dont forget according to the masses we are overpaid, do an easy job that anyone can do and should be grateful yadda yadda we have all been here before m8 and it will never change.

 

[CarterUSM]

With all due respect,the negotiations between my colleagues,their employers and their union officials regarding wages and T&C's should be a private affair.

If they offer the information then fine but it's wrong (IMHO) that certain rail staff have to answer for themselves to strangers on a bloody internet forum.

I find it annoying that certain members on here feel it's their right to comment on issues they have little knowledge of because the TOC some drivers work for receives public subsidy.

Totally agree, these threads always end up this way.

 

[9K43]

Some folk live in a far off world, where trains run on track in the attic, my mother always said " That a little knowledge is dangerous. "
I am no fan of ASLEF, but I worked with them for 3 decades and if they can squeeze a pay rise out of these comic opera TOC's, good luck to them.
My memory of pay rises were all the ground staff were made redundant to fund ASLEF pay increases.

 

[exile]

With all due respect,the negotiations between my colleagues,their employers and their union officials regarding wages and T&C's should be a private affair.

Nonsense. I pay your wages through fares and taxes.

I also work in a subsidised "industry" (education) - so of course you also pay my wages and have a right to comment if I go on strike and your kids can't go to school or college

If they offer the information then fine but it's wrong (IMHO) that certain rail staff have to answer for themselves to strangers on a bloody internet forum.

It's a public forum. If you want a rail-employees-only forum you can set one up

I find it annoying that certain members on here feel it's their right to comment on issues they have little knowledge of because the TOC some drivers work for receives public subsidy.

But we also pay (through fares).....

I feel sorry for those that will be inconvienced during any (possible) strike action but there comes a point when enough is enough.

Don't you agree?

Yes - but a strike is more likely to succeed if it has public support, and you are seeking support from people who are facing pay freezes, pension cuts, and the threat of job losses.

 

[nedchester]

Nonsense. I pay your wages through fares and taxes.

I also work in a subsidised "industry" (education) - so of course you also pay my wages and have a right to comment if I go on strike and your kids can't go to school or college


It's a public forum. If you want a rail-employees-only forum you can set one up



Yes - but a strike is more likely to succeed if it has public support, and you are seeking support from people who are facing pay freezes, pension cuts, and the threat of job losses.

Well said!

 

[ANorthernGuard]

Nonsense. I pay your wages through fares and taxes.

I also work in a subsidised "industry" (education) - so of course you also pay my wages and have a right to comment if I go on strike and your kids can't go to school or college


It's a public forum. If you want a rail-employees-only forum you can set one up



Yes - but a strike is more likely to succeed if it has public support, and you are seeking support from people who are facing pay freezes, pension cuts, and the threat of job losses.

Well maybe you should try and get into an industry that is doing particulary well instead of whining about what a bad lot you have, oops sorry Teachers are hardly poorly paid either like a lot in the so called education industry, and actually if you do pay our wages you pay a small percentage, if you look at the Profits TPE actually make. I'm so fed up with its not fair why should he get a pay rise nonsense, if you are not happy in your current employment endeavour to find to find one that suits your circumstances, I am not a driver but I support the TPE strike action, and taking away a kids education is alot more damaging then people being inconvenienced. (buts thats ok isnt it?)
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Sorry for the rant and I do understand times are hard for some people BUT the reasons TPE came out with are just plain ridiculous and they have brought this on themselves, Just because Drivers are on a very good wage does not deny them the right to fight for what they believe in, if there collagues from another "first" TOC are getting higher pay rises then them for doing the same job then they are bound to be p**sed but its not just Drivers, remember that its also other grades including Platform staff and speaking to a few of them they are more fuming then the drivers and they are on a hell of alot less money. If we stop fighting for our beliefs rightly or wrongly (depending on a persons opinion) companies like firstgroup would walk all over their employees

 

[exile]

Well maybe you should try and get into an industry that is doing particulary well instead of whining about what a bad lot you have, oops sorry Teachers are hardly poorly paid either like a lot in the so called education industry, and actually if you do pay our wages you pay a small percentage, if you look at the Profits TPE actually make. I'm so fed up with its not fair why should he get a pay rise nonsense, if you are not happy in your current employment endeavour to find to find one that suits your circumstances, (buts thats ok isnt it?)

"An industry that is doing particularly well". That wouldn't include railways. They need a huge subsidy to avoid having to close down tomorrow. Passenger numbers have been increasing but that hasn't made railways anywhere near profitable overall - mainly due to the stupid way it was privatised - which I accept employees can't be blamed for.

Teachers' starting salary is 21k....... for which you need to have a degree and a year's training.

And the "get out of the industry if you don't like your wages" comment surely applies to anyone including the TPE ones..... of course
it's hardly a practical option for anyone whose expertise and experience is in the industry they're working in. This is why strikes are a legitimate option.

I am not a driver but I support the TPE strike action, and taking away a kids education is alot more damaging then people being inconvenienced.

But if there are no trains I can't get to work, whatever job I do and however important!

Sorry for the rant and I do understand times are hard for some people BUT the reasons TPE came out with are just plain ridiculous and they have brought this on themselves, Just because Drivers are on a very good wage does not deny them the right to fight for what they believe in, if there collagues from another "first" TOC are getting higher pay rises then them for doing the same job then they are bound to be p**sed but its not just Drivers, remember that its also other grades including Platform staff and speaking to a few of them they are more fuming then the drivers and they are on a hell of alot less money. If we stop fighting for our beliefs rightly or wrongly (depending on a persons opinion) companies like firstgroup would walk all over their employees

I certainly have a lot of sympathy for the lower paid staff, who haven't done so well out of privatisation, and are more likely to face any aggro that might result from the strike. And I agree with the point about First and the other sharks who feed on the industry and eat taxpayers' money.

Anyway, regardless of my views, all I'm saying that any of us, whether we work on the railways, travel on them or otherwise, have a right to express our opinions on this forum as long as we can do so in a reasonable and civilised way.

 

[Legzr1]

Nonsense. I pay your wages through fares and taxes.

As a driver for a company that receives no public subsidy whatsoever you happen to be wrong.

That happens a lot round here - half-a*sed comments from people who think they know the score :roll:

It's a public forum. If you want a rail-employees-only forum you can set one up

More condesending posts.

As has been said on a few posts recently, those that choose to purposely antagonise staff shouldn't be suprised when requests for information/help are ignored.

It's a game - play fair.

Yes - but a strike is more likely to succeed if it has public support, and you are seeking support from people who are facing pay freezes, pension cuts, and the threat of job losses.

I'm not sure what posts you're reading but I see no one looking for public support on this issue.

If Aslef had that support it would make things easier,granted but you're fooling yourself if you think it's needed - as said many times,this is a dispute between two parties and has nothing whatsoever to do with anyone (teacher or not).
You're also wrong (IMHO) if you think giving some kind of support gives you the right to full details and answers to any questions you care to ask,subsidised company or not.

Last point - you think you lot on the 'outside' are the only people in this so called real world.

Wrong.

I have mates working for DBS (FOC,decent wages,relatively crap conditions and there's about to be a ballot for indstrial action over draconian discipline - watch the news...).
Their pension fund is £330M in deficit,a huge organisation like DBS is refusing to do anything about it and there have been hundreds of redundancies over the past 24 months - there are more to come with further depot closures and job losses.

Real world?

That's as real as it gets matey - 30% loss of drivers in 3 years,over half of groundstaff now gone (and those that remain have not had pay talks for 6 years).

Tell me about teachers :roll:




ANorthernGuard,
Well said.

 

[notadriver]

Nonsense. I pay your wages through fares and taxes.

I also work in a subsidised "industry" (education) - so of course you also pay my wages and have a right to comment if I go on strike and your kids can't go to school or college


It's a public forum. If you want a rail-employees-only forum you can set one up



Yes - but a strike is more likely to succeed if it has public support, and you are seeking support from people who are facing pay freezes, pension cuts, and the threat of job losses.

Please correct me if im wrong but I don't know of any strikes in recent years that have succeeded because there was public support. It seems to be the collective bargaining power of unions and strike action that has achieved
success.

Unfortunately in the case of BA cabin crew they seemed to be able to train up staff quickly or hire in other airlines. In the teachers case supply teachers seem to readily available.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

With all due respect,the negotiations between my colleagues,their employers and their union officials regarding wages and T&C's should be a private affair. I feel sorry for those that will be inconvienced during any (possible) strike action but there comes a point when enough is enough. Don't you agree?

I think that RailUK Forums is a debating platform for many different sections of interest, as shown by the number of different sub-forums that exist.

With regard to matters that occur when strike action is the subject upon a ballot or an actual issue that will happen, will have been a matter in the minds of the people who set up the forum in 2005 as they would have expected many rail employees in many employment grades to take up membership in addition to those who use rail as method of commuting either in a work-related context or in a leisure-related context.

If the administrators and moderators of this forum wish to allow discussion on such matters, this is a decision that they are free to make. I am sure that the moderators closely monitor all threads such as this where friction could occur and will take any necessary action they deem fit.

This posting is only a reflection of my personal feelings on the matter and should only be viewed at such. I may have been out of turn to say how I feel that the administrators and moderators handle matters, but I trust that the forum affords me the opportunity to say this as part of a discussion forum providing that I do not contravene the rules of conduct of the forum.

 

[nedchester]

Unfortunately in the case of BA cabin crew they seemed to be able to train up staff quickly or hire in other airlines. In the teachers case supply teachers seem to readily available.

There would not be enough supply teachers to cover. They are readily available but I would reckon that probably only about 5 to 10 to cover for about 100 full time teachers in an average secondary school. Add to that supply teachers may not be willing to work full time and may not be trained up in the required subject matter and you have a problem!

Teachers along with other public sector workers are fighting about their pensions and the fact that additional contributions will result in a reduction in take home pay of around £100 per month that is in addition to a two year pay freeze.

As I understand it most rail workers (including drivers) have a good pension scheme with final salary. Can you imagine what would happen in the rail industry if pensions were threatened in the same way?

 

[exile]

I think that RailUK Forums is a debating platform for many different sections of interest, as shown by the number of different sub-forums that exist.

With regard to matters that occur when strike action is the subject upon a ballot or an actual issue that will happen, will have been a matter in the minds of the people who set up the forum in 2005 as they would have expected many rail employees in many employment grades to take up membership in addition to those who use rail as method of commuting either in a work-related context or in a leisure-related context.

If the administrators and moderators of this forum wish to allow discussion on such matters, this is a decision that they are free to make. I am sure that the moderators closely monitor all threads such as this where friction could occur and will take any necessary action they deem fit.

This posting is only a reflection of my personal feelings on the matter and should only be viewed at such. I may have been out of turn to say how I feel that the administrators and moderators handle matters, but I trust that the forum affords me the opportunity to say this as part of a discussion forum providing that I do not contravene the rules of conduct of the forum.

Well said. We have a right to express opinions, even if incorrect or ill-informed, as long as we do it in a non-confrontational way. There are some posters here who seem to wish to censor the debate.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

I think that RailUK Forums is a debating platform for many different sections of interest, as shown by the number of different sub-forums that exist.

With regard to matters that occur when strike action is the subject upon a ballot or an actual issue that will happen, will have been a matter in the minds of the people who set up the forum in 2005 as they would have expected many rail employees in many employment grades to take up membership in addition to those who use rail as method of commuting either in a work-related context or in a leisure-related context.

If the administrators and moderators of this forum wish to allow discussion on such matters, this is a decision that they are free to make. I am sure that the moderators closely monitor all threads such as this where friction could occur and will take any necessary action they deem fit.

This posting is only a reflection of my personal feelings on the matter and should only be viewed at such. I may have been out of turn to say how I feel that the administrators and moderators handle matters, but I trust that the forum affords me the opportunity to say this as part of a discussion forum providing that I do not contravene the rules of conduct of the forum.

Apparently, that's wrong - we're not allowed to comment on a TPE strike even in a thread about the TPE strike.

 

[Bellwater]

Don't know if this has been mentioned but -

Re: ASLEF TPE drivers vote for strike
TPE's Highest Paid Director - (2010 listings) £456,000 up 5.8%
Total Sales £246million - up on the previous year.
Profit before tax - £43million - up 13.1%
Shareholder Dividends £42.5million - UP 165%

And they offer the staff 2.2% :roll:

As for anyone greeting about not being paid/getting an increase, if it worries you that much, why don't you find another job? i did and got a pay increase more or less straight awy...

 

[exile]

Don't know if this has been mentioned but -

Re: ASLEF TPE drivers vote for strike
TPE's Highest Paid Director - (2010 listings) £456,000 up 5.8%
Total Sales £246million - up on the previous year.
Profit before tax - £43million - up 13.1%
Shareholder Dividends £42.5million - UP 165%

And they offer the staff 2.2% :roll:

As for anyone greeting about not being paid/getting an increase, if it worries you that much, why don't you find another job? i did and got a pay increase more or less straight awy...

Now we're talking! Why not make these very powerful points instead of slagging off the poor old train-travelling public for expressing their opinion?

A successful company should indeed reward its workers - especially when the guys at the top are making sure they get a decent increase themselves. All I've been pointing out is that public opinion is important and at the moment the public in general is facing hard times and unlikely to be sympathetic.

 

[Bellwater]

You won't hear that in the Media or from TPE.

TPE Staff have been threatened with discplinary action should they comment on the strike in the news, media, forums or social media... its gone up in traincrew depots i've been told.

Nothing new as TPE are always looking to disclipine their staff for one reason or other...

 

[ANorthernGuard]

Now we're talking! Why not make these very powerful points instead of slagging off the poor old train-travelling public for expressing their opinion?

A successful company should indeed reward its workers - especially when the guys at the top are making sure they get a decent increase themselves. All I've been pointing out is that public opinion is important and at the moment the public in general is facing hard times and unlikely to be sympathetic.

I think you will find I posted that a few pages back all it did was bring out support for the Director (Vernon Barker) lol, alot of railway staff (including myself) get fed up with everyone seemingly having a go at us but never mentions how much profit these companies actually make and how much the directors get paid, why should someone on £4500000 per year get a %5.8 pay rise when they offer there staff %2.6 and first wonder why there staff are striking!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

You won't hear that in the Media or from TPE.

TPE Staff have been threatened with discplinary action should they comment on the strike in the news, media, forums or social media... its gone up in traincrew depots i've been told.

Nothing new as TPE are always looking to disclipine their staff for one reason or other...

I've been asked a couple of times to go over, proves the old point better the devil you know lol.

I'll stick with Northern, they are far from perfect but they tend to treat their staff a damn sight better than Firstgroup do

 

[exile]

You won't hear that in the Media or from TPE.

TPE Staff have been threatened with discplinary action should they comment on the strike in the news, media, forums or social media... its gone up in traincrew depots i've been told.

Nothing new as TPE are always looking to disclipine their staff for one reason or other...

That's out of order - what you do and say in your own time should be your own affair (within reason)

 

[Greenback]

It just shows a few more things that are wrong witht he UK. The salary of almost half a million per year for an MD is ridiuculious. Report after report shows how executive pay has been racing ahead over the npast decade and more, widening the gap between the have's and have not's.

I don't begrudge executives being paid a decent amount, but two or three times more than the drivers should be quite sufficient.

 

[exile]

It just shows a few more things that are wrong witht he UK. The salary of almost half a million per year for an MD is ridiuculious. Report after report shows how executive pay has been racing ahead over the npast decade and more, widening the gap between the have's and have not's.

I don't begrudge executives being paid a decent amount, but two or three times more than the drivers should be quite sufficient.

Now you're singing my tune! The rise in executive pay in recent decades is an absolute scandal - especially when the recipients of these phone-number salaries are first in the queue to moan about taxes and call for cuts in public spending.

 

[Bellwater]

That's out of order - what you do and say in your own time should be your own affair (within reason)

it'll be something the Driver, Guard and Station Managers will have been ordered to do. sitting in an office, Scouring Facebook for any bit of information they can find....

TPE used to have more "spies" than on board staff. They were called Quality Managers, which was an oxymoron as the service outside York/Scotland-Man Airport can be anything but.

If there was, say, a pile of rubbish on a seat you wouldn't see them put it in the bin themselves, they would just report the Guard/Steward(if on)for not moving it, even if it had been just left there a minute ago.

 

[exile]

it'll be something the Driver, Guard and Station Managers will have been ordered to do. sitting in an office, Scouring Facebook for any bit of information they can find....

TPE used to have more "spies" than on board staff. They were called Quality Managers, which was an oxymoron as the service outside York/Scotland-Man Airport can be anything but.

If there was, say, a pile of rubbish on a seat you wouldn't see them put it in the bin themselves, they would just report the Guard/Steward(if on)for not moving it, even if it had been just left there a minute ago.

Sounds like the usual management b****cks that's plaguing every industry these days.

 

[ANorthernGuard]

First Mis-management at its best

 

[CarterUSM]

it'll be something the Driver, Guard and Station Managers will have been ordered to do. sitting in an office, Scouring Facebook for any bit of information they can find....

TPE used to have more "spies" than on board staff. They were called Quality Managers, which was an oxymoron as the service outside York/Scotland-Man Airport can be anything but.

If there was, say, a pile of rubbish on a seat you wouldn't see them put it in the bin themselves, they would just report the Guard/Steward(if on)for not moving it, even if it had been just left there a minute ago.

That sounds so familiar to me.

 

[Legzr1]

Well said. We have a right to express opinions, even if incorrect or ill-informed, as long as we do it in a non-confrontational way. There are some posters here who seem to wish to censor the debate.

I reserve the right to challenge your (incorrect) assumptions.

As far as I can see,the main thrust of your argument is that 'we' need 'your' support.

Can you see that is also incorrect?

Forget about the wages of directors,CEO's etc etc - this is about FG paying drivers in one location X while offering those in a different location X-3%.

That isn't fair IMHO.

That is why TPE staff get my support.

I think that RailUK Forums is a debating platform for many different sections of interest, as shown by the number of different sub-forums that exist.

With regard to matters that occur when strike action is the subject upon a ballot or an actual issue that will happen, will have been a matter in the minds of the people who set up the forum in 2005 as they would have expected many rail employees in many employment grades to take up membership in addition to those who use rail as method of commuting either in a work-related context or in a leisure-related context.

If the administrators and moderators of this forum wish to allow discussion on such matters, this is a decision that they are free to make. I am sure that the moderators closely monitor all threads such as this where friction could occur and will take any necessary action they deem fit.

This posting is only a reflection of my personal feelings on the matter and should only be viewed at such. I may have been out of turn to say how I feel that the administrators and moderators handle matters, but I trust that the forum affords me the opportunity to say this as part of a discussion forum providing that I do not contravene the rules of conduct of the forum.

Ok,fair enough.

However,please tell me you understand when staff posting on these forums start to feel as if 90% of adverse comments are aimed directly at them.

Debate can be healthy.

Some of the comments on here are far from healthy - seems like a witch hunt at times.

 

[ainsworth74]

Forget about the wages of directors,CEO's etc etc - this is about FG paying drivers in one location X while offering those in a different location X-3%.

This really. I dislike strikes heartily and vary rarely do the strikers have my support but in this case I'm at least neutral and probably supportive of the TPE drivers simply because it's ludicrous that the rest of First Group's drivers are getting a 5% increase (at least I think that's what's been mentioned) whilst those at TPE are getting 2.2%.

If the drivers were being offered 5% and were going on strike then I would have an issue with them going on strike, but only being offered 2.2% to be honest is insulting to them.

 

[ANorthernGuard]

My response was to the point made several times on this thread to several contributors that anyone who doesn't work for TPE has no right to an opinion.

I think that point has now been conceded. We can say things - politely - as long as we're willing to accept that what we say may be contested.

Even if the company you work for doesn't receive a subsidy - in that case your wages come from fares, paid by punters such as myself. Sorry, that's just the way things are. In the same way my wages largely come from fees paid by students (in addition to taxpayer support), and students are entitled to at least venture an opinion if I decide to strike. And they certainly do, on the internet and everywhere else! Bone idle, overpaid, with gold-plated pensions - and those are the polite opinions.... and of course we got opinions from parents, MPs, and possibly rail staff as well upset that their offspring were not able to attend lectures.

Most people travel by train to get to work - and if they can't get to work (or home), they are going to be upset. Maybe they should blame the bosses - but in general they'll probably blame both sides. And the fact they may have forgotten what a pay rise looks like might well make them less sympathetic - especially when they consider the RPI plus 3% fare rises they're facing.

I have been on strike before, successful ones and otherwise, and it is my opinion that public support is important, when you are involved in what can still be described as a public service - even if it is privatised. A rail strike is highly political, just as, for example, fire fighters and miners in the past. Also, public support is important for the morale of those on strike. If you think everyone is against you, then it's not good.

And standing behind the TOCs are the government - I hope that no-one here thinks that if the government pulled the subsidy, that any of the rail network would survive apart from, perhaps, a couple of freight lines and the East and West main lines. Serpell Report option A? So, the government is the ultimate paymaster - and a series of strikes would give the coalition the perfect excuse to take action. If wages have nothing to do with the government - why does McNulty mention them? We could even see a partial renationalisation or at least merging of franchises - which may not be good news for staff who have benefitted from competition for skilled staff between companies.

At no point so far have I actually said whether I support the drivers's case or not. Frankly, I don't know. I hoped to see some debate here to help me make up my mind - not to be told I'm not entitled to have an opinion one way or the other. I'm pro-railways and have nothing but admiration for the vast majority of rail staff. However - I do think I'm entitled to an opinion!

Everyone is entitled to an opinion, of course they are! one of the things is up until recently rail staff have been quite harshly targeted and we go on the defensive, this is a good forum but to be frank alot of people who have no idea how the railway work have been targeting traincrew and up until a few weeks ago it came to ahead, then this comes along and it starts off again.

Drivers do a responsible and highly skilled job and they deserve the same pay rise as their colleagues working for the same Company (First have quite a few TOC's) and the way they and the platform staff and other grades have been treated is poor to say the least and the downright lies that First have come out with have further inflamed the situation.

IMHO of course

 

[exile]

Everyone is entitled to an opinion, of course they are! one of the things is up until recently rail staff have been quite harshly targeted and we go on the defensive, this is a good forum but to be frank alot of people who have no idea how the railway work have been targeting traincrew and up until a few weeks ago it came to ahead, then this comes along and it starts off again.

Drivers do a responsible and highly skilled job and they deserve the same pay rise as their colleagues working for the same Company (First have quite a few TOC's) and the way they and the platform staff and other grades have been treated is poor to say the least and the downright lies that First have come out with have further inflamed the situation.

IMHO of course

True, but staff also need to understand the point of view of passengers who may not get to work, miss a job interview, not be able to visit friends or have their holiday ruined. I think the Unions need to get out and explain their position to the public, something which is often neglected - and often because of the attitude that public opinion is not important.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
A bit of a diversion - reading the McNulty report - it recommends closing ticket offices - and simultaneously increasing the use of DOO. So - you get to the station, there's no ticket office, and no-one on the train to buy from. Maybe the drivers will have to sell tickets as well as on driver only buses?

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Ok,fair enough. However,please tell me you understand when staff posting on these forums start to feel as if 90% of adverse comments are aimed directly at them.

Debate can be healthy. Some of the comments on here are far from healthy - seems like a witch hunt at times.

I was very careful not to take any sides in my posting, which was just a re-affirmation of what I feel that RailForums UK is all about. If anything, I was worried how the moderators would view the neutral way that I made reference to their running of the forum threads, especially when a thread appears that will most possibly lead to heated exchanges and bad feelings, as is now happening on this particular thread.

You ask if I feel that rail staff on the forum can feel under pressure from other forum members. The answer to this is...yes. Rail staff in an industrial debate, especially those in front-line services with immediate contact, will be open to all sorts of unpleasantness from the travelling public, who will see these staff as the reason for travel disruptions. With regard to forum members who disagree with the actions of rail staff, there is nothing that I can suggest except to say that on a debating forum, many matters from many differing points of view are made the subjects of postings, under the terms of forum democracy. But you must have seen my reference to how the Moderators keep a close eye on threads that can develop into unpleasantness and then to take the necessary action as required. I myself have been under pressure from other forum members on more than one occasion, and as such, I can feel empathy with your feelings of being under attack.