Transpennine Express Industrial Action

[ANorthernGuard]

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.
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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?

aaaah the McNumpty report if only any Gov had the 100's of millions to actually do it, I have no doubt it will happen but not for a few decades yet, heck on alot of the North western Network we still have semaphores so I am not worried about it, on the 1st point tho its often the attitude of the public fuelled by the TOC propaganda that causes even more hostility between the staff and the public, we put up with more than our fair share of c**p from a small minority while we are at work, assaults abuse etc is common place while TOC's bury there head inthe sands and then we then get abuse on here, no wonder alot of us are very defensive.

 

[CarterUSM]

Exile, you may or may not be surprised to know that the rail unions are generally lampooned by the press, and find it reasonably difficult to make announcements of industrial action through the newspapers and such like. During the DOO dispute at ScotRail a year or two ago, the colum inches given to the unions side were woeful compared to how much was given to the company's perspective. Not to mention a massive difference in prices quoted by newspapers for full page announcements for either side, in the company's favour, and allegedly I may add.

 

[nedchester]

Some interesting points made here but it remains to be seen if the TOCs are under pressure from the government to 'sit this one out'

I understand the fact that if you are a driver for TOC A and you see TOC B getting 5% then you rightly feel aggrieved and therefore you want the same. I can also understand that getting a 5% increase means that in real terms you are not getting an increase at all, just keeping pace.

However, at some point the spiral of wage increases will have to stop. Many industries (and of course the public sector) are on 0% and I suspect the government (rightly or wrongly) will see a 5% increase in wages for TPE drivers as going against the grain. Now the argument is that TPE (and Arriva XC which have also voted for a strike apparently) are private companies but let's be honest they get a significant amount of taxpayers money. I would agree with many that it is disgraceful that public money goes into increasing the profits of these groups (bring back BR!) Maybe if all drivers were paid the same whatever company they worked for then we wouldn't be in this situation.

Just a thought (without trying to be inflammatory!)

 

[185]

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...

TPE Staff have been threatened with disciplinary action for just existing.

2003, Quote Vernon Barker, Mismanaging Defector (OBE, Sainthood, etc)......
"This new franchise will be a fresh start and there will be no repeat of the mistakes and blame culture at First North Western."
"I know we've ordered trains smaller than the other bidders but I am sure the new 185 trains will be able to cope with the passenger numbers"
"Well BBC, we're cancelling 25% of our trains due to leaf fall, it's not really anything to do with being short of drivers."

 

[ANorthernGuard]

So True m8, So True we were so glad to get rid of him from FNW

 

[exile]

Some interesting points made here but it remains to be seen if the TOCs are under pressure from the government to 'sit this one out'

I understand the fact that if you are a driver for TOC A and you see TOC B getting 5% then you rightly feel aggrieved and therefore you want the same. I can also understand that getting a 5% increase means that in real terms you are not getting an increase at all, just keeping pace.

However, at some point the spiral of wage increases will have to stop. Many industries (and of course the public sector) are on 0% and I suspect the government (rightly or wrongly) will see a 5% increase in wages for TPE drivers as going against the grain. Now the argument is that TPE (and Arriva XC which have also voted for a strike apparently) are private companies but let's be honest they get a significant amount of taxpayers money. I would agree with many that it is disgraceful that public money goes into increasing the profits of these groups (bring back BR!) Maybe if all drivers were paid the same whatever company they worked for then we wouldn't be in this situation.

Just a thought (without trying to be inflammatory!)

The irony is that at the time of privatisation British Rail was by far the most efficient major railway in Europe.

 

[Legzr1]

The irony is that at the time of privatisation British Rail was by far the most efficient major railway in Europe.

That's probably true but it was in dire need of substantial investment both to depots,loco's and infrastructure.

Privatisation was an easy way to offload the 'problem' then worry about it later.

 

[WillPS]

That's probably true but it was in dire need of substantial investment both to depots,loco's and infrastructure.

Privatisation was an easy way to offload the 'problem' then worry about it later.

Nothing to do with the Conservative party's mates in the Private Sector then?

 

[Legzr1]

Nothing to do with the Conservative party's mates in the Private Sector then?

Maybe.

Maybe not.

aaaah the McNumpty report

£221,000 well spent...

 

[spionkop64]

TPE are planning to operate 14 services in each direction Man Pic-Leeds using 6 car 185s. on strike days. Services will run roughly 0620-1900. No services will oeprate on the Scarborough line which is the one line where there is no alternative to TPE.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

TPE are planning to operate 14 services in each direction Man Pic-Leeds using 6 car 185s. on strike days. Services will run roughly 0620-1900. No services will oeprate on the Scarborough line which is the one line where there is no alternative to TPE.

10 of the 14 Leeds services stated above, each way, will serve Manchester Piccadily to York and vice versa.. From Manchester Piccadilly to York, they will run from 0756 to 1827 and from York to Manchester Piccadilly, they will run from 0557 to 1725.
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FTPE plan to run 7 services from Sheffield to Manchester Piccadillyand vice versa on the South TransPennine route. From Sheffield to Manchester Piccadilly they will run from 0709 to 1811 and from Manchester Piccadilly to Sheffield, they will run from 0820 to 1720.

 

[WatcherZero]

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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?

A bit of a misinterpretation, it does actually support conductors and revenue protection staff checking fares but the removal of platform dispatch and onboard the guards door opening/closing function transferred to drivers, reducing the responsibilities and wage of non driver employees.

 

[DelayRepay]

Is there any reason why they haven't arranged rail replacement buses, at least on those lines/at those times when there are no services from other TOCs available?

It seems to me that, with all the resources of First Group to hand, providing some kind of skeleton bus service should not be too hard a task.

 

[Greenback]

Is there any reason why they haven't arranged rail replacement buses, at least on those lines/at those times when there are no services from other TOCs available?

It seems to me that, with all the resources of First Group to hand, providing some kind of skeleton bus service should not be too hard a task.

It costs them money.

 

[DelayRepay]

It costs them money.

But they will save a day's worth of salaries from the staff who are on strike, and the fuel that would be used to run the trains. And if they put buses on they may find themselves having to give fewer refunds/extra days on season tickets. And they may even make some revenue by selling tickets to the bus passengers.

 

[exile]

There may be issues with bus drivers not wishing to be seen as blacklegs. It's one thing to drive a bus replacing trains withdrawn due to engineering works, another when it's a colleague on strike.

 

[Greenback]

But they will save a day's worth of salaries from the staff who are on strike, and the fuel that would be used to run the trains. And if they put buses on they may find themselves having to give fewer refunds/extra days on season tickets. And they may even make some revenue by selling tickets to the bus passengers.

Indeed they might. However they are going to save on wages and fuel whether they run buses or not, but they are going to have to pay to hire the buses. I expect that the bean counters would prefer not to take the risk that the extra revenue will be less than the expenditure.

There may be issues with bus drivers not wishing to be seen as blacklegs. It's one thing to drive a bus replacing trains withdrawn due to engineering works, another when it's a colleague on strike.

No, it's money, it always is!

 

[Oswyntail]

But they are different companies, providing different services. They presumably don't mind competing with their "colleagues". Though I guess that is right, in the romantic world of the unions!

 

[DavidBusDriver]

I don't know, I think I was mildly castigated by my union when I was a bus driver for driving my bus past a picket line at the DSS in Tyneview Park when they were on strike... to be fair the bus was empty and there were no other places to turn around after I had turned into the site by force of habit... whoops!

It was commented a while ago that if people in other professions are upset that they are not getting a pay rise, well, get organised, get in your respective union, and make sure they stick up for your rights otherwise us who do the actual work will always have our pay and conditions whittled down to subsume it onto the pay packets of the guys at the top! Who - while I do feel are deserving of a good pay package for having to make the very serious decisions they are expected to make, do inflate their salaries well beyond the rise other staff make.

 

[Greenback]

the pay packets of the guys at the top! Who - while I do feel are deserving of a good pay package for having to make the very serious decisions they are expected to make, do inflate their salaries well beyond the rise other staff make.

The people at the top deserve more for that reason, but not the obscene amounts they are currently paying themselves!

 

[notadriver]

There may be issues with bus drivers not wishing to be seen as blacklegs. It's one thing to drive a bus replacing trains withdrawn due to engineering works, another when it's a colleague on strike.

Bus drivers don't think much of train drivers and will pretty much do what's necessary to earn a wage. I do both jobs and get a lot of friction from the former.