XC ASLEF industrial action.

[dk1]

Coming across as good news all round.

 

[Russel]

Coming across as good news all round.

Indeed, let's hope the MD and her ilk take this as a learning opportunity

 

[Travelmonkey]

Time will tell. One group you don't mess with is the rail unions. Much to the management and passenger annoyance.

 

[GoneSouth]

Time will tell. One group you don't mess with is the rail unions. Much to the management and passenger annoyance.

That sounds like they are always intimidating and it comes across as a bit of a mob mentality. I’ve not been in negotiations on the opposite side of the table but I sincerely hope this isn’t how things are dealt with.

 

[dk1]

That sounds like they are always intimidating and it comes across as a bit of a mob mentality. I’ve not been in negotiations on the opposite side of the table but I sincerely hope this isn’t how things are dealt with.

I think it has more to do with adhering to agreements. If management aren’t doing that as appeared the case then trouble will quickly follow. Why those up top at XC continue to do this just baffles me.

 

[GordonT]

I think it has more to do with adhering to agreements. If management aren’t doing that as appeared the case then trouble will quickly follow. Why those up top at XC continue to do this just baffles me.

Is it also perhaps to do in part with a long established railway culture around collective bargaining which is unlikely to immediately mean very much to senior managers appointed from outwith the industry?

 

[Harpo]

Why those up top at XC continue to do this just baffles me.

My suspicion would be that XC can’t only do what DfT tell/allow them to do, and they certainly baffle me.

 

[Goldfish62]

My suspicion would be that XC can’t only do what DfT tell/allow them to do, and they certainly baffle me.

That's letting XC off the hook. It's a fully-fledged company in its own right owned by Arriva, which in turn is owned by a US private equity outfit. There is much in the workings of such a company that the DfT has no legal right to be involved in.

 

[45Fox]

My suspicion would be that XC can’t only do what DfT tell/allow them to do, and they certainly baffle me.

That's letting XC off the hook. It's a fully-fledged company in its own right owned by Arriva, which in turn is owned by a US private equity outfit. There is much in the workings of such a company that the DfT has no legal right to be involved in.

Which pretty nicely sums up the odd limbo much of the passenger side of the railway currently finds itself in.
Ostensibly private companies, but subject to the underlying control of the DfT.

None of which lets the directors of XC off the hook for their appalling approach to this.

 

[swt_passenger]

My suspicion would be that XC can’t only do what DfT tell/allow them to do, and they certainly baffle me.

You mean they can only do what DFT tell/allow them to do, surely? Thats the usual forum assumption isn’t it?

 

[Clarence Yard]

That's letting XC off the hook. It's a fully-fledged company in its own right owned by Arriva, which in turn is owned by a US private equity outfit. There is much in the workings of such a company that the DfT has no legal right to be involved in.

Each National Rail Contract (NRC) has the same clauses when it comes to staff pay and conditions.

You can only negotiate or make any changes if you have a mandate to do so by the DfT. You cannot do anything on your own as that is a breach of contract.

As the NRC’s are such tightly drawn up management contracts, owning groups don’t have much say. You do exactly what it says in the contract and that is how you earn your money, in fees only.

Which is why I thought it strange that the XC management tried this on. One call from the union to the DfT SPAD’s (they should have their numbers) would have alerted the Political side of the DfT that there was something wrong here but really someone at Arriva should have told the XC management, “Hey, if you carry on like this, we don’t get our performance fees. Stop it.”

 

[45Fox]

Each National Rail Contract (NRC) has the same clauses when it comes to staff pay and conditions.

You can only negotiate or make any changes if you have a mandate to do so by the DfT. You cannot do anything on your own as that is a breach of contract.

Pay was never an issue here, that was subject to another ballot of ASLEF members at XC (3.5%, no strings) which was overwhelming accepted by the membership.

Neither was it about making any changes to terms and conditions, it was about keeping to current agreements (by their very nature, agreed previously by all sides); the stance by the relevant directors at XC was, "I wasn't there when that was signed", as if that somehow invalidated them.

 

[Clarence Yard]

I was setting the NRC context, not talking about the precise details of the current dispute.

In this dispute, these agreements come under the “conditions” rules for the purpose of NRC compliance. No TOC should be stepping away from or altering any written agreement with any group of employees without DfT say so.

Saying you weren’t there doesn’t cut it. If the agreement exists, then you stick to it until (DfT) mandated to do otherwise.

 

[ainsworth74]

I think we'll draw a line under this thread here. Hopefully the situation has now been resolved to everyone's satisfaction and XC can get back to normal.