221129
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I doubt it. There are talks scheduled before that so might not announce anything until after that
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CrossCountry anticipated disruption Summer 2019
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221129
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What strike? No one is on strike.
Agreed, just an inability to manage staffing correctly by XC. Lots of staff decided they’d rather have a bank holiday with the family in the sun rather than work additional hours to those stipulated in their contract. Pain in the arse as it is, I can’t criticise !
They’d likley create a pool of weekend & part time workers rather like the night tube & much of the retail industry currently does, but that might work against the unions, making cover easier to find during disputes such as this one which i suspect is a significant contributing factor as to why they’ve not forced the issue too much
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Bring Sunday into the working week, spreading cancellations out across the entire week whilst additional staff are brought on.
Or maybe the additional staff won’t be needed, must be some staffers out there who rely on the overtime to top-up their pay checks.
The hold the unions have over this countries transport network is ridiculous.
Or maybe the additional staff won’t be needed, must be some staffers out there who rely on the overtime to top-up their pay checks.
The hold the unions have over this countries transport network is ridiculous.
Really? I hope you're not planning to travel on CrossCountry today then!!
https://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/industrial-action
If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck..
221129
Established Member
No one is on strike. If people dont want to work their days off then why the hell should they?
Working to contract is not strike action. Strike action would be withdrawing labour completely. The effect on passengers is similar though.
Why is the rail company so dependant on staff working overtime? Why not employ enough staff and have antisocial shifts like bank holidays in the contract? Surely that happens in pretty much every other industry/service which needs staffing 24/7.
I don’t hear any quacking.
If it was a strike there would be a complete withdrawal of labour. These people are not breaking any employment contract and no strike ballot has taken place. What’s so difficult to understand!
If I had the choice of working this weekend for a bit of extra cash or enjoy what could be the last chance to enjoy summer, I’d be in the garden with the bbq fired up! There’s always EVERY other weekend to volunteer for OT and assist in bailing out bad management
Why should they work overtime, I suspect most of the moaners on here have their 2 day weekend and some quality family time.
I agree the rail industry shouldn’t be reliant on overtime working as heavily as it is.
However, if the unions were genuinely interested in putting a stop to it they could do it right now. Have their members stop working the overtime requirements and the TOCs would soon start making arrangements to bring their staffing levels up to where they should be.
Why isn’t the RMT taking that action, the RMT that claims to have both its members and the travelling public interests at heart?
If I had the choice of working this weekend for a bit of extra cash or enjoy what could be the last chance to enjoy summer, I’d be in the garden with the bbq fired up! There’s always EVERY other weekend to volunteer for OT and assist in bailing out bad management
And there is the crux of the issue. Members aren’t genuinely interested in putting a stop to overtime working, only when it suits.
Members put the blame with the TOC, the TOC puts the blame with the union. Both sides are as bad as each-other and all that is being achieved is underpinning a greater sense of unreliability the public has of our rail system.
I’ve made bookings by air this year I’d have previously made by rail owing to strikes experienced last year. Just as good value, quicker, more reliable. Easyjet this year are opening new domestic routes in the UK, long distance rail travel is no longer competitive in this country.
Congratulations guys
Many TOCs work with Sunday outside because it's cheaper and you need less people. Rosters based over 6 days can follow the logic of groups of three people following a 4 day a week link out of six days over 3 weeks, then the pattern starts again. One person on early, one person on late, one off at any one time. It's across much of the railway. Sick pay doesn't have to be paid Sundays if someone goes off and holiday pay doesn't have to be paid for Sunday's off, nor are holidays accrued by working every Sunday if someone volunteered. Putting a 7th day in the week means you'd probably need two extra staff to every 3 you currently need to cover everything. So with Sunday outside you rely on volunteers who like extra hours and or good will.
Sweetjesus
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Does anyone know what is RMT & ASLEF position on weekend & part time workers?
bb21
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It isn't for ordinary rail staff to sort out a structural issue in the industry. Why should these people lose money over something that wasn't their doing?
As already mentioned numerous times, when/if companies put forward an acceptable offer for the changes in terms, the union members will be all ears.
Having the travelling public's interests at heart is not contradictory to wanting fair terms for union members.
Yes of course, snip snip cost cut, dump the consequences somewhere else, a sadly typical strategy, and is one reason why we need regulation. If I had ultimate power, I would penalise companies that pulled BS like this to a much greater cost than it would take to employ a proper workforce in the first place.
Goldfish62
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They're only perpetuating the policy that BR had on Sunday working.
Indeed, but what worked in the past for BR doesn't work now. The policy worked in BR days because there weren't as many Sunday trains in the timetable for many reasons; because engineering work often went on until mid-afternoon and the shops weren't open on Sundays etc. Also train crew were poorly paid compared to today so there was a greater willingness to do Sunday overtime to supplement their basic wage.
These days the Sunday timetable is much more intensive but the train crew have a much greater basic wage than in the past, so there's less need for them to work overtime to make ends meet.
Could it be that the current 'Sunday outside' situation in various TOCs suits everyone except the passengers?
It suits the TOC because it's cheaper to pay overtime to existing staff than employ new staff, which means...
It suits the DfT because the TOC can pay the DfT a bigger premium (or require a smaller subsidy) and...
It suits the staff who don't want to work Sundays because they don't have to, which means...
It suits the staff who do want to work Sundays because there's plently of overtime available, which means...
Everyone's happy
(except the passengers).I feel the main point is that many passengers would be shocked to find out that Train Operating Companies do not have staff contracted to cover the services advertised in timetables.
When services are advertised passengers expect operating companies to have the rolling stock and staff to cover them. All too often this is not the case.
I do have great sympathy for people forced to work nights and Sundays, especially if they are relying on a rail service to get them there.
When services are advertised passengers expect operating companies to have the rolling stock and staff to cover them. All too often this is not the case.
I do have great sympathy for people forced to work nights and Sundays, especially if they are relying on a rail service to get them there.
Goldfish62
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So the usual state of affairs on our railways.Could it be that the current 'Sunday outside' situation in various TOCs suits everyone except the passengers?
It suits the TOC because it's cheaper to pay overtime to existing staff than employ new staff, which means...
It suits the DfT because the TOC can pay the DfT a bigger premium (or require a smaller subsidy) and...
It suits the staff who don't want to work Sundays because they don't have to, which means...
It suits the staff who do want to work Sundays because there's plently of overtime available, which means...
Everyone's happy
There's still a performance penalty in the franchise contract for cancelled trains, and a small marginal bill for each person who lodges a delay repay claim.So the usual state of affairs on our railways.
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