NHS are paid too little (let’s not forget bands 1-4 in the NHS either. It’s appalling).
The parallel falls down too when you compare the differences in training and recruitment and the impact this has on staff retention.
The training process for nursing is long and self-funded, and there’s not much to shout about when you qualify. As a consequence, it’s not seen as much of a career choice which means that the NHS now has a dire shortage of nurses and needs to import a lot from overseas.
Compare and contrast with train driving where there will always be a job at the end of the training process and any tab is picked up by the company. Taken with a good salary, and the numbers who make train driving a whole-life career choice is dramatically different.
I’ve seen mention of “golden handcuffs” before which keep drivers from leaving the industry, but what gets missed is just how advantageous this is for the employers. A committed fully-competent workforce is the key to greater efficiency. The fewer drivers there are in training or learning routes and/or traction the fewer non-productive drivers you have and the fewer uncovered turns on the daily mark-up sheet.
Yes you could unshackle all these workers by attacking pay, but that’s looking at just one tiny part of the greater picture. If you want to see the impact this would have, take a look over at GA (don’t worry
@dk1, some of us still remember where that is). I left there 10 years ago and now I barely recognise any of their drivers because a lot have left. The upshot of this is that any savings on the wage bill compared to other TOCs simply gets spent on recruitment and training all the replacements necessary.
So what’s better? A well-paid but committed and productive workforce or discontent and endless churn?
