Mod note: we are aware this has a number of acronyms - the poster will be editing this post in due course to add explainers where approriate.
A write up from a regional TSSA meeting , this email is doing the rounds. TSSA meeting planned for later this week in our area
Reduction of MSTs
- For the last 18 months, the company have been working on reducing MSTs
- They want to remove 50% of all MSTs
- This will lead to up to a 17% cut in maintenance although each engineer will be asked to sign off on this and some may not be able to reduce MSTs by this much, although it is anticipated that most will
- This will impact some departments heavier than others as some rely more heavily on MST work than others
- Network Rail anticipate that this will allow them to cut the following people:
- 200 Team Leaders
- 200 Technicians
- 200 Operatives
- They believe that these reductions in MSTs will save £36 million per year
- This figure is based on the following calculation – 600 posts at an average of £60,000 per year (total cost to the business not simply wages!)
- The following is a breakdown of MSTs to be reduced
| Current MSTs | Proposed | Percent reduction |
| Track | 37,000 | 19,000 | 50% |
| Off Track | 200,000 | 175,000 | 12% |
| W&G | 406 | 375 | 7% |
| Rail Testing | 165,000 | 135,000 | 17% |
| S&T | 1,040,000 | 600,000 | 40% |
| OHL | 150,000 | 84,000 | 40% |
| CRE | 30,000 | 20,000 | 33% |
| D&P | 360,000 | 280,000 | 22% |
| Telecoms | Not in scope | | |
These are the number of Work Arising Hours
| Current Work Arising Hours |
| Track | 1,010,000 |
| Off Track | 500,000 |
| W&G | 200,000 |
| Rail Testing | 65,000 |
| S&T | 176,000 |
| OHL | 120,000 |
| CRE | 75,000 |
| D&P | 75,000 |
Examples of some of the MST reductions:
Track
- Slide chair management 304,000 to 137,000
- Patrolling 250,000 reduced to 50,000 through RBM
- S&C Train Monitoring 157,000 to 100,000
- RBM Rail Management (URFDO) 110,000 to 90,000
E&P
- Signalling and Power Supply – 361,000 to 78,000
- Fixed Plant – 121,000 to 64,000
- AC Traction – 60,000 to 25,000
Signalling
- Points – 550,000 to 450,000
- Location cases and equipment rooms – 280,000 to 125,000
- Interlockings – 220,000 to 100,000
- Signals – 220,000 to 55,000
- Train detection (track circuits) – 160,000 to 75,000
- Level crossings 130,000 to 90,000
Assistant Technician Role
The company want to remove the Operative role entirely
- They want to remove 1500 people in Operative positions in maintenance and 240 in Works Delivery
- These will be replaced with 1050 Assistant
- They plan to use Apprentices during their apprenticeshipto account for 450 post
- This gives a resource of 1500 Assistant Technician
- Displaced Operatives may be served notice and would need to apply for the Assistant Technician’s post. They would not be slotted into them, nor would they retain their terms and conditions
- The company have said that it is possible that they may allow these to keep their rate of pay, but they want to look at the market rate for new entrants. This could see them paid significantly less than current Operatives
- ATs would have new terms and conditions, but we don’t yet know the full detail on what would be in them although we have been told the following
- They would work across every discipline (including works delivery)
- Rostered individually
- Hold skills across all disciplines
- Although they will be assigned a depot, they would be expected to travel to other depots in their own vehicles within a ‘reasonable distance’. We don’t yet know how far this could be
- They would not be paid for this travel and would have to use their own vehicles and pay for their own fuel
- ATs would hold a maximum of 55 competencies. Currently, Operatives have the following maximums
- Track 35
- S&T 61
- OHL 32
- CRE 27
- D&P 23
- These would be split with core and specialist skills and include
- PTS
- WAH
- Trolleys, skates, and small plant
- Auxillary duties such as LXA, Hand Signaller, Points Operator
- Site Warden
- IWA linked to hot weather patrols
- SEM 1 and SEM 2 (BS1 and BS2)
- Non-intrusive inspection of OHL
- Track patrol
- Authorised person
The company also want ATs to hold a further 15 competencies for their development. This will not be optional. These could be anything that their manager decides
If ATs cannot maintain these competencies, the company could not give any assurances that their jobs would be protected
ATs would adopt the maximum rostering commitments of 65 weekend shifts over 39 weekends and 39 weeks of nights. The company believe that 67% of existing staff are already on these arrangements but many can’t be rostered this amount due to team rostering
ATs will be expected to travel to other depots in their own vehicles with no compensation for fuel costs and would not be paid till they arrive at the depot. This would be within what the company would define as a reasonable distance.
In order to receive a pay increase. Team Leaders and Technicians would also have to be deployed differently than they are today:
Deployment of Technician’s and Team Leaders
- Once Operatives are removed, the company want everyone else to adopt the higher rostering commitments, as found in the Phase 2bc Agreement. This amounts to
- 39 weeks of nights in a calendar year
- 39 weekends
- 65 weekend shifts in a calendar year
- Staff can opt to work permanent nights on a voluntary basis. If they don’t, when on days, they could be sent to work in other disciplines where their competencies allow them to do so. An example was given of welders who don’t want to work permanent nights being sent with P Way
- Staff would be rostered as individuals
- This would see an end to roster negotiations and each individual would just be sent a roster that they will be expected to accept
- The maximum roster length would be 13 weeks and the shortest would be 8 weeks
- Minimum rest periods would be reduced which would see an end to the 32/56 hours of continuous rest which affords our members an element of work life balance. The fatigue risk index would be used instead
- The introduction of cross boundary working
- Joint working with multi-discipline staff being deployed together
- Mandatory overlapping skills such as
- FPL
- Removing objects from OHL
- Signal Sighting
- S&C Gauging
- Point Heater Testing
- Removal of bonds (including OHL bonds)
- The company also want ATs to hold a further 15 competencies across multiple disciplines for their development. This will not be optional. These could be anything that their manager decides
Rostering
- Rostering negotiation would no longer take place
- Roster will be issued out 6 weeks prior to roster commencement
- Roster will be set in place 2 weeks prior to commencement
- Any leave request after the 6 weeks would need authorisation further authorisation
- If a roster is compliant, an individual would have to accept the roster and couldn’t disagree with the roster
Apprentices
- The company want apprentices to work as part of the team during their apprenticeship rather than the current way that they are used in addition to the team
- 450 apprentices will be expected to take Assistant Technician posts
Working Supervisors
Network Rail want to remove the role of Working Supervisor
PTR&R
- Network Rail believe that there are parts of PTR&R that are no longer legal and could be considered to be discriminatory
- They do not want to use the Sectional Council D method of dealing with displaced staff. They said that they may wish to use the Sectional Council A approach where staff are placed into roles based on suitability
Pay/Costs
- They believe that these changes will save £100 million per year (this does not include proposed changes to Team Leaders and Technicians)
- They also want to save £170 million per year in management cuts
- The current salary bill is £550 million
- In addition, £23 million is spent on shift premiums and £75 million on overtime
- These proposals would see shift premiums increase to £34 million as more people will be working nights and weekends. This would suggest an anticipated increase of antisocial hours by about 1/3
- The company believe that overtime would reduce by 10-15% as the workforce would be more flexible
- If these savings can be achieved, this will save a further £15 million. This is on top of the £100 million projected savings.
- They said that changes to Technicians and Team Leaders conditions could be used to fund a pay rise for the bargaining grades including Section Managers, Section Supervisors, Team Leaders, and Technicians
- The cost of a 1% pay rise would equate to £4.5 million but the Government will not let them offer more than the public sector pay cap. There was a suggestion that a further increase could be achieved through increases to shift premiums
Other points
- Network Rail want to offer voluntary severance to staff within these grades
- The company believe that they can make further savings by agreeing a mandatory retirement age
Summary of figures
- MSTs - 600 job reduction
- Deployment - 1500 job reduction
- WD Operatives - 240 job reduction
- Apprentices - 450 will convert to ATs
- New AT Posts - 1500 (450 of these are the apprentices above)
| Maintenance People (not posts) | Less Posts | Works Delivery | Less Posts |
| Team Leader | 3200 | 200 from MST reduction | 475 | |
| Technician | 3300 | 200 from MST reduction | 550 | |
| Operative | 3000 | 200 from MST reduction
1500 from deployment
Total of 1700 | 480 | 240 |
| Apprentices | 10300 | | 1605 | |
Our calculations (figures approx.)
- From looking at Org Plus, there are around 2270 vacancies
- Removing 2580 people
- Creating 1050 ATs
- Their figures show 11005 people
- 13275 total posts
- 8425 posts left after vacancies and the 2580 people that they plan to remove
- Removing around 36% of posts then adding 1050 ATs.
- Total cut to headcount around 28%
- Total cuts to people 14%
