Tbh as a guard my perspective is that all of the issues I have had with STM staff I Dont blame the staff themselves apart from the odd few who are just really rude or aggressive people .
My experience is about 75% aren't really interested in doing their job well , just wanna show up and get paid .However asside from the off few who just dont have any manners most are pleasant people. I cant really say I blame them if I was only getting paid close to minimum wage standing in some windy station outside in all weathers all day , without proper mess room facilities being provided , without the same perks that northern staff get (free parking,decent sick pay,free travel ,etc etc etc ) then id probably put little effort or take little pride in my work .
By and large their staff take as much if not more abuse than guards , but ive seen STM staff being put straight back on the barriers only hours after being threatened/abused etc etc . If that happened to a guard your job would get covered and then depending on the severity/nature of incident you might need to take some paid leave .
Then there are 25% these are the ones that go above and beyond ,take pride in their work and generally are knowledgeable and provide a good service . and considering all Ive said above these are the ones Northern should really be snapping up for guards and station staff jobs .
Tbh the reason for a great deal of the issues and animosity between STM staff and Northern staff boils down to the fact that when It was G4s northern let G4s train their own staff despite the fact that they would be wearing the same uniform as us . I dont have a problem with them wearing the same uniform , if they can be trained to the same standards . What I did have a problem with was someone who is trained for 2 days on something guards are trained for 2 weeks plus on wearing the same uniform as me . My Retail training consisted of 1 week learning how to use the avantix (very basic switch it on and produce basic singles and returns ),2-3 days looking at types of tickets basic restrictions and other ticketing background info,1 day looking at cash regs and payment methods - fixing chip and pin issues etc etc , 2 days local ticket training (TFGM,Merseytravel and WYPTE for my depot) and then 5 days working trains with a machine under the supervision of a minder . I was assessed on my retail knowledge by a written exam , a practical exam and verbal questioning by my manager . when it was G4s I believe training consisted of less than a week before being let loose with an avantix .
As for the staff levels of effort . As I said above I dont really blame the staff for this , you pay them peanuts , and you treat them the way I have no doubt a company like STM treats people and you get what you pay for . Like I said If I was being paid close to minimum wage to stand in a station that functioned like a wind tunnel , or out in the rain all day I dont think it would take long for me to become indifferent . Why bother challenging a fare dodger if all your gonna get is a load of abuse and no backing or support from a manager . Kudos to those who really do put an effort in and I hope one day they can get recruited by a TOC paying a fair wage for a fair days work .Either that or I hope that they can move to an industry they really want to work in .
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
I've read some of the comments regarding stm staff in Manchester and as a employee of stm i just want to suggest that people get some facts right before bad mouthing people. If you have any questions re stm post them and i will reply as best i can. pstm01
All I really have to ask is what is the current wage if you dont mind divulging , and how many of your colleagues are employed on zero or low <10 hour contracts ?