Killingworth
Established Member
Exactly. How ASLEF ever agreed to the document stating drivers would work a minimum of 1 in 4 Sundays but not stating a maximum number we could be rostered to work beggars belief.
I worked in a business providing cover from 07.00-23.00 7 days a week. I know, not as onerous as working on trains. Quite a number actually preferred working weekends and Sundays were quite popular, one or two asking to work every Sunday despite no extra pay. It works if you're lucky to have a mix of people with differing life/work balances that fit with the rosters. I liked Friday evenings and usually volunteered to do all of them. The younger ones went out clubbing! I hated 07.00 starts and did very few. Saturday mornings would be very busy. Strict appliance of the roster rules would have made more than half leave!
Which is where the railway gets complicated with shift lengths, route knowledge and traction being up to date. You can't please everyone all the time, and in the situation above if we'd lost our regular Sunday people we'd have had others refusing or resigning.