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Southern rail conductors to stage three strikes over supervisor row

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Southern trains operate in Sussex, Surrey and parts of Kent and Hampshire

Conductors on Southern railway are to stage three 24-hour strikes in a dispute over changes to their role and the introduction of driver-only trains.

Members of the RMT union will walk out at 11:00 BST on 26 April and at the same time on 10 and 12 May.

The union is against plans for a new grade of on-board supervisor and proposals for drivers to operate doors.

Govia Thameslink said there would be no job losses or cuts in salary and the changes would make staff more visible.

Members of the union were 306 in favour of walkouts and 14 against. A total of 320 votes to one backed other forms of industrial action.

The RMT said it was fighting to keep the conductor grade and the changes were "nothing short of bullying and harassment".

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said the "reward" for the "loyal and professional service" of members was having their "role and responsibility reduced and their hard-earned terms and conditions attacked".

"These trains are desperately over-crowded and the conductors are the eyes and ears preventing a major tragedy on the platforms and carriages," he said. He added the company had already axed catering services, "threatened" ticket offices and delivered "appalling levels of customer service in their drive to milk these routes for every penny they can".

A spokesman for Southern, which is run by Govia Thameslink, described any possible strike action as "unnecessary and damaging". He added: "The changes we are making to the conductor role mean there will be no job losses and no reduction in salary for any staff, whilst passengers will benefit from having more visible staff on trains. We are preparing contingency plans in case a strike does go ahead, but in the meantime we urge the RMT to return to the negotiating table."

Southern operates in Sussex, Surrey and parts of Kent and Hampshire.

Dear all

Following Andy Bindon^s letter last week I wanted to bring you an update on our union position surrounding the On-Board Supervisor role and the introduction of 12-car trains on Gatwick Express.

You may already know that we want to introduce a new role into GTR by July this year. This role would be an evolution of the current on board roles (revenue protection and conductor) and would be more focused on customer service.

On Southern services it would mean drivers operating the doors (on rolling stock equipped for it) freeing up the conductors on these trains. Across all routes it means providing additional training to all on board teams to create this newly evolved role.

The role would allow our on-train teams to spend a lot more time interacting with passengers, providing information, checking and selling tickets and providing reassurance on our services. The added flexibility of a role that is not linked to operational duties also means we can have our teams where they are needed most, so passengers are more likely to see a member of staff on board the train.

We are committed to having no compulsory redundancies as a result of our proposals. There will be a job in GTR for everyone who wants to work here and help us modernise the railway, our proposals are a natural evolution of a really important role.

Our aim was to consult meaningfully with the recognised trade unions, RMT, TSSA and ASLEF. Unfortunately, despite our attempts to consult not only on these changes but on many of the issues that are important to our conductor and revenue teams, the unions do not want to enter into meaningful discussions with us. Legally this now means we will be forced down the unfortunate road of having to make our conductor role redundant (on services where the drivers can operate the doors) and then re-employ those people into the new on board role. This is a regrettable position to be in and we want to make very clear that there will still be no compulsory redundancies. This is purely a legal obligation that has been placed on us in these circumstances.

If you would like to find out more about the On-Board Supervisor role and our current position we have uploaded all the relevant documents onto our intranets.

So, we remain committed to introducing the new role because we feel it is the right thing to do to in order to bring a more modern approach to how we run this franchise while developing our teams through more training and new skills. We value highly our on board teams and the essential service they provide to our passengers and we must be pragmatic about keeping up with developments of technology and customer expectations. Our aim is to modernise the role, bringing flexibility and operational benefits.

Our conductors have been balloted for strike action surrounding these proposals; any industrial action would clearly have a significant impact on the business and our passengers. The ballot is due to close on 19 April and we^ll provide further updates on the results when we know more.

Update on Gatwick Express

On Friday, ASLEF wrote to Gatwick Express announcing it intends to ballot for strike action against the introduction of the new 12-car fleet. The Gatwick Express trains have been operated by drivers, without conductors for many years, but the introduction of the new fleet is being viewed as an extension to Driver Only Operation by the unions. The introduction of new more reliable trains with better facilities and more carriages is a key part of the solution to improving the rail service for our passengers, and we are disappointed that ASLEF has taken this position.

We urge ASLEF to reconsider and put our passengers first. These trains are much better with WiFi, more space for luggage and are fully accessible. Clearly this position may impact our service over the coming weeks and we want to keep you in the loop as these situations unfold.

Commitments to our people

Our people commitments aim to bring reassurance to affected colleagues as we continue to discuss and agree our plans to modernise the railway. Though times of change can be unnerving we hope these commitments show we are dedicated to making things better.

^ There will be a job for everyone who wants to be part of GTR and who is willing to help us to modernise and transform our business
^ The roles will be more varied and you^ll be trained in all the skills and behaviours to succeed in your new roles
^ The changes will happen without any compulsory redundancies or reduction in salaries
^ We will listen to you and involve you as much as we can to evolve and refine the plans
^ You will have the right tools and information to do your job and we^ll make sure you^re safe while you^re doing it

We will bring you more details as soon as we are able to and we welcome any questions you have. Please continue to send your questions to <redacted>
Kind regards

Alex Foulds
Passenger Services Director - Southern

Don't you just love the RMT?  All this sudden sickness too.....is there a mysterious illness which only affects rail staff during disputes with management?

Don't you just love the RMT?  All this sudden sickness too.....is there a mysterious illness which only affects rail staff during disputes with management?

Don't you just love the RMT?  All this sudden sickness too.....is there a mysterious illness which only affects rail staff during disputes with management?

GTR also decreed that self certification is null and void, so even 1 day sickness means needing a fit note, which then means a wait to see the GP, who are also in dispute with the government...

A GP will not (normally) issue a sick note until day 7. As for getting an appointment, my wife called for an appointment last week, the earliest available appointment for non emergencys....2nd August!

I do remember working for a company years ago who would ask for med certs from day 1 if the person concerned was felt to be swinging the lead (ie large numbers of single day absences on Mondays and/or Fridays), and proper sickness absence procedures had been followed to ascertain if there was any underlying reason.It did cause problems with GPs refusing to issue them, so the person concerned either had to ask the GP to issue a private med cert or see a private GP...........strangely enough the individuals sickness records seem to improve quite suddenly.

The company I have recently left allowed x periods of sickness in y months. A period of sickness was defined as consecutive working days absenses. so sick on Monday came in on Tuesday, realised you weren't better and took Wednesday off that was 2 periods of sickness, however taking the whole week off without returning was 1 period.
If taken more than x periods of sickness in the y months, you lost your bonus for the next bonus period.

Things have changed a lot over the years...........I always remember my first "proper" job in a highly unionised public sector environment about 30 years ago where you were "allowed" 20 days sick per calendar year before any action was even considered (yes, really, 20 days!)..........the number of people who had between 15-19 days off sick per year was amazing, it was really considered to be an additional period of annual leave, you would hear guys saying "I've only got a weeks leave left but I've got two weeks sick too"!

Conversely if you DIDN'T take "enough" sick leave and were perceived not to be playing the game, you could expect a visit from  the Union Convener suggesting a week long illness may be prudent to keep the averages up!!!

The company I have recently left allowed x periods of sickness in y months. A period of sickness was defined as consecutive working days absenses. so sick on Monday came in on Tuesday, realised you weren't better and took Wednesday off that was 2 periods of sickness, however taking the whole week off without returning was 1 period.
If taken more than x periods of sickness in the y months, you lost your bonus for the next bonus period.

P.S. Can anyone spot the slight 'error' currently on the Wikipedia entry:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Govia_Thameslink_Railway

That's funny. I wonder how long it has been like that? Aren't modern, media-savvy companies supposed to have people who keep an eye on injudicious edits of Wikipedia and suchlike?

Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) is a train operating company and torture device that operates the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (TSGN) rail franchise. Within the franchise, GTR runs the Thameslink, Great Northern, Southern and Gatwick Express airport services.

The rail minister has previously stated that they did NOT believe etc

...according to the BBC.

Paul

Southern rail dispute: Rail minister says government could broker talks

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Brighton station was closed on Tuesday evening to help ease overcrowding after a points failure caused more delays

New rail minister Paul Maynard has said the government will consider brokering talks between Southern and the RMT union to try to end their dispute.

Passengers have suffered months of delays, cancellations and a reduced timetable amid staff shortages and strike action by conductors.

Mr Maynard said the current level of service was "unacceptable".

It comes as London mayor Sadiq Khan reiterated his call for Transport for London to take over the franchise.

In a letter to new Transport Secretary Chris Grayling, Mr Khan said: "There is no doubt that the franchise must now be in default, and I have previously called for your department to step in and take control. Notwithstanding the wider discussions on devolution, I now offer to go one step further and put my senior TfL (Transport for London) team in charge of the Southern franchise until we get a permanent resolution."

RMT general secretary Mike Cash said: "Passengers and staff alike are being held hostage by this failed rail operation and the silence from the new team at the DfT (Department for Transport) is deafening."

Mr Cash added that there had to be "urgent action" to remove Govia Thameslink Railway, the company that owns Southern, and bring in Directly Operated Railways (a holding company set up by the DfT to run rail franchises deemed to need to be publicly owned) "before there is a major disaster".

But Mr Maynard told a Transport Select Committee hearing: "Simply changing the management will not help because that would not address the issues in dispute and would only cause further disruption."

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Southern and the RMT are in dispute over the introduction of driver-only trains on which guards will no longer open and close doors

Southern and the RMT are in dispute about plans for drivers, rather than guards, to open and close carriage doors.

At the hearing, committee member Huw Merriman MP - who uses Southern trains to commute to Parliament - said the union wanted guarantees from the government over the long-term job security of guards, which Southern could not provide past the end of its current franchise. He said it was "gobsmacking" that the DfT had not held talks with both parties recently, and called for it to sit down with them and "be part of that effort to bring a resolution".

Mr Maynard replied: "I certainly would not rule that out. I will take advice and, where we can, seek to do that."

Southern has apologised for the disruption.

This dispute has the markings of a proxy war between the unions, who know they are on reasonably solid ground, and the government in the shape of a highly paid civil servant who seems to have made it his life's mission to solve a major problem that didn't exist before he was appointed (at well over the Prime Minister's salary).

A golden opportunity exists for the new transport minister to sort this out, and gain major kudos for both himself and his party. A further opportunity exists for the Brighton line to become a new "Miners' Strike". I hope common sense prevails.