RMT on rail company profiteering during cold weather

[whole diary]

[PhilWakely]

From the RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) News Website

RMT on rail company profiteering during cold weather


5 March 2018

RMT Press Office:

RMT demands to know extent of private rail company profiteering at public expense during cold weather

Rail union RMT today demanded to know how much Britain's private rail operators have extracted from the taxpayer during the adverse weather over the past week as they continue to milk Britain's rigged rail franchising system at public expense.

Under the privatised system set up by the Tories ‎the rail operators carry no risk themselves and can fill their boots with Schedule 8  payments dished out by the publicly-owned Network Rail - underwritten by the taxpayer. RMT is aware that the financial projections of the private operators factor these publicly funded payments into their business models as they know it's a one way ticket to the bank.

RMT has long held the view that the private train companies, most of which are owned by overseas state operators, can effectively make more money by not running trains under the bent and twisted franchise system.

General Secretary Mick Cash said;

"Today RMT is demanding to know how much the taxpayer has shovelled into‎ the pockets of the private train companies during the adverse weather over the past week under our rotten rail franchising system.

"The whole racket on our railways was rigged from the off by the Tories so that the profits are privatised and the risks are carried by the public. It's a scandal that has led to a bail out culture on our railways which is being exploited by the train operators while passengers are freezing in luggage racks on broken down trains.

"RMT will be raising this issue with the unions' parliamentary group and we are demanding answers and not the usual hot air we have come to expect from Chris Grayling and this Government."

Ends

[broadgage]

It would seem to me that the adverse weather has resulted in extra costs and loss of revenue rather than profiteering.

I think that the RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) should bid for a rail franchise and show us all how it should be done 

[trainer]

I don't know why they can't just come out and say what they really mean.  I'm sensing a rumble of discontent and perhaps a hint of dissatisfaction with something.

[grahame]

The rhetoric doesn't score well in the "How to win friends and influence people" stakes. However, the question is a good one. The answer, if provided would likely be a highly complex one, with any short term savings or extra income from Network Rail to be offset against loss of income both during and after the period of disruption, and against areas where extra costs are incurred.

[SandTEngineer]

If the current RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) ran a franchise there wouldn't be any trains running because the drivers, guards and signallers would all be on strike over some disagreement with the management.

I'll get my hat and coat......

Edited to add: Signallers as well.....

[rower40]

I'm gonna get flamed for this, but here goes anyway...

The saying about Glass Houses and Stones springs to mind.

Very many RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) members worked extremely hard in atrocious weather to keep the trains running.  But despite their best efforts, there were instances where lines had to close, and no service could run.  So the train crew depot mess rooms would have been full of RMT members "working" out their shifts drinking tea, waiting for a phone call (that a train was going to need crew), or told to go home by their supervisors.  On full pay, of course.

The increased specialisation/compartmentalisation of today's railway ensures that staff unable to perform their normal role can rarely be re-assigned to other tasks.  So instead of being handed a shovel and told to "Clear the snow out of points 743A", the drivers and guards had to wait for the line to re-open.

I'm all for the Orange Army being paid bonuses for antisocial hours/weather working, and for going the extra 1609m to run a railway.  If that's the case, then surely it's the RMT members who are profiting (not necessarily profiteering) from the cold weather.

(I hope I'm not recognised on the train home tonight...)

[Sixty3Closure]

I think the RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) might need to look at their press office but I agree with the general point if I've understood it. The train companies get automatic refunds/payments from NR^» (Network Rail - home page) but the passengers don't. I had a very disrupted couple of days but that's not reflected in my costs being a season ticket holder.

[IndustryInsider]

I think that’s a fair point rower40.  Certainly some RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) and ASLEF^» (Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen - about) members would have been sat standby (usually known as ‘spare’ within the industry) due to cancellations and disruption.  Others would have had a very taxing shift and finished very late, and a small number were stranded at work and couldn’t get home so had to spend the night ‘at work’.

[broadgage]

I'm gonna get flamed for this, but here goes anyway...

The saying about Glass Houses and Stones springs to mind.

Very many RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) members worked extremely hard in atrocious weather to keep the trains running.  But despite their best efforts, there were instances where lines had to close, and no service could run.  So the train crew depot mess rooms would have been full of RMT members "working" out their shifts drinking tea, waiting for a phone call (that a train was going to need crew), or told to go home by their supervisors.  On full pay, of course.

The increased specialisation/compartmentalisation of today's railway ensures that staff unable to perform their normal role can rarely be re-assigned to other tasks.  So instead of being handed a shovel and told to "Clear the snow out of points 743A", the drivers and guards had to wait for the line to re-open.

I'm all for the Orange Army being paid bonuses for antisocial hours/weather working, and for going the extra 1609m to run a railway.  If that's the case, then surely it's the RMT members who are profiting (not necessarily profiteering) from the cold weather.

(I hope I'm not recognised on the train home tonight...)

I agree, and was about to make a very similar post, but I shall save labour and quote yours 

[TaplowGreen]

I think the RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) might need to look at their press office but I agree with the general point if I've understood it. The train companies get automatic refunds/payments from NR^» (Network Rail - home page) but the passengers don't. I had a very disrupted couple of days but that's not reflected in my costs being a season ticket holder.

I think that sums it up very succinctly - I believe that payments from NR to GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) et al tend to be made automatically and very swiftly, whereas certainly in the case of GWR, the meagre compensation payments made have to be applied for and due to GWRs inability to resource their customer services function appropriately, frequently take many months to be made.

As has been illustrated in previous cases of major disruption, the amounts received by GWR from NR far outweigh the amount which trickles down to the customer, I think the ratio is something like 4 to 1.

[Timmer]

I have always thought that if there's severe weather around that it's in the TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) interests not to run services as they can't be blamed for not running trains because of the 'severe weather' so save money from not running trains.