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Author Topic: Rail unions strike action 2022/2023/2024  (Read 81793 times)
ChrisB
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« Reply #420 on: December 21, 2022, 20:24:06 »

Overtime bans imclude depot staff. So little Sunday maintenance, abd reduced maintenance during week too due to overtime ban means reduced stock availability.

The 48 hour strikes mean no maintenance on those days too, mrleaning maintenance regime is well behind, on exams too.

Chiltern having same problems - only enough stock in their case to run 4 tph in each direction, about 10 trains-worth (or 20 units) available each day.

Of course, SWT (South West Trains) have electric 4car/5car units & more maintenance depot capacity than Chiltern. But that may still be a limiting factor for them
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grahame
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« Reply #421 on: December 21, 2022, 21:41:29 »

Chiltern having same problems - only enough stock in their case to run 4 tph in each direction, about 10 trains-worth (or 20 units) available each day.

Of course, SWT (South West Trains) have electric 4car/5car units & more maintenance depot capacity than Chiltern. But that may still be a limiting factor for them

With 20 serviceable units, 10 trains running each of 2 units is an option, and as I read it that is the normal train length. The other option is to run 20 trains but shorter than normal - and that's going to lead to the sort of thing we see in GWR (Great Western Railway) land on Cardiff to Portsmouth, where a single unit of just 2 cars may be run in place of a scheduled 5 car service.
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« Reply #422 on: December 21, 2022, 22:11:49 »

Neither are on walk-outs this week. Overtime bans at worst.

So SWR» (South Western Railway - about) are apparently saying they can only run 47% of their scheduled weekday services without overtime. And staff are saying crew rooms are full of staff doing nothing other than clocking in for their contracted hours.

Someone is lying.
Paul Clifton retweeted this earlier:
https://twitter.com/disgruntledgrd/status/1605600521401913346?s=61&t=f4ZQtM_8E-2AbS3j-QEiOg
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ChrisB
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« Reply #423 on: December 23, 2022, 18:51:06 »

With 20 serviceable units, 10 trains running each of 2 units is an option, and as I read it that is the normal train length.

That's effectively what they're doing in 4 routes, as far as Oxford Parkway/Banbury/Aylesbury (via 2 routes), so 4 diagrams @ 1tph each way. For limited hours 0800-2200.
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ChrisB
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« Reply #424 on: December 23, 2022, 19:10:09 »

Workers on London's new Elizabeth line to walkout in row over pay just weeks after it fully opened

From MSN

Quote
Workers on London's Elizabeth Line will strike on January 12 in a dispute over pay and pensions, Prospect and the TSSA» (Transport Salaried Staffs' Association - about) rail union has announced.

The walkouts by staff at Rail for London (Infrastructure) Limited, which runs the Elizabeth Line, will be followed by more than a month of 'work-to-rule' action, in which staff will work contracted hours and shifts only.

Officials said the action will cause 'significant disruption' to the new cross-London line in the first strike since it began to open in May this year.

The announcement comes just weeks after the cross-London line fully opened.

Members of the union will strike in an ongoing dispute over pay and proposed changes to pensions after a ballot with 80 percent turn out saw 90 percent of workers vote to strike.

The Transport Salaried Staffs' Association said staff on parts of the line who are contractors have been offered an 8.2 percent pay rise, while those employed directly have been offered just four percent.

The union rejected an offer of a four percent rise this year and a 4.4 percent rise next year.

TSSA Organiser Mel Taylor said: 'Our members have sent the company a very clear message that they are not prepared to be pushed around on pay and pensions.

'The result of our ballot shows the strength of feeling and that is why we will be moving very quickly to take strike action and action short of a strike in the new year.

'Frankly, we have been left with little option because we know workers at Rail for London Infrastructure (RfLI) are being paid significantly less than equivalent colleagues across the TfL» (Transport for London - about) network.

'That is simply not good enough. Our members have the power to bring the Elizabeth Line to a standstill and the company must now wake up to that fact and get back round the table.

'We are always open to talks, but only if there's a much-improved deal in the offing, one which puts our members on a par with those in the outsourced parts of the Elizabeth Line.'

Mike Clancy, general secretary of Prospect, said: 'Our members have worked incredibly hard to get the Elizabeth Line ready to go safely into operation yet are being treated significantly worse than equivalent workers on the rest of London's network.

'They have been left with no option but to take this action.

'We remain open to negotiation and it is our hope that RfLI will come back to the table with an offer sufficient to avert industrial action.

'The Elizabeth Line is bringing in substantial revenue so there is no reason why there can't be some movement on pay.'

Of course, TfL is currently bust, but don't let that bother the TSSA
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PhilWakely
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« Reply #425 on: January 03, 2023, 10:22:54 »

RMT (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) Press release 02/01/23 13:15

Quote
RMT press release 02/01/23 13:15.

RMT calls out government for "blocking" rail resolution ahead of strikes starting tomorrow

40,000 workers on Network Rail and 14 train operating companies will take action on 3,4,6 and 7 this week, shutting down most rail services across the country.

Despite the union's best efforts over the Christmas period, rail employers have not arranged any formal negotiations with RMT to resolve the dispute.

Both Network Rail and the Rail Delivery Group are being directly blocked by government ministers from producing an acceptable proposal on job security, pay and working conditions.

RMT remains available around the clock for talks so all parties can come to a negotiated settlement.

The situation stands in stark contrast to other areas of the railway where the Department for Transport does not have a mandate.

RMT has secured deals with Scotrail, Transport for Wales, contracts on Eurostar and areas where the railway is under the control of metro mayors.

Mick Lynch, RMT general secretary, said: "The government is blocking the union's attempts to reach a negotiated settlement with the rail employers.

"We have worked with the rail industry to reach successful negotiated settlements ever since privatisation in 1993. And we have achieved deals across the network in 2021 and 2022 where the DfT» (Department for Transport - about) has no involvement.

"Yet in this dispute, there is an unprecedented level of ministerial interference, which is hamstringing rail employers from being able to negotiate a package of measures with us, so we can settle this dispute.

"We will continue our industrial action campaign while we work towards a negotiated resolution."

END

Notes:

RMT has achieved deals in the following areas where DfT has not been involved:

Eurostar International: 8% pay rise 
Eurostar - Mitie security: 10% pay rise for all staff and 29% for the lowest paid.
Scotrail: 7-9% backdated to April this year
Transport for Wales: Between 6.6% and 9.5% pay rise 
Merseyrail: 7% pay rise
MTR Crossrail: 8.2% (2021-2022)
Docklands Light Railway: 9.25%
London Underground: 8.4% (2021)

The 14 train operating companies we are in dispute with alongside Network Rail are as follows:

Chiltern Railways
Cross Country Trains
Greater Anglia,
LNER» (London North Eastern Railway - about),
East Midlands Railway,
c2c,
Great Western
Railway,
Northern Trains,
South Eastern
South Western Railway
Transpennine Express,
Avanti West Coast,
West Midlands Trains
GTR (including Gatwick Express


John Millington
RMT Press Officer
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ChrisB
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« Reply #426 on: January 03, 2023, 11:38:18 »

There are meetings scheduled with the Rail Minister - for next week.
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« Reply #427 on: January 03, 2023, 17:52:06 »

There are meetings scheduled with the Rail Minister - for next week.

But the Minister will not talk about pay rise all the Minster will walk to talk about is "efficiencies" and working practices which the Union will take as worse terms & conditions and job cuts
« Last Edit: January 04, 2023, 07:56:33 by Electric train » Logged

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ChrisB
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« Reply #428 on: January 03, 2023, 18:24:02 »

If so, then the Minister has a point, I reckon. It's high time that the union did discuss the ways in which old working practices can be modernised. If that leads to increased staffing for 7 day working within that, then great. But it's a 7 day railway, and everyone needs to recognise that.
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grahame
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« Reply #429 on: January 03, 2023, 23:01:28 »

If so, then the Minister has a point, I reckon. It's high time that the union did discuss the ways in which old working practices can be modernised. If that leads to increased staffing for 7 day working within that, then great. But it's a 7 day railway, and everyone needs to recognise that.

I decide to research railway staffing to add comment - but very difficult to find in history. Not sure these figures compare apples with apples:
1955 - 648,000
1961 - 474,000
2018 - 115,000
but 2018 also lists 250,000 in the "supply chain" and I don't have a clue as to how many of those might have been included in the 1955 and 1961 figures.

What do the figures tell us?  Well - passenger number have risen from the low point on a much smaller network, but small load freight traffic which was staff intensive has been lost.  Locomotives no longer need a fireman as most did in 1955, and there are so many other changes.
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JayMac
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« Reply #430 on: January 04, 2023, 01:48:54 »

and there are so many other changes.

Another major one being signalling. Thousands of mechanical signal boxes in 1955. Very few left, the vast majority replaced by PSBs (Power Signal Box), IECCs (Integrated Electronic Control Centre) and ROCs (Rail Operating Centre - a centralised location for railway signalling and train control operations for a specific route or region). With the ultimate aim of Network Rail to have just a dozen or so ROCs covering the whole network.
« Last Edit: January 04, 2023, 01:54:49 by JayMac » Logged

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« Reply #431 on: January 04, 2023, 08:08:37 »

If so, then the Minister has a point, I reckon. It's high time that the union did discuss the ways in which old working practices can be modernised. If that leads to increased staffing for 7 day working within that, then great. But it's a 7 day railway, and everyone needs to recognise that.

I decide to research railway staffing to add comment - but very difficult to find in history. Not sure these figures compare apples with apples:
1955 - 648,000
1961 - 474,000
2018 - 115,000
but 2018 also lists 250,000 in the "supply chain" and I don't have a clue as to how many of those might have been included in the 1955 and 1961 figures.

What do the figures tell us?  Well - passenger number have risen from the low point on a much smaller network, but small load freight traffic which was staff intensive has been lost.  Locomotives no longer need a fireman as most did in 1955, and there are so many other changes.

All the way through you could add "supply chain" work force numbers, the railways have always relied on external supplies.  Since 2018 the Rail Industry formulised its supplier chain structure with effectively a licence / approved supplier, this is done in a tiered system, it gets difficult to have accurate numbers past tier 2.

and there are so many other changes.

Another major one being signalling. Thousands of mechanical signal boxes in 1955. Very few left, the vast majority replaced by PSBs (Power Signal Box), IECCs (Integrated Electronic Control Centre) and ROCs (Rail Operating Centre - a centralised location for railway signalling and train control operations for a specific route or region). With the ultimate aim of Network Rail to have just a dozen or so ROCs covering the whole network.

Not only the number of Signallers who operated the mechanical boxes there were a lot of S&T (Signalling and Telegraph) staff to maintain the equipment, PWay there are no longer "lengthmen" and local gangs.  Shunters, fright guards, second men, station porters, parcel office staff, traction & rolling stock maintainers, Railway Works

The Rail Industry does not modernise it's working practices, well it has done so since the very first railway and continues too
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« Reply #432 on: January 04, 2023, 09:34:35 »

Is it possible that the 1955 & 61 figures may include British Railways' other businesses at the time which have been long since sold off, i.e. ferries, hotels, etc?
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« Reply #433 on: January 04, 2023, 09:56:34 »

Is it possible that the 1955 & 61 figures may include British Railways' other businesses at the time which have been long since sold off, i.e. ferries, hotels, etc?

Goodness only knows - though I think the figures came (indirectly - I have not looked it up) from the Beeching report, looking at how the previous closures and modernisation had gone.  Which suggests to me (no more) that the numbers are pure rail. 
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« Reply #434 on: January 04, 2023, 11:05:45 »

From RAIL magazine's Philp Haigh on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/philatrail/status/1610584623209119749
Quote
NR» (Network Rail - home page) signallers in RMT (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) union at Thames Valley signalling centre have voted against further strikes in a dispute over a colleague's dismissal. 48 voted from 138 eligible, 25 against and 23 for strikes. Ballot failed to meet legal thresholds as did one for action short of strikes.
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