Great Western Coffee Shop

Britain's railway watchdog has expressed concerns about radical plans to overhaul the way the network will be maintained in the future.
The Office of the Rail Regulation (ORR) said plans to change working practices and introduce new technology from next month could have safety implications.
It has outlined "significant areas of concern" in a letter to Network Rail.
The criticisms come as the rail workers union, the RMT, begins balloting members on strike action.
The union is unhappy at the changes which could include the loss of up to 1,500 jobs.
The RMT's general secretary, Bob Crow, is calling for an immediate halt to the proposals, which he describes as "dangerous" and which he claims "can only undermine rail safety with lethal consequences".

Network Rail workers vote to strike

Network Rail maintenance workers have voted in favour of strikes, bringing about the possibility of action over Easter.
The Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union said 65% of members voted. Of those, 77% backed industrial action.
The ballot was called over plans to cut up to 1,500 maintenance jobs and change working practices.
The union said it would remain available to talk to Network Rail to avert the strikes.
"Nobody should be under any illusions about just how determined RMT members are to win this dispute and to stop this reckless gamble with rail safety," said RMT general secretary Bob Crow.
Network Rail defended its proposals as modernising the country's railways.
"The way the railway is maintained and operated needs to change," the rail operator said.
"Work practices that date back to the steam age should no longer have a place on a modern railway. We cannot allow the unions to hold this country to ransom."

Network Rail and RMT talk in bid to avert rail strike

Last-ditch talks are being held in a bid to avert the first national rail strike since 1994, which could cause travel disruption over Easter.
The RMT union and Network Rail are meeting at conciliation service Acas.
Both signal workers and maintenance staff belonging to the RMT have voted in favour of walkouts in a row over job cuts and working conditions.
Infrastructure operator Network Rail says most services would be cancelled if a strike was announced.
After the meeting ends, the RMT National Executive will meet to hear from their negotiators and decide what to do.
The union will then issue a statement at about 1630 GMT. It says options for action include a strike and an overtime ban.
Network Rail said talks held on Wednesday had yielded "progress". A spokesman said: "Network Rail is committed to pursuing a negotiated settlement - our door is always open to further discussions."
He added that the firm "will do everything it can to run trains to minimise disruption to passengers" in the event of a strike, adding that its contingency plans were at an "advanced stage".
Negotiations over its plans to cut 1,500 maintenance jobs started this week and also involve the Transport Salaried Staffs Association, which also represents maintenance workers.
The RMT executive will meet after the discussions to decide the union's next move, but when talks were adjourned on Wednesday a spokesman said that a warning of action was premature.
However, BBC transport correspondent Richard Scott said that, if no last-minute deal is reached, strike dates are expected to be announced.
Network Rail manages the track and major stations and wants to change the way maintenance is carried out, doing more of the work at night and at weekends when the rails are less busy.
It has said 1,100 workers have already volunteered for redundancy and the "vast majority" of the cuts will be achieved without resorting to compulsory lay-offs.
The RMT claims passenger safety is being put at risk, something which Network Rail denies.
RMT general secretary Bob Crow said the ballot in favour of strikes demonstrated members' opposition to cuts and to "the assault on jobs and working conditions".

Rail workers will take strike action on the four days after Easter in a dispute over jobs and working practices.

Talks between Network Rail and the RMT and TSSA unions at conciliation service Acas failed to reach agreement.

TSSA supervisors and RMT maintenance workers will walk out from 6-9 April, while RMT signal staff will strike from 0600-1000 and 1800-2200 the same dates.

Infrastructure operator Network Rail had said most services would be cancelled if a strike was announced.

'Public safety'

RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: "RMT negotiators have worked flat-out to try and reach an agreement that protects rail safety, job security and working agreements in the disputes involving signalling and maintenance staff on Britain's railways.

"Despite long hours of talks, we have received nothing concrete from Network Rail that addresses the key issues."

TSSA general secretary Gerry Doherty said the strike was all about "the safety of the travelling public and the safety and security of our members".

The unions said the rail network would be "effectively be closed down" by the industrial action.

There were fears that the strike would be called over Easter, but the unions said they avoided this in order not to disrupt the public over the holiday period.

'Severe impact'

Robin Gisby, Network Rail's director of operations and customer services, disputed the unions' claims that the strike was about safety.

He said: "Britain's railway is safer than ever. The issue of safety is a smokescreen from a union leadership stuck in the steam age.

"Our contingency plans are well advanced and aim to keep as many trains running as possible. But a national rail strike will have a severe impact on services and on Britain."

Transport Secretary Lord Adonis said: "A strike is in no-one's interests and could cause serious disruption to passengers.

"Both sides should seek to resolve this dispute by negotiation and not confrontation and I am urging them to do so."

I'd still be suprised if this actually goes ahead!

There is still a lot of time between now and April 6th!

Personally I think it will be called off at the last minute, but hey, I'm regularly wrong!!  ;) :-X

I'd still be suprised if this actually goes ahead!

There is still a lot of time between now and April 6th!

Personally I think it will be called off at the last minute, but hey, I'm regularly wrong!!  ;) :-X

Well I'm relieved for one as I was not looking forward to driving to Gatwick and paying through the nose for a couple of week's parking.

I'm a bit puzzled though, as IIRC previous strikes by signallers have not resulted in almost complete closure of the network, with the main lines kept open albeit on a reduced service.

Gordon Brown says there is 'no reason' for rail strike

There is "no reason" why the first national railway strike for 16 years should go ahead, Gordon Brown has said.
The RMT and the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) are planning four days of action from 6 April in a row over jobs and working practices.
The prime minister said the government "cannot tolerate large-scale industrial disputes" at a time when the UK was coming out of the recession.
But Tory leader David Cameron said Mr Brown needed to give "more of a lead".
Unions said they were available for talks to try to head off the action.
A spokesman for the RMT said: "We are drawing together a series of proposals which are aimed at resolving the issues at the heart of the dispute.
"That document will be submitted to Acas and once the various parties have had a chance to look at all the issues we will be getting back round the table for face to face talks with Network Rail."
The strike was announced on Thursday after a meeting between Network Rail and the RMT and TSSA failed to reach agreement.
TSSA supervisors and RMT maintenance workers are set to walk out from 6-9 April, while RMT signal staff will strike from 0600-1000 and 1800-2200 on those days.

Those with travel plans over the proposed strike dates are advised to keep an ey out here:http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/service_disruptions/2010/dispute.html (http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/service_disruptions/2010/dispute.html) which is gradually being updated with TOC plans should the strikes go ahead.

New talks due over threatened national railway strike

Talks between unions and employers in a bid to avert the threatened national rail strike will begin on Monday, the conciliation service Acas has said.

Bought an advance ticket for a journey from Cardiff-Birmingham on 8th April - am I entitled to a refund if the service doesnt run and therefore I cant travel??

East Midlands Trains set to run during strike

East Midlands Trains (EMT) is expecting to run a normal daytime service on main routes if a strike by signallers and maintenance workers goes ahead.
The RMT and the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) are planning four days of action from 6 April in a row over jobs and working practices.
EMT said a normal service would operate on trains between Sheffield, Derby, Nottingham, Leicester and London.
However, it said a reduced service would run on many local routes.

Network Rail said tonight it was taking legal action against the RMT union in a bid to stop a signallers' strike due to begin next Tuesday, but added that "constructive talks" between the two sides were continuing.

The threat to services after Easter comes from two separate disputes, one with signal staff, who plan industrial action in morning and evening rush hours, and the second with maintenance workers, who are threatening a separate four-day stoppage from Tuesday 6 April.

No mention of us worcester people being able to get anywhere

Network Rail takes legal action to stop strikes

Network Rail is taking legal action in a bid to avert next week's planned strikes by signallers and maintenance staff over job cuts and work changes.
The RMT and the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) are planning a four-day walkout from 6 April.
As talks were adjourned, Network Rail said it had served papers on the RMT over the validity of the signallers' ballot and was seeking a court ruling.
The RMT said it would "fight this assault on our union to the hilt".
The union's general secretary Bob Crow said: "I can confirm tonight that RMT is putting together an experienced legal team, including some of the most high-profile employment law experts in the country. We will be mounting the most robust defence possible in the High Court tomorrow against this attack by Network Rail on our internal democracy. This is a scandalous attempt by Network Rail to use the full weight of the anti-union laws to deny our members their basic human right to withdraw their labour and we will fight this assault on our union to the hilt."
An RMT spokesman earlier said the ballot of its members had been "perfectly above-board". The spokesman added: "We have spent two days in talks making some significant progress, only to find the progress has been sabotaged by a threat of Network Rail to use anti-trade union laws to drag us into court tomorrow."
The conciliation service Acas, which is brokering talks between Network Rail and the unions, said discussions would resume on Wednesday morning.
In a statement Network Rail said it had a "responsibility to all our passengers and freight users, and to the country as a whole, to do everything we can to avert a strike. Talks continue and our aim is a negotiated settlement, but we must explore all avenues at our disposal and that includes legal ones."
It said the legal papers served on the RMT highlighted "scores of discrepancies and inaccuracies" in the signallers' ballot and would be raised at a hearing on Wednesday.

Strike timetables have now been published.

Can anyone advise in due course what length rolling stock is likely to be provided. One local train per hour in the rush hour from Weston to Bristol and onwards to Cardiff is likely to be a little cosy. Are HSTs likely, given the paring down of the HS services?

Not likely, however there will be a vast number of DMUs to operate a very sparse service, so imagine there will be plenty of paired trains. Not to mention the fact that people will probably chose not to travel if at all possible.

Train companies unveil revised timetables for strike

Train companies have published revised timetables to cover a planned four-day national rail strike next week.
Members of the RMT and TSSA unions are due to walk out from 6 to 9 April, straight after the Easter bank holiday, in a dispute over pay and work changes.
Train operators say no services will run between 1900 BST and 0700 BST.
Network Rail's bid to halt the strike will be heard at the High Court on Thursday. The RMT has said it will be "robustly defending" its position.
The Association of Train Operating Companies said passengers would be eligible for a refund or be able to switch to another service if their train was cancelled or ran later than originally scheduled.
If there are no trains on a particular route, season ticket holders would be able to claim compensation.
In what would be the first national rail strike since 1994, TSSA supervisors and RMT maintenance workers are set to walk out from 6 to 9 April inclusive, while RMT signal staff will strike from 0600 BST to 1000 BST and 1800 BST to 2200 BST on the same days.
An estimated four out of every five trains would be cancelled, and on the commuter lines into Victoria, Waterloo, Liverpool Street and London Bridge, all in London, that proportion could rise to nine out of every 10.
The conciliation service Acas, which has been brokering talks between Network Rail and the unions, said discussions had resumed.
Network Rail has said it found "scores of discrepancies and inaccuracies" in the RMT's strike ballot of signalling staff.

For once a serious question from me - do we know whats happened with the legal challenge etc?

Well thanks to the very helpful managers armed with their paperwork at Paddington this evening I was able to find out that there won't be an early enough service for me to get to Paddington on 7th April.

Where were they hiding? I didn't see them at all.. Hopefully they'll also be there tomorrow..

They were in their usual spot on the concourse next to Plaform 12.

The Hourly Exm-Nta services will be formed for 4 car 14x units, the semi-fast Oxford-Padd's will be 6 car Turbo's and i'll look up the rest tomorrow.

It baffles me (the same with BA), that Unions cry "Anti-union" laws when they are taken to court, when they clearly cannot be bothered to get things right in the first place.  ::)

If this is right, I think FGW should try a bit harder to run something in the middle of the day, or am I missing something?

A planned national rail strike by the RMT union has been called off after it was challenged in the High Court.

Network Rail was granted an injunction after it alleged discrepancies in the RMT's ballot for industrial action.

It means a four-day strike over job cuts and working hours, due to start next Tuesday, will not go ahead.

Bob Crow, general secretary of the RMT, said the judgement was "an attack on the whole trade union movement" and the executive would recommend a re-ballot.

Mr Crow said: "Workers fighting for the principle of a safe railway have had the whole weight of the law thrown against them."

Earlier, a QC representing Network Rail told Judge Mrs Justice Sharp, who made the order, that "unlawful" strike action would cause "immense damage to the economy".

Robin Gisby, head of operations at Network Rail, said: "The signallers' strike is off and train services next week will run as normal.

"This is good news for the millions of passengers who rely on us every day, for our freight users and for the country. A dispute with the unions remains, however, and we have a responsibility to our people to continue talking to the unions to find a settlement that works for us all."

The RMT had planned to strike over Network Rail's plans to cut 1,500 jobs and increase evening and weekend maintenance work.

The union says the plans would affect rail safety.

'Huge relief'

Network Rail's legal challenge concerned only the ballot of signallers, and did not relate to the RMT's ballot of maintenance workers and the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) ballot of supervisors.

The company alleged that the RMT balloted 11 signal boxes that do not exist, and that in 67 locations the numbers of union members balloted exceeded the total number of employees working.

It also claimed that 26 workplaces were missed out, giving RMT members at these locations no opportunity to vote.

Responding to the strike cancellation, Transport Secretary Lord Adonis said the strike cancellation would be "a huge relief" to passengers.

"It is now vital that the two sides in this dispute get back round the table as soon as possible to negotiate a settlement and I call on them to do so," he said.

Shadow transport secretary Theresa Villiers said the "unnecessary and irresponsible strike would have been bad for passengers, bad for business and bad for the economy" and "every effort should be made to negotiate a settlement".

"While Gordon Brown and his weak government were powerless in the face of growing union militancy, the strike laws passed by the last Conservative government have brought the country back from the brink of transport meltdown," she added.

Liberal Democrat transport spokesman Norman Baker welcomed the news, but warned it was "a temporary reprieve".

"It's time for Network Rail and the RMT to get back round the table. The RMT must put the problems of the railway ahead of political point-scoring," he said.

Rail customer watchdog Passenger Focus said passengers would be "relieved".

Chief executive Anthony Smith said passengers wanted to see renewed efforts to resolve the issue, "not just a postponement of the pain".

Michael Roberts, chief executive of the Association of Train Operating Companies, said train users could "breathe a sigh of relief" and "hope the unions will see sense by not re-balloting their members".

But TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said the decision would "simply drag the dispute out and make it more difficult to solve."

"It's becoming increasingly easy for employers, unhappy at the prospect of a dispute, to rely on the courts to intervene and nullify a democratic ballot for industrial action on a mere technicality.

"Unions will be disappointed by this latest decision. Disputes between employers and unions should be settled by negotiation," he said.

They may also take note of the plans that were put in place to counter the strike. The idea of striking for 4 hours and then working for the next 8 (signallers generally work 12 hour shifts) must have seemed fairly attractive - maximum damage for minimum loss of wage. However, NR took the view that if you were to strike for part of your shift, you would not be allowed to work the rest. Signallers were looking at the loss of 4 days pay.

Hence why the emergency time tables started late and finished in the early evening. They were based on managers running the panels from 6 in the morning till 2200 at night, less in some places.

54% in favour of a strike was hardly an overwhelming vote

A message from Bob Crow - April 1, 2010

NETWORK RAIL INDUSTRIAL ACTION CALLED OFF FOR BOTH SIGNALLING STAFF AND ENGINEERING MEMBERS

As you are no doubt aware Network Rail, instead of negotiating with the union, decided to seek an injunction to stop next week's industrial action by signalling and other operations staff going ahead. I am sorry to say the High Court today granted that injunction.

The matter has been considered by an emergency meeting of your full Council of Executives and they have made the following decision:-

"That we note the Court injunction granted against us today in regard to the signal workers action due to start on 6th April 2010.

We instruct the General Secretary to inform our members and Network Rail that the action is called off.

In regard to the infrastructure ballot and the action due to take place on 6th April 2010, as a result of today's injunction we note that this ballot may also be unsafe in legal terms. The General Secretary is, therefore, instructed to call off all industrial action and inform our members and Network Rail.

This Council of Executives is of the view that this is a highly political judgement based on a further development of over two decades of vicious anti-trade union laws in the U.K.

We are concerned that Network Rail may have provided the High Court with false information today in their efforts to convince the Court of their case

RMT has acted on the latest legal advice and acts to protect its members, their jobs and terms and conditions.

Accordingly, the General Secretary is instructed to re-ballot all of our Operations and Infrastructure members as soon as practically possible. The General Grades Committee is to be reconvened on 7th April 2010 to lay down a timetable on this re-ballot and also to receive the full legal judgement from today's Court decision.

The General Secretary is to ensure that our members are advised of this decision. We are still in dispute and are determined to fight on in defence of jobs, terms and conditions and for a safe railway.

The General Secretary is to inform Network Rail that we remain available to negotiate a settlement to both disputes; all union member and officers to be informed."

This strike should never have been allowed to go ahead anyway.

Kidderminster: with over 1 million passengers per annum, on Birmingham's busiest commuter line,  - was to have ALL SERVICES AXED during the action.

It would have been a nightmare - you can't just cut off a major station's services, and hold an entire region to ransom! (Kidderminster station's catchment area is vast) The A456 into B'ham and the A449 to Worcester would have been rammed even more than usual, and car parks at Stourbridge Junction and Cradley Heath would have been overwhelmed.

It's a disgrace - at least it's been called off... for now!

A sight more overwhelming than the percentage of votes cast in favour of any political party that has 'won' a general election in this country in many a year, a pattern that will be repeated in a few weeks' time. Are you going to query a party's right to form a government when it only gets 40 per cent of the votes?

And 77% of RMT signaller members voted for action short of a strike - which could be pretty disruptive in itself - with a turnout of 71%. The turnout in the 2005 general election was 61 per cent

The union's general secretary Bob Crow said: "I can confirm tonight that RMT is putting together an experienced legal team, including some of the most high-profile employment law experts in the country. We will be mounting the most robust defence possible in the High Court tomorrow against this attack by Network Rail on our internal democracy.

RMT leader Bob Crow vows to re-run rail strike ballot

RMT union leader Bob Crow has pledged to re-ballot members after a rail strike was halted in the High Court.
Network Rail was granted an injunction after it alleged discrepancies in the RMT's ballot for industrial action.
It means a four-day national strike over job cuts and working hours, due to start next Tuesday, will not go ahead.
Mr Crow, the RMT's general secretary, said the judgement was "an attack on the whole trade union movement" and the executive would recommend a fresh vote. Mr Crow said: "Workers fighting for the principle of a safe railway have had the whole weight of the law thrown against them."
Network Rail's legal challenge concerned only the ballot of signallers, and did not relate to the RMT's ballot of maintenance workers and the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) ballot of supervisors. But after the ruling, RMT and TSSA announced the two other strikes would be suspended and fresh ballots would be held, the timetable for which would be announced on Wednesday.
TSSA general secretary Gerry Doherty said the TSSA was standing "shoulder to shoulder" with its sister union to maintain unity.
BBC transport correspondent Richard Scott said that Network Rail targeted signal workers as the trains could not run without them. Our correspondent added that Network Rail will hope the new ballot produces a vote against industrial action, but it was also possible that the court case had angered signallers and that the next vote would produce a bigger majority.
Earlier, Charles Bear QC, representing Network Rail, told Mrs Justice Sharp, who made the order, that "unlawful" strike action would cause "immense damage to the economy".
Judge Sharp said she had come to "a very clear conclusion" that the interim injunction should be granted. She also refused the RMT permission to appeal.
Robin Gisby, head of operations at Network Rail, said: "The signallers' strike is off and train services next week will run as normal. This is good news for the millions of passengers who rely on us every day, for our freight users and for the country. A dispute with the unions remains, however, and we have a responsibility to our people to continue talking to the unions to find a settlement that works for us all."
The RMT had planned to strike over Network Rail's plans to cut 1,500 jobs and increase evening and weekend maintenance work. The union said the plans would affect rail safety.
In court, Network Rail alleged the RMT balloted 11 signal boxes that do not exist, and that in 67 locations the numbers of union members balloted exceeded the total number of employees working. It also claimed that 26 workplaces were missed out, giving RMT members at these locations no opportunity to vote.
But Mr Crow told the BBC he did not feel he needed to apologise for ballot errors and the decision was "a travesty of justice for democracy".
"There's 1,700 workplaces and over 18,000 workers that work on the Network Rail sites, and we have to at any given moment in time before we ballot, name every single grade and every work location. By the time you finish the audit it's like the Forth Bridge - you start again because someone else has been promoted, someone else has been sacked, someone dies and so on. It's a moving feast," he said.
The BBC's Daniel Boettcher said Network Rail said it had challenged up to 300 votes in the ballot, which it claimed could have swayed the vote from a yes to a no. "In the end, that wasn't actually relevant to what the court decided - [the court] didn't have to look at whether the way the ballot was carried out affected the outcome; all it had to consider whether that process had been followed correctly," he said.
Responding to the strike cancellation, Transport Secretary Lord Adonis said it would be "a huge relief" to passengers. "It is now vital that the two sides in this dispute get back round the table as soon as possible to negotiate a settlement and I call on them to do so," he said.
Shadow transport secretary Theresa Villiers said the "unnecessary and irresponsible strike would have been bad for passengers, bad for business and bad for the economy" and "every effort should be made to negotiate a settlement". "While Gordon Brown and his weak government were powerless in the face of growing union militancy, the strike laws passed by the last Conservative government have brought the country back from the brink of transport meltdown," she added.
Liberal Democrat transport spokesman Norman Baker welcomed the news, but warned it was "a temporary reprieve. It's time for Network Rail and the RMT to get back round the table. The RMT must put the problems of the railway ahead of political point-scoring," he said.
Rail customer watchdog Passenger Focus said passengers would be relieved. Chief executive Anthony Smith said passengers wanted to see renewed efforts to resolve the issue, "not just a postponement of the pain".
Michael Roberts, chief executive of the Association of Train Operating Companies, said train users could "breathe a sigh of relief" and "hope the unions will see sense by not re-balloting their members".
But TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said the decision would "simply drag the dispute out and make it more difficult to solve. It's becoming increasingly easy for employers, unhappy at the prospect of a dispute, to rely on the courts to intervene and nullify a democratic ballot for industrial action on a mere technicality. Unions will be disappointed by this latest decision. Disputes between employers and unions should be settled by negotiation," he said.

something as complicated as the general election with three main parties plus many others at the fringes,

Ms Villiers isn't even correct, because the particular requirement placed on a union, to notify an employer of every person taking part in a strike ballot by grade and workplace, which NR deployed in court, was brought in by Labour, post-1997. All the Tories' law required was a majority voting in favour of a strike or other action and notification of those voting by name and NI number, in which case NR might well not have got an injunction.

It's interesting then that Bob Crow, slags off the Conservative laws and encourages RMT members to vote Labour, when it looks like the Labour laws stopped this.

After all, if Dave gets in, we will doubtless hear much 1980s-style talk about management's right to manage. Even if allowing the self-serving managers of the western world's banking system to manage things did a better job of almost bringing global capitalism to its knees than an avowed Marxist like Mr Crow has - and caused more long-term harm to this country's economy and taxpayers' pockets than an RMT strike ever would - or do all those of you using colourful language about unions have short memories?

Presumably because he would still rather deal with a Labour government than a Tory one.

After all, if Dave gets in, we will doubtless hear much 1980s-style talk about management's right to manage. Even if allowing the self-serving managers of the western world's banking system to manage things did a better job of almost bringing global capitalism to its knees than an avowed Marxist like Mr Crow has - and caused more long-term harm to this country's economy and taxpayers' pockets than an RMT strike ever would - or do all those of you using colourful language about unions have short memories?

There's an interesting article on the strike that wasn't (for the moment, at least!) on Christian Wolmar's website (http://www.christianwolmar.co.uk/2010/04/bob-crow-blows-it/). I'm not always his greatest fan but find myself agreeing with him 100% on this one!

I don't have much knowledge of the detail of the dispute between NR and the RMT, but during a radio interview over the weekend Bob Crow stated quite categorically that it was the intention of NR to reduce the number of safety staff present at worksites.
I assume he was talking about lookouts or people allocated to similar duties.
Does anybody know if this claim is true?

This is getting a very great deal more generalised than "across the west" - indeed I suspect it's wider even that our usual "wider picture".   ;)

I'm going to suggest that it could be regarded as a failure that should be shared, whatever the rights and wrongs of any dispute, for customers and wannabe customers to be seriously inconvenienced by industrial action, or by the threat of it. Vering off the subject of your post, Will, but I feel that the threat of action is sometimes as harmful as the action itself - just like the announcement that a train has been cancelled harms the business it does, even if it turns up a few minutes after it was scheduled to come along.

Where the failure occurs on either side (and however blame is shared) in the rail industry, in the long term it does that rail industry harm.

......... another Tory government, perhaps
 Cameron will once again 'privatise' NR.
 Railtrack II, what a scary thought, mind you probably not much more to sell off for the share - holders.

Unions are not just there to strike, they help members to obtain certain rights that they are entitled to and that management try to hold back! The RMT in my opinion always have their own political agenda though rather than truly representing their members, always too busy in Cuba or whatever!

NR has / had plans to change the way "T3 Possessions" (These are where the engineer takes possession of the Line to carry out work such as track renewals) often refered to as a "Total Block"  The current system (simply) the signaler places signals to danger and applies a reminder device, the PICOP (Person In Charge of Possession) arranges for marker boards / Red banners and dets to be placed at the limits may also involve clipping of points, once this is done he can then allow work to take place in "work sites" he also controls the movement of trains into the possession and between worksites.  The giving up is the reverse of the setting up.

There have been a few accidents involving staff in the setting up and lifting of T3's one local to the FGW are was 3 years ago when (I think it was) the PICOP got struck by a train after he had informed the signaler the line was clear, the PICOP walked back to the access point in the four foot with an umbrella up!  NR want to change the this traditional way (dating back over 100 years) of taking possessions, NR's view is in track circuit areas signals are good enough to protect trains so why not work sites (the proposed system had more detail than that) NR withdrew this proposed changed and agreed to further development and discussion with the Unions.

CAB

Legal Aid

If you are entitled and management withhold - thats you course of action.

Unfair dismissal - take them to court.

To be fair - if the right to strike were removed I wouldnt have a problem with unions.  But how the hell can you reserve the right to withdraw labour and still expect a job at the end of it!

I bet if management said - I am withdrawing employment for four days but come back to work afterwards, that would be deemed unacceptable.

Also - pay increases T&C's are not rights - they are between the employee and the company. 

None of which has any relevance to the safety issues at the heart of this...

Following an extensive review of Network Rail^s maintenance restructuring plans, the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) has today voiced support for the principles, but raised significant concerns about some aspects of the proposed implementation.

Railmen threaten strike to bring country to a standstill on polling day

Militant rail unions are threatening to bring the country to a standstill in the run-up to the General Election - or even polling day itself.
The timing of a possible strike by the hardline Rail Maritime and Transport Union would be humiliating for the Prime Minister, and annoying for him and his rivals.
All three major political parties have pledged to use Britain's rail network as extensively as possible during their election campaigns.
And a strike - the first national rail strike for 16 years - would exasperate millions of voters who may decide to lay the blame with the Government, and take out their anger in the polling booth.
But the RMT's executive committee said it will meet to decide the timetable for another ballot of its members.
Union sources said last night that it is 'perfectly possible' that a strike would be held 'before, on or after polling day.'
It comes amid an air of growing militancy in Britain, with a public sector bracing itself for massive cuts in a bid to tackle the crippling ^167billion deficit.
At the National Union of Teachers' annual conference on Monday, dozens of activists raised their fists and chanted the Marxist-inspired mantra 'The workers, united, will never be defeated!'
Union members unanimously backed a resolution demanding 'a campaign of action, up to and including strike action where needed, to oppose job cuts, pay freezes, threats to pensions and cuts in services'.
The spontaneous chanting followed a speech by Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union, who urged public sector workers to 'stand together to defend every job and every service'.
They should take 'united industrial action' if needed to defend jobs, pay and pensions, he said, and condemned the Labour government as the 'worst in the history of this country.

Just a shame the threat of strikes came first. 

Oh there are safety concerns, BUT they are very complicated.  Any change of working procedure at least in theory carries a risk, but at the same time you can't stand still and working practices do need to modernise.

However where a change of working practice involves a greater potential risk to the travelling public & staff it should be thoroughly resisted. It should be the subject of negotiation and risk assessed from all possible angles before being bought into use. Importing risk to save money is not the way forward.

I realise my explantion of T3 possessions and PLB's above may have been incomprehensible or unpalatable for some. I have however had experience of engineers trains & T3 possessions.

And on those that aren't running, passengers will suffer little inconvenience. eg on the Far North Line, rail replacement buses to Wick will take 75 minutes less than the rail service they are replacing. That may not go un-noticed in these cost conscious times.

Rail dispute talks resume between RMT and Network Rail

Negotiations to resolve disputes between rail maintenance workers and Network Rail will resume later.
The Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union and Network Rail will meet at the conciliation service Acas.
Four days of strikes were called off last week after a legal challenge to the union's ballots by Network Rail.
Meanwhile, Scottish rail workers on First ScotRail have begun a three-day walkout in a dispute over increased use of ticket inspectors instead of guards.
ScotRail said it would operate 95% of services during the strike, which the RMT says is over the safety implications of extended use of driver-only trains.
At Acas on Monday, the RMT and Network Rail will discuss the maintenance workers dispute about plans to axe 1,500 maintenance jobs and change rosters to allow more work in the evenings and at weekends.
A separate dispute over signal workers will be discussed at a later date, Acas said.
Network Rail's legal challenge concerned only the ballot of signallers, and did not relate to the RMT's ballot of maintenance workers and the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) ballot of supervisors.
But after the ruling, RMT and TSSA announced the two other strikes would be suspended and fresh ballots would be held, the timetable for which has yet to be announced.

Your explanation whas complex, but I think I understood the basic (serious) issue.  I have also heard NR say that some of their "new" working practoces are simply things that have been used for ages and with safety in some parts of the country. 

I am not in a position to judge what is and isn't safe either in theory nor especially in practice.  What we need really is the safety regulator to be sufficiently well informed, experienced, independent and robust for passegers like me to be able to trust it to do that job on my behalf.

We do also have to aviod falling into a "safety at any cost" arguement.  I am not saying that we are there yet but it is possible to make the railway so safe that it becomes unaffordable which forces potential customers onto much more dangerous alternative modes of transport.  I read an article by a H&S expert once who argued that the Hatfield crash killed 4 people but that the reaction to the crash caused speed restrictions to be imposed which forced people off the railway and onto the road where an estimated 200 people were killed. 

How many lives wudl have been saved if the money spent on TPWS has instead been used to clean hospitals?

I rather doubt that there is anyone at ORR with practical experience of T3 possessions and their operation, therefore they are accepting the change with caveats to cover  themselves and distance them from any accident thereby caused. Any practical railwayman can see the hazard.

As far as Railtrack was concerned however the risk was minimised as the injuries etc did not occur on their infrastructure. 'Not on their infrastructure' being the key words.

However I do not subscribe to the view that removing basic safety measures that have been in use virtually since the accident that contributed to the early demise of Charles Dickens merely to save money are they way forward. Particularly since to my certain knowledge they have been found to be worthwhile in preventing accidents.