Great Western Coffee Shop

I praise his courage, i doubt many would be willing to do this.

Then again i do think some of the unions and they members do need to be taken down a peg, especially when they are demanding stupidly high wages and dont like having to work sundays.

If they dont like it get a job in another industry and give them to people like myself who ware happy to work sundays etc.

Many guards in my company, like me, detest Chairman Bob and his agenda but need union representation to protect ourselves against an organisation that would do away with our jobs to save money and reward shareholders. We have little or no choice of which union to represent us. If I left the RMT I have no other union to protect me in the case of any unfair practise against me by management.
Most of us are not militant and love the job we do. We equally hate the idea of driver-only trains and the lack of service to the passenger that would result. We live with a top-heavy management earning large salaries that make efficiency and cost-cutting impossible as they advocate cuts in on-train staff while increasing the numbers of higher-grade administrators.

Inevitably, it will be front-line staff that will lose out in reducing costs and, as a result, quality of passenger service will suffer.
I spend my day advising passengers of the best way to complete their journey, helping them on and off the trains with prams and luggage, getting out ramps for wheelchair users, calming drunks and abusive passengers and generally getting passengers from A to B in safety and comfort. That is what being a guard is meant to be.

It still confuses me that I work for a company that bids on a franchise, gets money from the government in sudsidies to run that franchise but still has shareholders that receive dividends.

The issue of the working week for on train staff does, in my opinion, need to be addressed. We currently have a hotch-potch of arrangements across the TOCs for working hours. Sundays, rest day work, Bank Holidays, overtime etc etc. Many different contract terms depending on which TOC you work for, and in some cases, which area of operation within a TOC.

I guess it suits the unions to have these differences - it gives them a bargaining position.

Don't shoot me down though. Just an observation on my part. I don't have an easy solution that would suit all interested parties.  :-\

I guess it suits the unions to have these differences - it gives them a bargaining position.

The Government can not have a privatised and competitive rail industry and have common terms and condition of employment that really is making a cartel

Wasn't one of the reasons quoted by the Major government for splitting up the railways during privatisation to lessen the power of the unions? Another failure of privatisation.

As I've said before the unions should be praised they are only acting as good capiltalists selling their members unique skills for the highest possible price.

What's the difference between Bob Crow selling his members skills and Tesco selling a bag of sugar. They both go for the maximum the market will bare.