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vacman
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« Reply #45 on: January 12, 2008, 13:57:15 » |
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If TPWS▸ had been fitted at the time of Ladbrook grove then it may not have happened!
If TPWS was fitted at the time of Ladbrook Grove it WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED. Had the Paddington Area had catch points, Ladbooke Grove wouldn't have happened Catch points on a main line in that sort of confined area could cause more harm than good! |
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devon_metro
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« Reply #47 on: January 13, 2008, 10:53:31 » |
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12hoursunday
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« Reply #48 on: January 13, 2008, 16:36:52 » |
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Hopes of averting a 48-hour strike by hundreds of rail guards at First Great Western (FGW▸ ) have been raised after talks between the company and a union.
Guards at the rail operator, which runs services from Paddington to the West and south-west of England and Wales, had planned to strike from 20 January.
But the Rail Maritime and Transport Union (RMT▸ ) said talks had been positive and progress made.
Its executive will meet later to decide whether the strike should go ahead.
It had previously said relations had broken down over issues such as managers driving and guarding trains.
FGW runs services from London's Paddington Station to the West Country, south-west of England and Wales.
The company admitted it did use managers to crew trains on a Sunday as a "last resort" as FGW was a commercial operation working seven days a week, but that it would never compromise safety. Load of rubbish! I was the driver of trains on a THURSDAY and on the following SATURDAY which were both guarded by a manager. He had worked another 3 trains as well on those day's! |
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Tickets Please
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« Reply #49 on: January 13, 2008, 22:07:17 » |
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Hopes of averting a 48-hour strike by hundreds of rail guards at First Great Western (FGW▸ ) have been raised after talks between the company and a union.
Guards at the rail operator, which runs services from Paddington to the West and south-west of England and Wales, had planned to strike from 20 January.
But the Rail Maritime and Transport Union (RMT▸ ) said talks had been positive and progress made.
Its executive will meet later to decide whether the strike should go ahead.
It had previously said relations had broken down over issues such as managers driving and guarding trains.
FGW runs services from London's Paddington Station to the West Country, south-west of England and Wales.
The company admitted it did use managers to crew trains on a Sunday as a "last resort" as FGW was a commercial operation working seven days a week, but that it would never compromise safety. Load of rubbish! I was the driver of trains on a THURSDAY and on the following SATURDAY which were both guarded by a manager. He had worked another 3 trains as well on those day's! indeed. Sundays are the main issue but leading up to Xmas there were managers working trains every day of the week - not just Sundays. |
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Any comments made are mine and not that of my employer. My comments do not necessarily reflect the views of my employers and should be taken as my personal opinion.
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John R
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« Reply #50 on: January 14, 2008, 00:02:51 » |
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And given there were still an appalling number of cancellations then I'm glad they did work. I would rather get on a train where the guard was a manager than wait another hour or more.
Let's face it, statistically the chances of something happening (ie a safety related incident that puts passengers at risk) are virtually nil (ie much less than crossing the road, and I don't need to be chaperoned by a union member to do that). The chances that it happens, and then the manager is incapable of handling it, whereas the normal crew member would have been, is virtually nil x a small percentage. I'll run that risk thank you.
Sorry, I know that the staff shortages are not the workforce or the union's fault, but FGW▸ are trying to provide a service, and if the only way they can do that whilst staff are using up their holiday entitlement is to use managers then good for them. The cancellation stats were awful around Xmas... I dread to think how much worse they would have been otherwise.
By the way, speaking to a friend's husband between Xmas and the new year who is a driver in the West Country he said "Yes, I'm booked on leave today, but was rostered to work. I didn't bother to tell anyone. It's Swindon's fault they don't know what's going on." Fault on all sides, FGW for cocking up, and the driver's fault for not telling them there was a problem and no showing.
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Lee
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« Reply #51 on: January 14, 2008, 13:52:13 » |
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DEVONSHIRE
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« Reply #52 on: January 15, 2008, 10:20:42 » |
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The fact is FGW▸ allow for a certain percentage of trains/diagrams to be covered each day on overtime /rest day work when they calculate the level of staffing required. This is fraught with danger as it assumes that staff are available to work their days off, that they are at the right locations to cover the vacant turns, they are on the correct shifts and have the correct rest periods to cover these turns. Also the constraints of the Working Time Directive apply as to the maximum working week.
In some cases staff are rostered up to 44 hours in any given week and if they work a 10 hour Sunday and a rest day this means they are working in excess of 60 hours in that week. Over a 17 week period they are not permitted to work more than an average of 48 hours and cannot work more than 13 days in any 14 day period so at least one Sunday/Rest Day every 2 weeks they are not available to work.
Also not all staff are willing to work overtime which is their right so the pool of staff available to cover these vacant turns is greatly reduced.
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Jim
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« Reply #53 on: January 15, 2008, 16:30:16 » |
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If TPWS▸ had been fitted at the time of Ladbrook grove then it may not have happened!
If TPWS was fitted at the time of Ladbrook Grove it WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED. Had the Paddington Area had catch points, Ladbooke Grove wouldn't have happened Catch points on a main line in that sort of confined area could cause more harm than good! Well, look at Ufton Nervet, it was actually derailed by the set of points was it not? |
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Cheers Jim  AG's most famous quote "It'll be better next week" |
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Shazz
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« Reply #54 on: January 15, 2008, 16:35:03 » |
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If TPWS▸ had been fitted at the time of Ladbrook grove then it may not have happened!
If TPWS was fitted at the time of Ladbrook Grove it WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED. Had the Paddington Area had catch points, Ladbooke Grove wouldn't have happened Catch points on a main line in that sort of confined area could cause more harm than good! Well, look at Ufton Nervet, it was actually derailed by the set of points was it not? Ultimately yes, however the car it crashed into started the ball rolling so to speak |
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willc
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« Reply #55 on: January 16, 2008, 00:18:47 » |
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The RMT▸ executive tonight formally suspended the strike. From the union's website: BRITAIN'S LARGEST rail union RMT suspended strike action today planned for 48 hours from a minute after midnight on January 20 by some 500 RMT guards at First Great Western.
RMT called off the action in order to allow negotiations with FGW▸ to continue after the company agreed not to use managers to drive or work trains as guards.
^The resolve of RMT members at First Great Western has led the company to listen and act on our concerns and we hope a resolution can be found,^ RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today.
^Our strike mandate is still valid and negotiations will continue on a number of issues essential to the resolution to this dispute,^ he said.
RMT members at FGW voting overwhelmingly for action following a breakdown in industrial relations. FGW website posting Following constructive on-going discussions regarding the guards' dispute, significant progress has been made.
First Great Western has given the RMT negotiating team the commitment they were seeking, particularly in relation to managers working trains. As a result, further talks continue to discuss the other issues in dispute.
The RMT Executive has agreed with their Negotiating Team that the strike action planned for 20 to 21 January 2008 be suspended.
Further updates will be provided.
Andrew Haines
Chief Operating Officer |
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smokey
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« Reply #56 on: January 19, 2008, 14:40:43 » |
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If TPWS▸ had been fitted at the time of Ladbrook grove then it may not have happened!
If TPWS was fitted at the time of Ladbrook Grove it WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED. Had the Paddington Area had catch points, Ladbooke Grove wouldn't have happened Catch points on a main line in that sort of confined area could cause more harm than good! "Catch" (not sure if true catch) points were fitted in confined spaces on main lines but would have a far length of Overrun rails leading to buffer stops. |
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willc
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« Reply #57 on: February 07, 2008, 17:51:01 » |
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Peace breaks out between the RMT▸ and FGW▸ ... From the RMT website: MORE THAN 600 RMT guards and train drivers at First Great Western have ended disputes with the company after negotiating more than 40 new jobs and winning unconditional commitments that managers will no longer be used to guard or drive trains.
Guards and drivers at the company had voted by substantial margins to strike over breakdowns of industrial relations with the company. The union suspended a 48-hour strike by guards scheduled to take place in January in order to allow talks to take place.
"After detailed talks we have won unconditional agreements that managers will no longer be used either to guard or to drive trains and that 40 new guards' jobs will be created across the company," RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today.
"The company has given clear undertakings that managers will not work as guards or drivers, be it for commercial reasons, to manage rostering deficiencies or to cover staff shortages, and that marks an important victory for our members.
"It is particularly positive that we have gained more than 40 new guards' posts as a result of our discussions, and our members are to be congratulated for the determination and solidarity they displayed during these disputes," Bob Crow said. |
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