Railway union workers industrial and strike action - 2022

[whole diary]

[TaplowGreen]

All cancelled due to "short notice changes to the timetable (I'm guessing strike related?

16:36 London Paddington to Plymouth due 20:13

17:36 London Paddington to Plymouth due 21:25

18:36 London Paddington to Plymouth due 22:09

Could get cosy later, especially factoring in those who took the advice not to travel yesterday.

[Ollie]

It's an ill wind ... Q: What can you do on a strike day more easily than a normal one? A: drag an IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train) with a seized axle from Reading to North Pole very slowly. Very, very, very, slowly.

At 5mph I expect.  As you say, such moves are normally carried out in the dead of night, but the 'dead of day' today is nearly as good!

In average speed, well under 5 mph! It just got in, having taken over 9 hours.

The planned path involved crossing to Line 3 at Ladbroke Grove, then to Line 1 to enter Royal Oak Sidings to reverse. In the end it reversed in Line 3, saving nearly an hour. I'm guessing there was a loco each end, rather than running round and un/coupling in Line 3, even today.

It's notable how much of the journey can be done in loops and sidings, even if it skipped the "No 1 Loop" at Hanwell/West Ealing (Plassers).

No loco required, it ran under its own power.

[REVUpminster]

There's a tour train Saturday from Kettering due into Paignton and Kingswear that's expected to run as it's only the drivers on strike.

[TaplowGreen]

Isn't ticket office staffing somewhat outside the RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers)'s remit? I thought the majority of those staff, who are union members, belong to the TSSA^» (Transport Salaried Staffs' Association - about).

RMT does have members among station staff, and have been conducting specific campaigns against reductions in staffed hours of stations and ticket offices at Scotrail and LNER^» (London North Eastern Railway - about). There is a category of member for this - Supervisory Clerical and Other Salaried Grades  - though not, I think, separate representation. No doubt the distribution is down to history - like there being RMT drivers in some places. Presumably there will be some fraternal competition for members with TSSA, along the lines of "there are not so many of us but we're more militant than them".

Came back from a few days in Plymouth yesterday afternoon - got to the station very early as a monsoon was forecast and the delights of Cornwall St in the rain are somewhat limited.

As I had 40 minutes or so to kill, I thought I'd see how much business the ticket office did - well, the answer was not much - I saw all of 3 customers approach the windows (4 of which were open), whilst others clearly had already obtained their tickets via other means or used the TVMs^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine).

Fully expect a number of "Yeah buts" in reply, however it's telling given that this is one of the largest ticket offices in the South West.

Photo taken about 1445.

(Journey itself was pretty good - train was on time and very quiet, I was the only customer in coach L until Taunton and the TM^‡(resolve) gave me a beer!) 

[TaplowGreen]

Had to make a trip to get my glasses fixed this morning - can't drive without them so took a chance on the train - Elizabeth Line running fine mid morning and pretty quiet, small group of RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) pickets outside Slough station with a rather bedraggled RMT banner tied to a lamppost, very good natured, arseing about in the sunshine rather than bothering anyone.

I notice Bruvver Lynch is now threatening that the strike action could go on "indefinitely" but I wonder if it is really having much of an impact other than inconvenience?

There's certainly no sense of London (for example) being "held to ransom" or grinding to a halt like the old days when the ability to do that gave the RMT much more leverage.

Certainly from West and East the Elizabeth Line is providing an alternative in key corridors (albeit slower), far fewer people are travelling to work these days (or at least are not obliged to thanks to home/hybrid working) and it's peak holiday season. The odd day here and there makes little difference - apart from the likes of key workers such as nurses of course.

This leaves leisure travellers to upset for many of whom rail travel is an option rather than a necessity, and as the holiday period comes to an end, this will naturally reduce anyway.

All of which makes me wonder - are the Rail Companies and the Government going to tough this one out?

Chap from Network Rail impressed on the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) this morning and reiterated that the offer of 8% over two years and no compulsory redundancies has been made but the RMT refused to put it to their members.

I guess the question is, will Mick have the cojones to go for an "all out" or more protracted strike if there is no further movement, and/or we remain at "minor inconvenience" level?

[ellendune]

Chap from Network Rail impressed on the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) this morning and reiterated that the offer of 8% over two years and no compulsory redundancies has been made but the RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) refused to put it to their members.

I would be very interested in seeing the small print of that "offer" before I made a judgement.  For example I have seen some information that one offer (not sure which company so not necessarily NR^» (Network Rail - home page)) reduced the payment terms for Sunday and rest day working so that though the headline looked good it was in fact a pay cut!

[ChrisB]

If Sundays became part of the working week, I'd sort of expect that to be paid at the daily rate going forward, rather than at overtime rate, yes. Not everyone does Sundays/obliged to do Sundays, so an overall salary increase to make up for any 'loss' may not be appropriate.

[old original]

Bear in mind the chap from Network Rail had a £50k pay rise in April from £540k to over £590k
I don't expect he'll be sweating over "heat or eat" this winter

[JayMac]

Bear in mind the chap from Network Rail had a £50k pay rise in April from £540k to over £590k
I don't expect he'll be sweating over "heat or eat" this winter

Yes, Andrew Haines will get by this winter, and he's had a pay rise this year when his employees haven't (yet), but it's important that the figures quoted are accurate.

6.5%. £557,000 to £593,000 including BiK. £36,000 increase. Less than the 8% the RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) is turning down 'on behalf' of their members. Arguably its an annual net increase of 0% as he took a four month 20% pay cut in 2020/2021. Meaning he earnt nearly the same in 2021/2022 as he did in 2019/2020. You could say that's a two year pay freeze - just like his employees.

Of course, the media will only report the headline salary and/or round up figures. Ive seen £600,000 mentioned and increase this year of £50,000. Both wrong.

He's also earning 22% less than his predecessor Mark Carne who earned £759,000 in his last full year as CEO^▸ (Chief Executive Officer). Go back to Ian Coucher in 2010 and he was earning £1.4m!

Is Andrew Haines worth £593,000 as CEO? I've no idea. He presided over revenue of £9.5bn in 2021/2022. It's very likely that a private sector Chief Exec of a company earning nearly £10bn would be paid considerably more.

Network Rail 2021/2022 remuneration report:
https://www.networkrail.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Directors-remuneration-committee-report-2022.pdf

[Electric train]

If Sundays became part of the working week, I'd sort of expect that to be paid at the daily rate going forward, rather than at overtime rate, yes. Not everyone does Sundays/obliged to do Sundays, so an overall salary increase to make up for any 'loss' may not be appropriate.

Yes that would be the case, however the rail industry relies on overtime being worked.  Therefore, if there is a 7 day roster instead of a 5 or 6 day roster as is the current practice, rest day working will be inevitable which will have enhanced rate of pay to induce people to give up their day off.

It is also worth noting Rail workers legally have to have a 12 hours rest between shifts a max working shift of 14 hours including travelling time form their place of rest and where they book on; also Rail workers can only work 13 shifts and then are required to have a day off.  If you wish to understand why please read the Anthon Hidden QC report into the events leading up to 8:10 a.m. on the morning of Monday, 12 December 1988, at Clapham

[plymothian]

It is also worth noting Rail workers legally have to have a 12 hours rest between shifts a max working shift of 14 hours including travelling time form their place of rest and where they book on; also Rail workers can only work 13 shifts and then are required to have a day off.  If you wish to understand why please read the Anthon Hidden QC report into the events leading up to 8:10 a.m. on the morning of Monday, 12 December 1988, at Clapham

Hidden was never elevated to statutory status.  His recommendations were adopted but are not actually legal.  Sunsequently we hoty The Railways and Other Guided Transport Systems (Safety) Regulations 2006 (18 years later!) specifically section

25.—(1) Every controller of safety critical work shall have in place arrangements to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that a safety critical worker under his management, supervision or control does not carry out safety critical work in circumstances where he is so fatigued or where he would be liable to become so fatigued that his health or safety or the health or safety of other persons on a transport system could be significantly affected.

Note that no times are actually given because such were covered by the Working Time Regulations 1998 (10 years later).  This is why government spokes persons are able to attack the railway's 'Victorian working practices' and 'loss of productive time'.

It is perfectly "fine" to break Hidden and in several accidents in recent years have the RAIB^▸ (Rail Accident Investigation Branch) have noted that where fatigue has been a factor, there is collective industrial memory fade since 1988.

The unions are arguing that the biggest memory fade is coming from the government.

[the void]

If Sundays became part of the working week, I'd sort of expect that to be paid at the daily rate going forward, rather than at overtime rate, yes. Not everyone does Sundays/obliged to do Sundays, so an overall salary increase to make up for any 'loss' may not be appropriate.

From Industrial Action FAQs^▸ (Frequently Asked Questions) issued this week by Richard Rowland:


"Sunday working

We want to make Sunday services more attractive for customers. The aim is to ensure coverage by establishing a commitment by colleagues to working on some – not all - Sundays. This will mean that cover for shifts is guaranteed, and train companies can plan more robust, reliable train services.

Enhanced overtime pay protected and opt-out options for current staff that want them and opportunities for additional earning opportunities will be maintained. These arrangements already exist in some places on the network, so this is about turning a patchwork of agreements into something more aligned across the industry.

More reliable Sunday services will help meet the growing demand from customers for leisure travel – Sunday is the one day of the week that is consistently seeing more customers travelling than they did pre-pandemic across the industry. Vital to the long term growth of the industry."

So no plans to remove enhanced pay for working on Sunday, just the ability to roster staff to work on Sundays, rather than having to rely on volunteers.

[ChrisB]

I wonder what sort number if Sundays are thought to be required? But yes, a reasonable suggestion

[ellendune]

Enhanced overtime pay protected and opt-out options for current staff that want them and opportunities for additional earning opportunities will be maintained. These arrangements already exist in some places on the network, so this is about turning a patchwork of agreements into something more aligned across the industry.

Good.  I am aware that this is not one dispute but many.  Are they all seeking similar changes or is each one bespoke?  The claim I saw did not abolish enhanced pay on Sundays, but reduced it. So I still remain cautious about small print. 

[a-driver]

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) drivers already have a commitment to work Sundays.

HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) drivers don’t have that commitment.

I’m not sure wether it’s a commitment to work rostered Sundays or a commitment to work so many Sundays in a year.