Railway union workers industrial and strike action - 2022

[whole diary]

[ChrisB]

That may well be why GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) are suggesting

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.

To bring HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) in line with those that have a commitment. What is that commitment in terms of the number of Sundays?

[ChrisB]

No trains to BRI^» (Bristol Temple Meads - next trains) during tomorrow's strike - a change to previous strikes

Dear Chris
 
A very quick update and reminder on the RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) and TSSA^» (Transport Salaried Staffs' Association - about) strikes. 
 
We were able to operate our contingency timetable yesterday (Thursday 18 August) without any additional changes, albeit that in some areas we were not able to run any services at all.  There is a Transport for London strike today, but the majority of GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) rail services are running normally.
 
As we mentioned previously there is a further rail strike tomorrow Saturday (20 August). This will mean a heavily reduced timetable with no services in many areas, including Bristol Temple Meads where contingency signallers are not available this Saturday. This is different to previous strike days.
 
Our message to customers remains to only travel if absolutely necessary, and to make alternative arrangements if they can.  If there are services operating, we want customers to double check timetables before setting out – including return journeys as services will be finishing much early than usual.
 
The strike will also impact some services on Sunday (21 August).  Details are on our dedicated strike page on www.gwr.com/strike
 
No further rail strike dates have been announced by either RMT, ASLEF^» (Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen - about) or TSSA.  They would need to give at least two weeks notice and we will keep you fully updated.
 
As always if you have any questions for us, please do get in contact, we are happy to help.
 
Jane and Toby
 

Jane Jones
Head of Public Affairs, Great Western Railway
 
Toby Elliott
Head of Communications, Network Rail Western

[IndustryInsider]

That may well be why GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) are suggesting

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.

To bring HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) in line with those that have a commitment. What is that commitment in terms of the number of Sundays?

Currently around 1 in 3 Sundays for the GWR drivers with the ‘committed Sunday’ agreement. 

I’d have thought any new agreement would be at the most at similar level to Saturdays which is 2 in 3, though possibly something like 1 in 2 or even 2 in 5 would be enough for what is likely to operate on Sunday’s.

[a-driver]

That may well be why GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) are suggesting

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.

To bring HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) in line with those that have a commitment. What is that commitment in terms of the number of Sundays?

I don’t know what the commitment is in terms of the number of Sundays.

There’s little point in trying to bring HSS in line with GWR drivers purely because there are now so few HSS drivers and the number will only continue to dwindle.

[IndustryInsider]

There’s little point in trying to bring HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) in line with GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) drivers purely because there are now so few HSS drivers and the number will only continue to dwindle.

I think there’s still over 400 HSS drivers, so still plenty.  As you say, numbers are diminishing, but still many years of shortages if just left to natural wastage.

[a-driver]

There’s little point in trying to bring HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) in line with GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) drivers purely because there are now so few HSS drivers and the number will only continue to dwindle.

I think there’s still over 400 HSS drivers, so still plenty.  As you say, numbers are diminishing, but still many years of shortages if just left to natural wastage.

But put into perspective, there’s nearly 250 GWR drivers at Exeter alone.

[IndustryInsider]

Exeter GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) has around 150 I think you’ll find

[IndustryInsider]

Exeter GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) has around 150 I think you’ll find

Just to give an idea of driver numbers at each depot:

Bristol - HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) 66   GWR 118
Bristol Parkway - HSS 41  GWR 6
Cardiff - GWR 15
Exeter - HSS 43   GWR 150
Fratton - GWR 34
Gloucester - GWR 60
Oxford - GWR 83
Paddington - HSS 78   GWR 73   
Par - GWR 33
Penzance - HSS 30   GWR 47
Plymouth - HSS 55   GWR 30
Reading - GWR 220
Swansea - HSS 65   GWR 5
Westbury - GWR 65
Worcester - HSS 25   GWR 14

Totals:  HSS 403    GWR 953

So, 30% HSS and 70% GWR - a little more biased towards GWR than I was expecting, but they can have a disproportionate affect on the longer distance routes that seem to struggle the most on Sundays.  You can't cover much of a Paddington<>Penzance service with crews from the GWR exclusive deports of Oxford, Reading, Fratton or Gloucester for example.

In terms of how quickly HSS drivers will move to GWR or retire remains to be seen.  I guess if I do this calculation same time next year, we'll get an idea as to how quickly numbers are shifting?

[TaplowGreen]

Exeter GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) has around 150 I think you’ll find

Just to give an idea of driver numbers at each depot:

Bristol - HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) 66   GWR 118
Bristol Parkway - HSS 41  GWR 6
Cardiff - GWR 15
Exeter - HSS 43   GWR 150
Fratton - GWR 34
Gloucester - GWR 60
Oxford - GWR 83
Paddington - HSS 78   GWR 73   
Par - GWR 33
Penzance - HSS 30   GWR 47
Plymouth - HSS 55   GWR 30
Reading - GWR 220
Swansea - HSS 65   GWR 5
Westbury - GWR 65
Worcester - HSS 25   GWR 14

Totals:  HSS 403    GWR 953

So, 30% HSS and 70% GWR - a little more biased towards GWR than I was expecting, but they can have a disproportionate affect on the longer distance routes that seem to struggle the most on Sundays.  You can't cover much of a Paddington<>Penzance service with crews from the GWR exclusive deports of Oxford, Reading, Fratton or Gloucester for example.

In terms of how quickly HSS drivers will move to GWR or retire remains to be seen.  I guess if I do this calculation same time next year, we'll get an idea as to how quickly numbers are shifting?

I do seem to recall a few years back certain correspondents were telling us that there were a lot of new recruits going through driver training who had Sundays as part of the working week and so this problem would naturally disappear.........what has happened to them?

[Electric train]

Exeter GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) has around 150 I think you’ll find

Just to give an idea of driver numbers at each depot:

Bristol - HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) 66   GWR 118
Bristol Parkway - HSS 41  GWR 6
Cardiff - GWR 15
Exeter - HSS 43   GWR 150
Fratton - GWR 34
Gloucester - GWR 60
Oxford - GWR 83
Paddington - HSS 78   GWR 73   
Par - GWR 33
Penzance - HSS 30   GWR 47
Plymouth - HSS 55   GWR 30
Reading - GWR 220
Swansea - HSS 65   GWR 5
Westbury - GWR 65
Worcester - HSS 25   GWR 14

Totals:  HSS 403    GWR 953

So, 30% HSS and 70% GWR - a little more biased towards GWR than I was expecting, but they can have a disproportionate affect on the longer distance routes that seem to struggle the most on Sundays.  You can't cover much of a Paddington<>Penzance service with crews from the GWR exclusive deports of Oxford, Reading, Fratton or Gloucester for example.

In terms of how quickly HSS drivers will move to GWR or retire remains to be seen.  I guess if I do this calculation same time next year, we'll get an idea as to how quickly numbers are shifting?

Although I suspect the retirement / transfer rate is not a linear one.

Network Rail has a similar issue with a large number of maintenance staff on old RT IMC (Railtrack Infrastructure Maintenance Companies) AMec, Balfour Beaty, Amey GTRM / Carillion.  One of the conditions of the pay offer by NR^» (Network Rail - home page) is to use one contract for people to be moved onto it on promotion or voluntarily, the contract that is being proposed is one of the former RT IMC contracts it just so happens it's the one with worst conditions

[IndustryInsider]

I do seem to recall a few years back certain correspondents were telling us that there were a lot of new recruits going through driver training who had Sundays as part of the working week and so this problem would naturally disappear.........what has happened to them?

Are you asking what’s happened to the trainees, or the correspondents? 

All new trainees since 2017 (IIRC^▸ (if I recall/remember/read correctly)) have been GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) grade, meaning Sundays are ‘committed overtime’ which is different to being part of the working week as explained before.

I remember Broadgage suggesting that would solve the Sunday problem and myself being very cautious about how long it would take to make a tangible difference, and stick by that statement.

Lots of trainees have passed out, not helped by COVID of course, but look at Worcester for example which was 30 HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) and 0 LTV^▸ (London [and] Thames Valley) two years ago and it’s now 25/14. 

Many more are still going through training, but that 403 HSS figure won’t disappear overnight…hence me suggesting I take a look this time next year to see how it has changed.

A settlement from the industrial dispute might render that irrelevant in terms of Sunday working, but I personally doubt it.

[a-driver]

The 403 HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) drivers will only reduce through natural wastage, very few will opt to transfer over to the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) grade. 

When you look at it though, across the entire business, you’ll never currently need more than 175 to 200 HSS drivers on a Sunday and with the next recruit drive for drivers to be launched next year you’ll have a pool of more GWR drivers to cover HSS Sunday work on overtime.
To get Sundays in the working week would require substantially more drivers which is why companies and the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) prefer the commitment to work instead.  Sunday’s to HSS drivers who work them are worth, in the region of £8,000 a year. There’s very little business sense in offering a pay rise of £5,000+ to HSS drivers to include Sunday’s.  IndustryInsider may be able to confirm as I’m not sure, but any pay rise to HSS drivers has to be given to GWR drivers as well?

[IndustryInsider]

The 403 HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) drivers will only reduce through natural wastage, very few will opt to transfer over to the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) grade. 

Indeed, no more than a handful have so far across the business AIUI^▸ (as I understand it).

In time there might be a tipping point reached where the number of HSS drivers will diminish such that the company could starve them of the more attractive shifts and routes and that means the end will happen quite quickly, but I can see that being at least five, maybe ten years into the future.

IndustryInsider may be able to confirm as I’m not sure, but any pay rise to HSS drivers has to be given to GWR drivers as well?

Yes, AIUI.  Parity on pay for HSS, LTV^▸ (London [and] Thames Valley) and West drivers was achieved in early 2020 after several yearly stages (with LTV and West combining to become GWR), and I don't think HSS can then leap ahead again.

[stuving]

In time there might be a tipping point reached where the number of HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) drivers will diminish such that the company could starve them of the more attractive shifts and routes and that means the end will happen quite quickly, but I can see that being at least five, maybe ten years into the future.

... by which time GBR^▸ (Great British Railways) will have brought in ... what? The original Williams-Shapps plan was keen on industry-wide career and training structures, but very woolly about what operators' contracts would contain and how it would get there. I've not seen anything clearer yet, but no doubt the unions are taking a close interest in this subject.

[IndustryInsider]

Exactly.  Far too far in advance to know for sure.  I don’t expect the summer Sunday situation to improve much for at least three years though sadly.