Railway union workers industrial and strike action - 2022

[whole diary]

[ChrisB]

5th now NR^» (Network Rail - home page) & TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company), 7th & 9th is NR only.

Tube & Overground now moved to 10th

[Timmer]

5th now NR^» (Network Rail - home page) & TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company), 7th & 9th is NR only.

I imagine the affect of action will be the same on the 7th and 9th will be the same as the 5th as TOCs aren’t able to run many services with NR staff on strike?

[ChrisB]

The 7th & 9th will like previous RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) strikes - no service on many lines & Those that run will be on one shift - so 0730 - 1830

The 5th will all depend on the number of drivers each TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) has in the RMT rather than ASLEF^» (Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen - about).

[plymothian]

9th now confirmed as a full RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) strike.

[TaplowGreen]

Train strikes suspended

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63510380

[grahame]

Train strikes suspended

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63510380

Story has been updated several times ...now reads

A series of strikes by railway workers planned for 5, 7 and 9 November has been suspended, the RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) union has said.

But Network Rail warned that the late notice meant services on Saturday would remain "extremely limited", and trains on Monday are likely to be affected.

The RMT, which represents rail workers, said it would now enter "a period of intensive negotiations" with Network Rail and the rail companies.

The strike had been called in a dispute over pay and conditions.

They involved staff at Network Rail, which employs signalling workers across England, Scotland and Wales.

As a result, the action had been expected to have a major impact across the network, with only a fifth of services due to run.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said the threat of strike action "has made the rail employers see sense".

"We have always wanted to secure a negotiated settlement and that is what we will continue to push for in this next phase of intensive talks.

"Our priority is our members, and we are working towards securing a deal on job security, a decent pay rise and good working conditions."

He added that there had been "the promise of an offer" on pay from the rail operating companies.

Mr Lynch also warned that if the union felt the need to take strike action during the next six months, it would still do so.

Tim Shoveller, Network Rail's chief negotiator, welcomed the suspension of the strike but said: "The very late notice means that services for tomorrow cannot be reinstated and will remain extremely limited," adding that services on Monday are also likely to be disrupted.

He said Network Rail "look forward to getting back round the table with all our trades unions early next week to see if the progress made this week can be built on, and a resolution found."

Network Rail continues to advise passengers to check before they travel, and to only travel by rail if absolutely necessary on Saturday and Monday.

Mark Harper, the UK^▸ (United Kingdom)'s new transport secretary, said that the suspension of the strike action was "a positive development for passengers up and down the country".

But he cautioned that the very late notice means "there will still be significant disruption across the network tomorrow and into Monday".

He added that calling off the latest strikes has given negotiations between unions and employers a "better chance of success".

[TaplowGreen]

......presumably this means that all those due to strike will report for duty, so I'm puzzled as to why "services for tomorrow cannot be reinstated and will remain extremely limited", and that "services on Monday are also likely to be disrupted"

[broadgage]

......presumably this means that all those due to strike will report for duty, so I'm puzzled as to why "services for tomorrow cannot be reinstated and will remain extremely limited", and that "services on Monday are also likely to be disrupted"

I expect that some of those who were due to strike have already made arrangements to go away for a few days. Some may already have left the country and can not return in time to start work.
I expect a lot of sudden sickness on the days during which strike action was expected.

Might also be a shortage of trains. The very limited service that was expected might have been considered as a good opportunity to catch up on maintenance.

[TaplowGreen]

......presumably this means that all those due to strike will report for duty, so I'm puzzled as to why "services for tomorrow cannot be reinstated and will remain extremely limited", and that "services on Monday are also likely to be disrupted"

I expect that some of those who were due to strike have already made arrangements to go away for a few days. Some may already have left the country and can not return in time to start work.
I expect a lot of sudden sickness on the days during which strike action was expected.

Might also be a shortage of trains. The very limited service that was expected might have been considered as a good opportunity to catch up on maintenance.

In every organisation I've ever worked for, once strike dates were announced it was not possible to book annual leave for the same date, so assuming the railways work the same way, unless those to whom you allude had magical powers of foresight and had booked said days off already, they will be expected to report for work or be AWOL^▸ (Absent Without Leave), and early November is hardly peak holiday time, being after half term and before Christmas.

No doubt there will be sickies, but I would imagine most likely a lot of people sitting around doing nothing for a few days whilst customers struggle on - good luck to anyone travelling to and from Cardiff today for the rugby - you would have thought at the very least some arrangements could have been made to service that event.

[Fourbee]

Might be (even more of) a problem booking Rail Replacement Buses on routes where they weren't going to be provided.

[Electric train]

......presumably this means that all those due to strike will report for duty, so I'm puzzled as to why "services for tomorrow cannot be reinstated and will remain extremely limited", and that "services on Monday are also likely to be disrupted"

Due to the lateness of the announcement contacting all of the staff is not practical, within Network Rail some turns at the weekend would normally covered by overtime which means no one will have been rostered to cover the turns.  On-call staff will have left their vans at depots so there will be a time lag for them to report in and collect them.

There is a limit to the contingent cover provided during the strikes and there is a limit to the level of service that is safe to run with the contingent cover

[Timmer]

I know every part of the rail network is different, but Southeastern have manage to come up with a pretty decent service today:

https://www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/travel-information/live-travel-information/service-disruption?uq=638032366163950000#INCC634C816107542CF811A7FDF1BF3D75C

The RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) and TSSA^» (Transport Salaried Staffs' Association - about) unions have announced that the strike action planned for Saturday 5, Monday 7 and Wednesday 9 November has been suspended.

Given the late notice suspension it has not been possible to restore our full timetable and therefore we will only be able to operate a limited service on the routes detailed below. Trains will start later and finish much earlier than the usual Saturday timetable so please check your journey before travelling by using our journey planner.

High speed (London St Pancras <> Ashford)
High speed (London St Pancras <> Ramsgate via Faversham)
London Victoria <> Ramsgate via Rochester
London Victoria <> Orpington via Herne Hill
London Victoria <> Ashford International via Maidstone East
London Bridge <> Dartford via Woolwich
London Bridge <> Dartford via Bexleyheath   
London Bridge <> Dartford via Sidcup      
London Bridge <> Orpington / Sevenoaks   
London Charing Cross <> Hastings            
London Charing Cross <> Ramsgate via Dover   
London Charing Cross <> Ramsgate via Canterbury West
 

There will be no service on the following routes:

Medway Valley Line (Tonbridge / Paddock Wood <> Strood via Maidstone West)
Sheerness Line (Sittingbourne <> Sheerness)
Hayes Line (Lewisham <> Hayes)
Bromley North Line (Grove Park <> Bromley North)

[TaplowGreen]

......presumably this means that all those due to strike will report for duty, so I'm puzzled as to why "services for tomorrow cannot be reinstated and will remain extremely limited", and that "services on Monday are also likely to be disrupted"

Due to the lateness of the announcement contacting all of the staff is not practical, within Network Rail some turns at the weekend would normally covered by overtime which means no one will have been rostered to cover the turns.  On-call staff will have left their vans at depots so there will be a time lag for them to report in and collect them.

There is a limit to the contingent cover provided during the strikes and there is a limit to the level of service that is safe to run with the contingent cover

Can possibly, just possibly with a huge amount of latitude accept some of that as an excuse for today (although needing to contact all staff? Do they live in a bubble without exposure to news?)...but Monday? Three days later?

[Timmer]

Looks like TfW have managed to continue to run valley line trains throughout the evening to help get Welsh rugby fans back home.

[Electric train]

......presumably this means that all those due to strike will report for duty, so I'm puzzled as to why "services for tomorrow cannot be reinstated and will remain extremely limited", and that "services on Monday are also likely to be disrupted"

Due to the lateness of the announcement contacting all of the staff is not practical, within Network Rail some turns at the weekend would normally covered by overtime which means no one will have been rostered to cover the turns.  On-call staff will have left their vans at depots so there will be a time lag for them to report in and collect them.

There is a limit to the contingent cover provided during the strikes and there is a limit to the level of service that is safe to run with the contingent cover

Can possibly, just possibly with a huge amount of latitude accept some of that as an excuse for today (although needing to contact all staff? Do they live in a bubble without exposure to news?)...but Monday? Three days later?

I will be how the rosters have been planned out.  The staff roster planning and train diagrams over the industrial action period would have been set in place over a week ago, the train diagrams are easier to alter than people, the people would have been assigned their shifts to work changing people work patterns at short notice is not easy especially when there's lots of people involved.

There will be efforts put inplace to get staff rosters chnaged, but it is better to say Monday may not be a full service and over deliver than promise a normal service and under deliver