South West Trains - where are the job cuts?

[whole diary]

[grahame]

from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7834665.stm

The majority of jobs to go when South West Trains (SWT^▸ (South West Trains)) sheds 10% of its staff are those of platform and ticket office workers, the BBC has learnt.

SWT said the jobs were "management, administration and other roles".

But the BBC has seen an internal document which states that only 25 of the 480 posts to go are classed as management positions.

With regard to an earlier thread on this subject ...

The loss of jobs, whether they're managerial or operational staff, and whether the company  announcing the losses has done so in what could be regarded as being a misleading way, was bound to be an emotive subject.

Some of the postings on [a previous] thread moved us close - very close - to legal limits .... [snip]

However ... the subject is an important one, so I'm going to encourage a [this] thread that discusses the reduction of jobs at South West Trainsand and how it's handled by the various publicity machines and broadcasters.

Please ... carry on and discuss

[Btline]

I don't think SWT^▸ (South West Trains) should cut platform staff or ticket office staff, as it reduces the level of passenger service.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Agreed, Btline - for a long time, we campaigned to get a replacement for our retired station staff at Nailsea & Backwell, to restore the customer service.

We've had nothing but problems here with such attempts to replace a member of staff with a couple of ticket machines - that is not the answer! 

[inspector_blakey]

I have a horrible feeling there is a trend emerging here: NXEA^▸ (National Express East Anglia) and NXEC^▸ (National Express East Coast) announce swingeing cutbacks in catering and customer service staff. SWT^▸ (South West Trains) and Southeastern have announced significant job losses in the last couple of weeks. Rumours (which so far appear to be unfounded, it has to be said) of job losses among platform and ticket office staff at FGW^▸ (First Great Western) have also circulated.

All of the franchises above were awarded a in much happier economic times. However, even then the premium payments required from the TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) to the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) over the course of the franchise (>^1 bn in the case of FGW and SWT) were regarded in many quarters as wildly optimistic.

Several of the franchised operators are going to be getting doubly squeezed now, with passenger growth below projection and the need to make premium payments back to HM gov starting to bite. I suspect that unless a large number of franchises are re-negotiated we could be in the unpleasant position of seeing many more job losses before much longer.

[Btline]

But I can't see how they are justified when profits are high and dividends are high!

[Lee]

Rumours (which so far appear to be unfounded, it has to be said) of job losses among platform and ticket office staff at FGW^▸ (First Great Western) have also circulated.

From the topic below.
http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=3613.msg27930#msg27930

"The key is to see if you can become more efficient without affecting customer service.

"If there are fewer people come through a ticket office we will seek to reduce the hours. We are not going to announce lots of train driver redundancies because that it just not sustainable. We need train drivers."

The spokesman said there was little flexibility to change train timetables. He added: "The things we are looking at are things like ticket offices and the more back office stuff."

[Super Guard]

FGW^▸ (First Great Western) has given the RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) a guarantee that no member of staff will be made redundant under the current re-organisation plans.

[inspector_blakey]

Good to hear. But I guess staff numbers could still be progressively cut through natural wastage or not advertising vacant positions.

[Lee]

Related article link.
http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/newshome/More-than-400-rail-station.4888351.jp

[Tim]

Becoming more effcient is great but this ought to be happening anyway with rising passenger numbers (a driver pulling a full 3 coach train is 50% more efficient than one pulling a 2 coach train) .  Reducing staffing levels is not good for anyone. 

First could increase staff by 5% next year, they would still make efficiency gains because passenger number will be up by more than 5%.

Being efficient shouldn't be about laying off hardworking staff.  In an industry like rail it ought to be about encouraging growth.  Th pent-up demand for travel is huge and enough to sustain teh businesses through the recession,  the industry just needs to learn to meet that demand. 

[Btline]

I don't understand.

I thought FGW^▸ (First Great Western) hired loads of staff last year to help raise the appalling performance levels.

[willc]

And adding to the contradictory picture here, when they met Geoff Hoon yesterday, the big five TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) bosses apparently asked the Government to cough up for 1,000 "customer-facing' staff. See http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/jan/21/transport-recession

[Lee]

More on that meeting in the link below.
http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=3613.msg34332#msg34332

[Timmer]

SWT^▸ (South West Trains) today announce further job cuts: 
http://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/SWTrains/News/_costreviewupdate.htm

Positions involved include revenue protection roles, ticket office and station staff and further management and administrative posts. Drivers, guards and frontline fleet maintenance staff will not be affected by the proposed changes and we are continuing to operate the same number of train services for our passengers.

[Btline]

 
Passenger numbers are still rising!

If you don't like paying staff, hand the keys back to the Dft.