Quizzes & Puzzles9 mins ago
Rail Strikes Looming
Ahead of crippling walkouts, figures show that staff are paid 70 per cent above the national average. The average wage for a rail worker is £44,000 per annum and almost a third of all people working on the railways pay tax at the higher rate, meaning they earn more than £50,000.
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Does anyone support them?
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Does anyone support them?
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// i really don’t see the point of conductors. Do they really add to safety? //
the conductor could give you his whistle, train key, and ipad. they could show you how to close the doors and how to make announcements. That would in theory be enough for you to work a train. But what if something happens?
One of the train doors won't open or close. Or the steps won't deploy or retract. What do you do?
Heading along at 100mph, the train comes to a sudden stop. You can't contact the driver. What do you do?
the train has struck a herd of cows, the collision has damaged the train and the driver is unconscious. a train is coming the other way. what do you do?
the conductor could give you his whistle, train key, and ipad. they could show you how to close the doors and how to make announcements. That would in theory be enough for you to work a train. But what if something happens?
One of the train doors won't open or close. Or the steps won't deploy or retract. What do you do?
Heading along at 100mph, the train comes to a sudden stop. You can't contact the driver. What do you do?
the train has struck a herd of cows, the collision has damaged the train and the driver is unconscious. a train is coming the other way. what do you do?
I heard the govt has suggested using agency staff. Are there lots of freelance train drivers waiting for the call? If they can't get agency drivers, then they won't need agency staff for simpler jobs because there won't be any trains running.
Perhaps the Bullingdon gang will rally round for the good of the country like they did in the olden days of the Great Strike. Johnson can be the Fat Controller, and Reese-Mogg can be the top-hatted Stationmaster.
Perhaps the Bullingdon gang will rally round for the good of the country like they did in the olden days of the Great Strike. Johnson can be the Fat Controller, and Reese-Mogg can be the top-hatted Stationmaster.
Atheist:
The one thing that BOTH sides of the rail dispute agree on is that the Government's suggestion of using agency workers is totally unworkable.
Quote:
"The suggested legislative changes won't happen for the first wave of strikes in just over a week, but if there are more, Grant Shapps hopes agency workers can fill gaps.
. . .
There are a few problems.
Firstly, the UK economy has a huge recruitment problem at the moment. There are record numbers of vacancies, and not enough workers to fill them. So finding 50,000 agency workers for the railways when we can't fully resource UK airports could be a challenge.
Secondly, both sides of this fractious industrial dispute have said that safety problems with agency workers make this plan impossible. Unions and the rail industry say safety-critical roles like signallers, guards, drivers can't easily be covered. They say these workers don't work for agencies, they already work in the railway."
Source:
https:/
If even there were lots of train drivers on agency's books (which there aren't), they couldn't simply take over the duties of striking drivers anyway. Driving a train isn't like driving a car, where a driving licence allows someone to drive on any road in the country. Train drivers aren't allowed to drive anywhere at all unless they've got 'route knowledge'. That requires them to undergo instruction, on the specific routes that they'll end up driving on, where they have to learn about every single signal and its meaning.
(For example, it's not good enough for them to see a 'proceed aspect'. They also have to assess whether that signal might have been given to them in error if, say, it appears to be directing an 'up' train onto a 'down' line).
So a (fictitious) agency driver could be allowed to drive on any route until he'd been fully trained by another driver with experience on that route - and the only such drivers would be those who were on strike!
The one thing that BOTH sides of the rail dispute agree on is that the Government's suggestion of using agency workers is totally unworkable.
Quote:
"The suggested legislative changes won't happen for the first wave of strikes in just over a week, but if there are more, Grant Shapps hopes agency workers can fill gaps.
. . .
There are a few problems.
Firstly, the UK economy has a huge recruitment problem at the moment. There are record numbers of vacancies, and not enough workers to fill them. So finding 50,000 agency workers for the railways when we can't fully resource UK airports could be a challenge.
Secondly, both sides of this fractious industrial dispute have said that safety problems with agency workers make this plan impossible. Unions and the rail industry say safety-critical roles like signallers, guards, drivers can't easily be covered. They say these workers don't work for agencies, they already work in the railway."
Source:
https:/
If even there were lots of train drivers on agency's books (which there aren't), they couldn't simply take over the duties of striking drivers anyway. Driving a train isn't like driving a car, where a driving licence allows someone to drive on any road in the country. Train drivers aren't allowed to drive anywhere at all unless they've got 'route knowledge'. That requires them to undergo instruction, on the specific routes that they'll end up driving on, where they have to learn about every single signal and its meaning.
(For example, it's not good enough for them to see a 'proceed aspect'. They also have to assess whether that signal might have been given to them in error if, say, it appears to be directing an 'up' train onto a 'down' line).
So a (fictitious) agency driver could be allowed to drive on any route until he'd been fully trained by another driver with experience on that route - and the only such drivers would be those who were on strike!
// Are there lots of freelance train drivers waiting for the call? If they can't get agency drivers, then they won't need agency staff for simpler jobs because there won't be any trains running. //
let's start with the second of the above. the main driver's union (ASLE&F) isn't (as yet) in dispute. there will be sufficient drivers to run a service. the limiting factor will be signalling staff, and how many signalling centres could be kept open by non-union staff and management. when this happened in the 1980s, only those main routes in SSI-signalled areas remained open, and routes with smaller signal boxes were left unstaffed, and closed.
to take the first of the above. several small operating companies have retired or semi retired drivers on their books; often they're on the books of several companies. they're not "zero hours" (due to the stigma) but are guaranteed only a nominal number of hours a year. beyond that they're practically free-agents. that doesn't mean they can get in any train and drive it. trains aren't like cars, where the driver-control interface is very similar regardless of vehicle type or make. it's pretty likely these free-agent drivers are not qualified to drive modern passenger trains.
let's start with the second of the above. the main driver's union (ASLE&F) isn't (as yet) in dispute. there will be sufficient drivers to run a service. the limiting factor will be signalling staff, and how many signalling centres could be kept open by non-union staff and management. when this happened in the 1980s, only those main routes in SSI-signalled areas remained open, and routes with smaller signal boxes were left unstaffed, and closed.
to take the first of the above. several small operating companies have retired or semi retired drivers on their books; often they're on the books of several companies. they're not "zero hours" (due to the stigma) but are guaranteed only a nominal number of hours a year. beyond that they're practically free-agents. that doesn't mean they can get in any train and drive it. trains aren't like cars, where the driver-control interface is very similar regardless of vehicle type or make. it's pretty likely these free-agent drivers are not qualified to drive modern passenger trains.
They won't have it all their own way.
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While many people here (myself included) have been concentrating on the roles of drivers, conductors and station staff, it won't be any use at all if every single one of them is at work (or replaced by one of the mythical agency workers) but the signallers are all on strike. No railway can run without them (and I damned sure that there's not a vast pool of agency signallers waiting to fill their shoes either!)
// I damned sure that there's not a vast pool of agency signallers waiting to fill their shoes either //
there aren't. the last time the signallers went on strike was in 1994 and during that dispute, management continued working, allowing a core network to be operated, on routes controlled by SSI signalling centres. the same is likely to happen this time but unlike 1994, freight trains will be prioritised to minimise effects on the supply chain, so limiting available paths for passenger trains.
there aren't. the last time the signallers went on strike was in 1994 and during that dispute, management continued working, allowing a core network to be operated, on routes controlled by SSI signalling centres. the same is likely to happen this time but unlike 1994, freight trains will be prioritised to minimise effects on the supply chain, so limiting available paths for passenger trains.
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