East Midlands Trains
New bosses, same bad attitude
Three months into the new franchise, East Midlands Trains (ex Midland Mainline and part of Central Trains) management have announced their intention to tear up terms and conditions for Senior Conductors.
One of the conditions most liked by ex-CT EMT train staff is that Sundays are not part of the working week: a recent survey showed staff wanted to keep it that way. While the old operator wasn’t fussed because they weren’t interested in providing a Sunday service, it may be that as part of their winning bid the new franchisee had to guarantee to run it.
Now we know how they plan to achieve that. They want Senior Conductors to agree to committed Sundays, but with the survey results in mind they know they can’t negotiate it in as it stands. There will be no concessions for agreeing to this so they are only offering to consult.
Not content with riding roughshod over negotiating rights, the consultation document says that if all the jobs aren’t covered on Sundays then other staff will be trained to do the duties. Bad enough, but when else might they be used, on strike days for example?!
We have already started moves towards a strike ballot. The union also needs to put out a general call to all other groups of workers to refuse to do any training. And we need to put pressure on train managers from the old MML not to work our trains on Sundays because they have scabbed when we have been on strike before.
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Thoughts
Had to sign up, just to make the point that this is the usual rubbish spouted from Unions who still think this is the 1970s. Times have changed... people have to go to work, to visit friends and family, to go shopping on Sundays, and we should have a rail network which functions 7 days a week, just like our European neighbours. Fair play if you don't want to work on a Sunday, but don't pull the usual petty strike action against your company just because it wants to bring in people who do want to (or who don't mind). You're in a customer service industry, so rather than standing around with pointless placards bleating about how tough it will be to work a Sunday (you'll still get a day off midweek you know) why not try it, earn your wages and serve those who pay your wages.
Thank you.
Sunday Working
Hi swlondoner
it is devisive and small minded people like you that alowed Sunday Trading and the loss of most workers weekends off.
I am fairly sure that you work nine to five in an office with every weekend off. If you had to work the shifts that most railworkers have to you would not be bleating the rubbish that you put out.
Sunday trading took away the one day that family sat around a table togther. The one day that formed family. Since Sunday trading if Mum and Dad are not working in supermaket, they or the kids are out shopping. No wonder society i breaking down. We need more weekends at home not less.
Apart from this there are principles involved. Negotiating machinary is there for a reason. When companies try to tear that machinary up and impose change, the workers are left vunerable.
Maybe you think unions are relics from the 70s, the truth is we are a necessary force to defend workers rights.
Maybe if you had Unions in the call centers people would earn a decent wage for working decent hours and not a meagre commission for burning yourselves out.
Rick Grogan