How to gauge who you trust

Once you are a driver, there aren’t many things you can be promoted to that would keep you a driver. So for those with what the company would like to think of as “ambition” the option is becoming a type of manager.

That first “step up” would be to become a Train Manager. Either that person is responsible for the welfare of the drivers, runs the bookings on the desk, deals with enquiries and information from the line controllers and the depot manager, or is a glorified receptionist, earning more than £75k. I hear that in some places, the relationship between drivers and the TMs is all right. That is less the case in my depot.

It is pretty clear to most drivers that these are managers, even if they are at a low level and without considerable decision-making power.

On strike days they are all almost always working while we strike. Their pay, pension, and conditions still fall under the remit of the unions, but there is no better illustration of the divide between workers and managers than those who not only cross pickets, but think they have no reason to even consider striking. When adverts come out for new TMs or secondments to TMs, the company likes to dangle the carrot of promotion more than they like to make it permanent.

You can often guess the person who will go for it. Did they umm and err about a strike, or complain about the union being too combative (if only...). Or are they one of the people who see the ban on overtime in the drivers’ grade as a considerable issue?

It’s a useful gauge of who you can trust in and around the mess rooms and on the platform when it comes to talking about the bigger issues or being frank about management.