Hang on. Two pints? Your match report makes it sound like you were SMASHED.
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Southern Rail STRIKE details
- Thread starter Ernest
- Start date
Hang on. Two pints? Your match report makes it sound like you were SMASHED.
Deadly Danson
Well-known member
The vast majority of "guards" working during the strike are managers. And the vast majority (but certainly not all) of those managers who have worked trains that I have driven are very anti GTR.
Gazwag
5 millionth post poster
It'll disappear further when they do a Crystal Palace and cost charities thousands of pounds by striking on the 5th November.
Deadly Danson
Well-known member
Almost certainly managers not guards.
Arthur
Well-known member
Quite frankly I couldn't give two ****s if it was Charles Horton himself. Just want my train to run.
Deadly Danson
Well-known member
Sure. I appreciate that. Who wouldn't but just correcting your assertion that "there is some weight behind Southern's claims about the guards working over the strike" and "suggests a lot of the members are keen on doing a deal". Not one iota of evidence for this.
Arthur
Well-known member
I've given you five (possibly six as someone told me this morning the 17:08 ran home last night - I've not checked though (Edit: yes it did http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/O36584/2016/10/18)) iota's of evidence to support it in my previous post. We've gone from no service at all to 4 services timetabled these last two weeks and (at least) one service running outside of the strike timetable this week. If there hasn't been an increase of guards working over the strike days how can you explain that?
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That was just after the game. I had 'a few' before, one during and then went to the pub when I got off my lovely, on time, not crowded train
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Deadly Danson
Well-known member
I've already explained it. More managers have been readied (given basic training) for this more prolonged period of strike action. There is the odd brand new guard who I don't think is allowed to strike and of course the odd guards who don't support the strike - haven't seen anyone who was on strike before going back to work this time though but there may be some.
Cosmic Joker
The Motorik
Isn't this also because Southern/GTR have moved from running services as either wholly DOO or wholly driver + guard to maximising the use of DOO on the Brighton Mainline by changing operating methods/staffing at the station nearest the point where trains join/leave the mainline? So whilst a few months ago Arun Valley and West/East Coastway trains to/from Victoria/London Bridge would require a guard for the whole journey, now the guard only works to/from Three Bridges on Arun Valley services and Littlehampton/Eastbourne to/from Haywards Heath on Mainline West/East services. The trains run DOO Haywards Heath or Three Bridges to/from London. This frees up guards (or managers covering for guards) to operate some more services on the lines where DOO is not in place. Willing to be corrected if this is not right.
Scotty Mac
New member
- Jul 13, 2003
- 24,405
Excellent day on the trains yesterday both in the morning, afternoon and getting back from the game in Tyne evening. All on time and all with plenty of seats.
Any danger that the RMT might fancy carrying out a permanent, unpaid strike?
Any danger that the RMT might fancy carrying out a permanent, unpaid strike?
HI Deadly . as a regular commuter experiencing the strife that has gone on . for me and i repeat for me , my opinion , is that the strike action seems now to be the norm and is having little effect. . I turn up as norm and catch a normal train . If anything service is a tad better . I speak to people and cannot count how many times people have said , "oh i forgot strike was on " . People generally just getting on with it.
I stress that is what i have witnessed and no doubt lots of others will have stories to counter this, but i am now finding more grief on non strike days.
How do you think that is having an effect on the general public ?
A Scab being someone who wants to get on with the job they are paid to do
Pity you all aren`t Scabs......Apologies should have read "they" rather than "you"
Deadly Danson
Well-known member
I think there is some truth in this. The thing is - on strike days the timetable is cut dramatically especially on the east and west coasts. As a personal observation I think this has 2 main effects - firstly a sizeable chunk of people don't even try to use the trains so you need less capacity. Secondly, the timetable on a strike day is far more realistic and manageable especially if you are using the mainline as Thameslink still runs as normal and the Southern and Gatwick Express trains that do run have a clearer path and so are less prone to delays and obviously it takes fewer drivers to make the service run so that in the event of any issues there are more spare drivers to deal with any problems/sickness etc. It is actually very pleasant to drive on a strike day as it's generally fairly trouble free.
Now, if everyone was happy to have this service for ever it would make travelling much more pleasant for everyone but the truth is that such a large volume of people use the railways everyday that there are simply too many trains trying to cram into the network. If you then add to this mix a company that want to run the service with the minimum number of staff possible, the minimum number of fitters/cleaners etc possible, who have no incentive to offer a good service, who don't employ enough staff in Control to answer the phones so no one has any idea where they are supposed to be during disruption and who piss off just about every single member of staff going then it's a recipe for disaster.
Obviously it's not sustainable for managers to act as guards everyday and to cut the service in half but if I was a commuter on the mainline only then I'd probably enjoy the strike days to a degree which I guess is a conundrum for the RMT.
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Deadly Danson
Well-known member
Yes this is true. Seemingly every Monday Southern tell us of a new little extension to DOO (completely going against our agreed and negotiated terms and conditions - not that I would expect anyone outside the railway to give two hoots) which, for the moment, we have to abide by. I don't think this has made much of a difference on strike days to be honest but I could be wrong. So now, for example if we were to work a service from Victoria to Littlehampton/Eastbourne that splits at Haywards Heath we would work it DOO (but for the moment with an OBS on board) from Victoria to Haywards Heath. Personally I don't have a massive problem with this as we are dispatched safely by platform staff at Victoria, Clapham, East Croydon and Gatwick as long as the OBS is onboard and fully safety trained.
