Scotrail RMT strike action and possible temporary service cuts to a third of services

[InOban]

As far as I know Scotrail had no difficulty in recruiting extra staff, it's the training which is the holdup.

 

[ComUtoR]

As far as I know Scotrail had no difficulty in recruiting extra staff, it's the training which is the holdup.

'Extra Staff' ? Are establishment levels therefore correct and these new staff are additional to the needs of the business ?

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

As far as I know Scotrail had no difficulty in recruiting extra staff, it's the training which is the holdup.

ScotRail shouldn't have promoted a timetable change in May they were unable to resource then. The industry was supposed to have got on top of this from the May 18 debacle but time and time again we see operators changing their timetables only to have to crash and burn them within a matter of weeks because of train crew shortages. Yes Covid hasn't helped, although some operators have managed it a darn sight better than others, but these are know factors that reflect the level of resources availability so why not plan against what's available rather than leaving it to train crew managers to coerce staff to work overtime and rest days.

 

[Northhighland]

Scotrail is going to deteriorate into Caledonian McTrain. Be as awful as the ferry service in a couple of years. Currently on a 170 from Inverness to Glasgow. Rattles constantly around roof panels, sockets not working, train is rammed.

Not a pleasant experience to be honest. Staff are really helpful as they usually are on train.

Don’t honestly see this improving. Boarding train one ticket barrier in operation. One ticket machine working.

As far as I know Scotrail had no difficulty in recruiting extra staff, it's the training which is the holdup.

Seems like really bad planning to me. If there is one thing that stops people using the train it is unreliability of service.

Putting forward a timetable that they can’t resource is appallingly bad management. Really important period for rail. Need to get people back regularly using trains. They need to run, reliably and offer good standards of service.

 

[Deltic1961]

I feel it's already too late and Scotrail are just going to spiral downward.

Having a totally inept department in Transport Scotland calling the shots is just a disaster for all involved. Unless you walk, wheel or cycle everywhere they're not interested.

Edit, just checked my train in to town at lunchtime and surprise surprise it's cancelled due to a lack of drivers. Car it is then.

 

[Carlisle]

Yes Covid hasn't helped, although some operators have managed it a darn sight better than others,

TOCs fortunate enough to have negotiated multi year pay deals before covid have generally done ok whilst Inter City TOCs are usually the best payers so least prone to industrial unrest anyway, leaving others plagued with disputes & disruption.

 

[Dryce]

I have been a member of many workforces. Some unionised some not. I've worked in a factory on minimum wage, where the sister factory in another city was Unionised. We were always jealous because they had far better terms than us and we wanted the union, but our branch was opened later and deliberately hired 80 percent part time workers so that they couldn't afford the union, and we never got it.
Having seen how a union can fight for the standards of its members, and the protection is can give Vs no union existing at all, I would 100 percent hope my children can work in a Unionised industry where they are not taken advantage of and threatened with their job at every opportunity, frightened of getting poorly and having to go sick, and earning a poor wage

The reality is that somebody has to pay your wages and benefits at the end of the day.

Now if things are healthy then the end customer is actively choosing to pay for the services or products that earn those wages and benefits. That is fair.

Things get fuzzier on that definition of healthy when the customer is restricted in choice or there is subsidy involved.

Regardless of whether people think they are good or bad - it's notable that the union influence on the private sector is lower than it used to be. It's not about employers somehow deliberately suppressing them - it's about the reality of businesses and their employees surviving in the private sector in a competitive globalised workplace.

 

[ScotsRail]

The amended Mon-Fri timetables are now on the Scotrail website,

Timetable Update

Last updated: Wednesday 20 July 2022 We’re pleased to reintroduce our normal timetable. It brings an end to the temporary timetable that has been in place since 23 May and means almost 700 services per day have been added for customers. It has been a very challenging few weeks, impacting on our...

www.scotrail.co.uk

Zoiks! Good luck if you need to go anywhere after 10pm

 

[Bletchleyite]

Wow, that is pretty bad.

 

[nanstallon]

Thanks to RMT, railway services are unreliable, and people turn to other transport options. The RMT have the old attitude that they have a job for life whatever happens. If they can be brought to realise that no customers = no jobs (if that is the case), then there might be some hope.

 

[Dryce]

Wow, that is pretty bad.

It's appalling.

 

[Deltic1961]

Thanks to RMT, railway services are unreliable, and people turn to other transport options. The RMT have the old attitude that they have a job for life whatever happens. If they can be brought to realise that no customers = no jobs (if that is the case), then there might be some hope.

Same as the attitude of people who worked In paper mills and look how that turned out.....

From what I can see my last train is now 19.50 instead of 22.50

Is this some kind of joke?

 

[LoogaBarooga]

What a joke. Government have been in charge for less than two months and our national rail service has been reduced to this.

A total embarrassment.

 

[Deltic1961]

Plainly suicidal. Nothing less.

 

[uglymonkey]

Do you have to Join a Union when you are employed?

 

[Huntergreed]

That's a disgraceful, embarrassing timetable which will just force many more onto the roads, many of whom may not return I assume.

From my local line, reducing the through services on the GSW from 8 Carlisle - Glasgow runs a day to 4 (5 southbound) is a total joke. A 2 hour gap on the E-G between 20:15 and 22:15 (which is now the last train) is also ridiculous.

All I'll say is, they better put more carriages on, or these trains are going to be so packed that it'll just put people off travelling.

 

[ainsworth74]

Do you have to Join a Union when you are employed?

No. Closed shops haven't been a thing for a long time.

 

[Scotrail12]

Queen St LL just now, ALL due to a lack of drivers. Good luck!

 

[Peter0124]

Last train from Glasgow Central to Newton/Hamilton is now the 20:48? You have to be joking. This is nearly akin to the lockdown timetable in the evening. Sort it out Scotrail.

 

[ainsworth74]

Sorry, the ScotRail update above refers to ASLEF but not the RMT. So where do the RMT come into this?

 

[Deltic1961]

Dare I say it but I suspect a lot of staff pulling sickies today because of a certain football match?

It's unusual for services to be cancelled on a Wednesday

Might be purely coincidental of course....

 

[Scotrail12]

Last train EB from High St is 2158. An hour gap before it so the real end of service is really 2055 and no Springburn after 2003. Wow.

 

[Watershed]

2tpd for Stranraer, Mallaig, Kyle and Wick

Unfortunately this is the reality of cutting back a timetable at short notice; you end up decimating the service to save even just a few traincrew diagrams.

 

[muz379]

Thanks to RMT, railway services are unreliable, and people turn to other transport options. The RMT have the old attitude that they have a job for life whatever happens. If they can be brought to realise that no customers = no jobs (if that is the case), then there might be some hope.

What have the RMT done at scotrail to cause the current situation ?

 

[Peter0124]

Why couldn't they at least run an HOURLY service after 8pm? If staff shortages are this bad surely cutting some of the daytime services would have been better. Hamilton Circle still retains it's 4tph during the day for instance (not complaining though) meanwhile Carmyle services have been reduced to hourly during the day. I am worrying about the future of our railway now.

 

[Deltic1961]

If anything was going to drive people back to car use this is it. Transport Scotland are an enigma, and that's on a good day.

It really winds me up when Pro SNP supporters keep pulling out the England is worse line when plainly they're not.

 

[ScotsRail]

Looks like Queen Street - Edinburgh via Cumbernauld is gone. Services back to terminating at Falkirk.

 

[Ex-controller]

It’s starting to feel like government and senior management at ScotRail are on a mission to decimate the rail service here. This isn’t just covid related, there has been a historic failure to train up enough traincrew and to keep pay up with what is offered at other Train operating companies.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

I am so sad to see this happening in an industry I love. We really need to have a "Customer first" attitude - from everyone. Government, management, workforce, unions. If service declines you may get a double whammy. 1) People move to polluting cars. (more CO2) 2) Hard to justify investment in electrification etc. (no reduction in CO2)

So sad. So sad.

 

[Northhighland]

Thanks to RMT, railway services are unreliable, and people turn to other transport options. The RMT have the old attitude that they have a job for life whatever happens. If they can be brought to realise that no customers = no jobs (if that is the case), then there might be some hope.

RMT didn’t set a timetable that can only work with staff agreeing to work overtime. That is Scotrail. This will be Caledonian McTrain in a year or two.