TSSA threaten further SWR dispute

[pompeyfan]

TSSA state its members with SWR control may enter dispute regarding changes to working practices. Be interesting to hear people’s views

We warn of Industrial Dispute looming on Southwestern Railways | TSSA

TSSA has warned of a looming industrial dispute with Southwestern Railway after the company changed working arrangements for staff in their control centres. Read more.

www.tssa.org.uk

Industrial
NEWS.PUBLISHED: 29 September 2023

TSSA warns of Industrial Dispute looming on Southwestern Railways​

TSSA today has warned of a looming industrial dispute with Southwestern Railway (SWR) after the company changed working arrangements for staff in their control centres.
If the control centre staff go on strike trains on Southwestern railway will come to a stop.
Staff working in the Basingstoke and Waterloo control centres have been informed that they will have to find their own cover if they don’t want to work Sunday shifts. Previously the company was responsible for finding cover.
Staff in SWR are not currently obliged to work on Sundays. In common with much of the rail industry covering Sunday shifts is done on a voluntary basis with staff receiving overtime payments.
Joint Interim General Secretary, Peter Pendle, said: “This isn't merely a shift in working patterns. It’s a stark deviation from well-established norms.
“The company made this change without consulting with us and our members are rightly furious. The company has the chance to meet with us, engage with our reps and find an acceptable solution otherwise we go into dispute.
“Our members in Control know their strength. If they go on strike the trains will stop running. Southwestern needs to find a fair reasonable and negotiated solution now.”
ENDS

 

[jayah]

TSSA state its members with SWR control may enter dispute regarding changes to working practices. Be interesting to hear people’s views

We warn of Industrial Dispute looming on Southwestern Railways | TSSA

TSSA has warned of a looming industrial dispute with Southwestern Railway after the company changed working arrangements for staff in their control centres. Read more.

www.tssa.org.uk

Working Sunday shifts isn't a start departure from any norms. Good on SWR for moving away from voluntary overtime cover, which the unions say they actually want.

 

[Drogba11CFC]

Working Sunday shifts isn't a start departure from any norms. Good on SWR for moving away from voluntary overtime cover, which the unions say they actually want.

So this might be just a lot of hot air?

I've got a few Sunday commitments coming up (dates on a need to know basis only) so this has put me on high alert.

 

[skyhigh]

Working Sunday shifts isn't a start departure from any norms. Good on SWR for moving away from voluntary overtime cover, which the unions say they actually want.

If it comes with the appropriate upstaffing.

It sounds like they are moving from voluntary Sunday overtime to committed Sunday overtime without any consultation - that is a negative change for employees affected. What have the company offered in return?

 

[pompeyfan]

I read it as Sundays will still be classed as overtime, but the controllers would have to find their own cover? Maybe I’m reading it wrong.

 

[Horizon22]

I read it as Sundays will still be classed as overtime, but the controllers would have to find their own cover? Maybe I’m reading it wrong.

Yes that's my read too. However I know of many places with committed Sundays (essentially what this comes to be) when you have always had to find your own cover if you want it off. Not that it ever seemed to be difficult to find cover! If that's not currently the case then right now it's a weird fudge of Sunday being in the "working week" (uncovered & therefore rostering has to assist) and committed Sundays.

I'd be a bit shocked if SWR Control is working on voluntary Sundays at the moment.

 

[Goldfish62]

Working Sunday shifts isn't a start departure from any norms. Good on SWR for moving away from voluntary overtime cover, which the unions say they actually want.

I believe Sunday is already part of the working week for drivers and guards on SWR and has been for a long time.

However, the alleged lack of consultation would appear to be the central issue here.

 

[Thirteen]

I suspect the easiest way to resolve is for SWR to not force the changes but have a consultation.

 

[Horizon22]

However, the alleged lack of consultation would appear to be the central issue here.

Which would have been so easy to solve if it's the case. Get the local control TSSA rep involved early on.

 

[185]

However, the alleged lack of consultation would appear to be the central issue here.

Seems to be a FirstGroup thing that.

 

[DarloRich]

However, the alleged lack of consultation would appear to be the central issue here.

That is the gist of it - the unions get very uppity when consultation agreements are not followed. An easily, easily avoided issue.

Which would have been so easy to solve if it's the case. Get the local control TSSA rep involved early on.

Correct! So easily avoided. It can be fixed by sitting down and talking on Monday

 

[whoosh]

Committed Sundays are most unsatisfactory. When there's a vacancy that hasn't been filled, that's a person you can't ask to do your Sunday because they don't exist.


Needs to be in the working week - like the Fire brigade, and hospitals, and the police, and everywhere else that runs seven days a week with enough employees for seven days rather than six.

 

[Red Rover]

It’s a huge bug bear, but it’s something the union and management have never wanted to tackle, its outside the working week yet you have to work it if there’s no cover, it’s also non pensionable. Sunday should be a part of the working week but it’ll cost an awful lot of money to do so.

 

[kw12]

It’s a huge bug bear, but it’s something the union and management have never wanted to tackle, its outside the working week yet you have to work it if there’s no cover, it’s also non pensionable. Sunday should be a part of the working week but it’ll cost an awful lot of money to do so.

Was Committed Sundays not part of the pay offer that TSSA accepted in February?

 

[Goldfish62]

It’s a huge bug bear, but it’s something the union and management have never wanted to tackle, its outside the working week yet you have to work it if there’s no cover, it’s also non pensionable. Sunday should be a part of the working week but it’ll cost an awful lot of money to do so.

Yet SWT managed to introduce it for drivers and guards two decades ago. Shame it wasn't addressed for other relevant job roles at the same time.

PS Being outside the rail industry I find this concept of "committed Sundays" incredibly bizarre.

 

[Drogba11CFC]

Would this affect XC services South of Reading?

 

[Goldfish62]

Would this affect XC services South of Reading?

What would?

 

[Drogba11CFC]

What would?

Any potential dispute between SWR and TSSA.

 

[godfreycomplex]

Would this affect XC services South of Reading?

Nope, only SWR staff that have interface with XC south of Reading are RMT grades at stations (dispatchers/station control point etc). All controlling is done by XC controllers at Birmingham

 

[Goldfish62]

Any potential dispute between SWR and TSSA.

Ah I see. Jumping ahead a bit!

Long way to go yet. There's got to be a ballot for action first, and then actual action, and that could take a number of forms.

 

[father_jack]

Was Committed Sundays not part of the pay offer that TSSA accepted in February?

For station staff technically speaking yes but because of collective bargaining it won't go through (or will the pay rise be paid) until RMT agree.

Committed Sundays are most unsatisfactory. When there's a vacancy that hasn't been filled, that's a person you can't ask to do your Sunday because they don't exist.

What's even worse is in the vague "deal" that is on offer that there is an opt out if you can prove a history of not working the so-called "committed/expected" Sundays.

The scenario being- say there are 7 people in the particular roster and you have a 1 Sunday in 3 weeks "commitment", if this deal/shambles is accepted and Sunday work becomes mandatory you get only one rest day vice two every third week. But the vacancy you cite needs coverage, and also 2 people don't do Sundays and satisfy the opt out criteria. So the remaining 4 people have to pick up the uncovered Sundays and go weeks and weeks with only one rest day.

Do the non railway people tuned in here regularly do 6 day weeks ?

 

[Goldfish62]

Do the non railway people tuned in here regularly do 6 day weeks ?

Plenty of people regularly work 7 days a week, but I don't see how that's relevant to this discussion, which is about the odd arrangement of "committed" work over and above your contracted hours.

Surely this almighty mess should have been sorted out years ago. I don't know how the railways manage to run anything at times.

 

[father_jack]

Plenty of people regularly work 7 days a week, but I don't see how that's relevant to this discussion, which is about the odd arrangement of "committed" work over and above your contracted hours.

Surely this almighty mess should have been sorted out years ago. I don't know how the railways manage to run anything at times.

I'd like to see a statistic attached to "plenty of people" .

(To paragraph #2) I, and the trade union movement would wholeheartedly agree.

 

[Goldfish62]

I'd like to see a statistic attached to "plenty of people" .

I, and the trade union movement would wholeheartedly agree.

For the avoidance of doubt I support the RMT and ASLEF in their respective disputes, but please don't come on with all that nonsense inferring that the railways are somehow unique and everyone else works cushy Mon-Fri 9-5 jobs.

 

[pompeyfan]

Having had another browse at the article, and seeing a further TSSA release, I get the impression committed Sundays as such aren’t the issue, it’s who finds cover when someone doesn’t want to work them, and the sudden change in that method with no consultation.

 

[Towers]

It isn’t unique to have a situation where staff are obliged to work Sunday shifts, albeit as overtime, but can pass their rostered shifts to a colleague if they can find one who wants to do it instead - i.e the original colleague misses out on the overtime but has the day off, and the second colleague works the shift instead, giving up their day off and being paid overtime. The issue with this is that it can be considered ‘enforced overtime’, and historically some employers have been reluctant to challenge staff who simply refuse to work their booked sundays, as it’s seen as a bit shaky from a legal perspective.

The SWR staff concerned however presumably have a contract which simply says “you don’t have to work sundays”, in which case it will indeed upset the union if they are suddenly being told their sunday shift is, effectively, mandatory unless they sort it out themselves. It has historically been the case that bringing in mandatory sunday working - i.e. it being fully part of the working week and not paid as overtime - has required financial incentive and a reduction of weekday hours, as would be expected. ‘Mandatory overtime’ without consultation is certainly one way of attempting to tackle it…