This topic was created by Omar Smith .
"Southern services are continue to be severely affected by train crew availability including a high level of conductor sickness." link link
Not a day goes by without a train being canceled because of driver unavailability. This had nothing to do with any alleged Union activity. The real reason being it's the results of a budgeting excercise on behalf of management. Keeping the number of crew on call at a critical level and banning overtime. All to save money.
GTR said in the two weeks prior to the first strike, there was an average of 23 conductors off sick each day.
Since the strike, that number had nearly doubled to 40 conductors a day, with the figure increasing to 45 in the last 10 days.
Incidentally regarding your second link: a couple of cockups doesn't make for a conspiracy.
Other train companies have problems giving out the correct information when things go wrong. Whilst it may be undesirable and a problem that needs to be dealt with it's still SOP for most train companies to go through this phase when there are issues with their service. Expecting things to be any different with Southern is frankly more than just a little bit ridiculous.
Re: the second link:
- The first lie is an argument over semantics and arguments over who will be called what and the responsibilities they will have, rather than whether they'll be on the train or not.
- The second appears to be over training that would be of little use anyway ('if the driver is incapacitated'? Seriously? Given that they are nowhere near the driver most if not all of the time they wouldn't have a hope in hell in 'avoiding a collision'). I've only heard of one accident in recent years where the train crew made any difference, and it wasn't the guard that stood out - it was the driver.
- The third seems to assume we'll accept the RMT at their word. I see no reason to do this given the previous games they have played.
- The fourth one regarding doors: just why exactly is it about the driver doing this that makes it less safe? Getting disabled people on and off? Then how can they seem to do that on the metro services on the rare occasions I've seen it?
- The fifth one ('GTR are the ones refusing to talk') could easily be rewritten as 'RMT refuse to accept any changes'.
As for that letter: when it comes to people who can't be bothered to pay before they get on then they get what they deserve IMO. Being busy or stuck in a queue is no excuse.
Incidentally, going back to the original point, why should anybody believe RMT rather than Southern Rail when it comes to illness levels?
> The first lie is an argument over semantics
It isn't a mere argument over semantics. SR are moving guard duties to the drivers as part of their plan to introduce "driver-only operated" trains. Then it'll be the drivers responsibility to see no passengers are dragged under the train or caught in the doors. Something that is not at all rare. You may recall that recently some trains had to be canceled because the sun shone on the drivers rear view mirror and blinded him.
> why should anybody believe RMT rather than Southern Rail
Because generally speaking members of trade unions are people of integrity who perform the actual work that the officers and executives of Southern Rail then get paid large salaries and bonuses off of. The only people playing games with words here is you and your friend ;)
Probably not, and maybe I shouldn't have been feeding the troll, but there is something morally repugnant about how the RMT have reacted to this, especially when it seems to include unofficial strike action.
(I don't go anywhere near Southern trains either incidentally, at least not in over ten years now).
> Probably not, and maybe I shouldn't have been feeding the troll, but there is something morally repugnant about how the RMT have reacted to this, especially when it seems to include unofficial strike action.
Considering what these captains of industry get up to in there off time, I wouldn't go invoking 'morally repugnant' anywhere near this.
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