It's a pity some 20 years since Company Plan some of the lies told by TFL to justify the changes are still being re-cycled.
I bought the Fennell Report from HMSO in High Holborn on its day of publication and don't recall it being over-critical of LU's promotional system, though other areas of the organisation were certainly censured more severely.
For the record, I was on the very last course for Station Inspectors at the RTC in 1992, prior to it being replaced by the multi-functional SS/SSMF grades.
Yes our total service seniority (around 14 years at that point) enabled us to reply to the advert in the Traffic Circular, but before getting on the course we had to have an interview with a senior manager.
In my case it was a Train Crew Manager - previously it would have been an Area Manager but we were on the cusp of the changes. Also the questions asked at the interview were based on what
would you do if faced with this or that situation in the future as an SI, and a logical reply would suffice.
Nowadays it's a case of what
did you do, and quite often it's impossible to provide what HR regard as a relevant reply (and all evidence no more than 5 years old) from doing one's present job. This policy rules out hundreds and hundreds of potential internal applicants today.
At the beginning of the Inspectors' course there were 12 of us (all either T/Ops or S/Fs), by the end 6 weeks later there were only 4 left. During that time we took 9 exams (both written and multiple-guess). If at any point we scored less than 70% we were off the course, there and then. If at any point we gave an answer than was deemed unsafe we were off the course, there and then.
Some much for jobs being "given out with the rations" or being "buggin's turn".
As it happened I got 100% in some exams, never less than 95% and averaged 98.5%; much good it did me in later years once the system changed.
The other big downside of Company Plan was the numerous round pegs put in square holes and vice-versa. Rest Day Cover Class 1 Station Inspectors who were ropey at mental arithmetic being regraded as SSMFs in the ticket office, Chief Clerks who previously worked 9-to-5 becoming round the clock SS1s. Poor performance was tolerated, even accepted, in order to paper over the cracks in the scheme and avoid antagonising the unions (who would have said "told you so").
It was around this time we first started to get staff refusing to carry out various operational procedures during incidents or failures (usually involving track access) because they felt "uncertain" or "unsure" of the task.
Nowadays what with H&S rules, "refusal to work on the grounds of safety" etc, this situation has got 100 times worse.
PS - And the uniform was better then too.
PPS - Maybe this should be moved to a Company Plan thread.
