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Post by melikepie on May 22, 2014 17:27:49 GMT
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Post by snoggle on May 22, 2014 18:27:33 GMT
Simple enough from the RMT viewpoint. The new trains are provided under a PFI contract. That may mean the manufacturer is responsible for all maintenance activity and they may or may not there are jobs for FCC's existing employees. It is also likely that the new trains will require different skills to maintain them and there seems to be no clarity about job transfers / retraining etc. This is a repeat of what happened with the new 09 and S stock for LU - that was going to be maintained by Bombardier and the RMT threatened a strike over that. IIRC LU backed down from the privatisation route once the Metronet transfer was complete. The final complication is that Thameslink is being refranchised and that is undoubtedly making life difficult for FCC as they may not be in charge in the future. Therefore they cannot at this stage make any agreements or offer commitments to the RMT - that will be for the future franchisee. There are rumours the winner of the TSGN franchise may be announced as soon as 23 May 2014 so some of the uncertainty may lift as at least the RMT will now who will be running things in the future. However such a big franchise may well bring seismic change to all sorts of things including the approach to train maintenance and how it is done. That may give the RMT *more* cause for strike action in the future. |
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Post by domh245 on May 22, 2014 19:19:18 GMT
There seems to be a case of poor reporting here. The BBC are talking about building trains:
But I'm doubtful that workers would be transferred to Krefield, even if they payed for the cost of moving. I suspect that they do of course mean maintenance, but wouldn't Cauldwell Walk still remain a stabling point? Whilst there would some Job losses from the maintenance point, there would still be a need for people to undertake light maintenance, CET pumping, filling the unit's tanks with water &c. Indeed, there will probably be various moves, as the units from across the GN routes would still need to be stabled, as the 700s would start to occupy some of the other depot space.
The BBC also mention the cascade of the 319s up north: But I can't see why this a real concern. The 319s being cascaded away slowly, and even then, it's only 14 for now spread over about a year. They are being replaced by 29 387s, so if anything, there will be more work for them to do, as the units will almost inevitably be sent to where there is space (ie Cauldwell where the 319s were based)
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Chris M
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Post by Chris M on May 22, 2014 21:13:31 GMT
And wouldn't more trains up north mean more work for RMT members there?
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Post by domh245 on May 22, 2014 21:19:11 GMT
I think that it may possibly entail more members, as the units will be based at Allerton TMD where at the moment there are a limited number of 156s. A jump up to looking after the 14 319s will probably entail some more workers being hired, unless the 156s are displaced to other depots across the north west
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Chris M
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Post by Chris M on May 23, 2014 7:16:09 GMT
There are rumours the winner of the TSGN franchise may be announced as soon as 23 May 2014 so some of the uncertainty may lift as at least the RMT will now who will be running things in the future. It seems those rumours were well founded, BBC News is reporting that Govia have won the franchise. |
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Post by domh245 on May 23, 2014 15:56:47 GMT
There are rumours the winner of the TSGN franchise may be announced as soon as 23 May 2014 so some of the uncertainty may lift as at least the RMT will now who will be running things in the future. It seems those rumours were well founded, BBC News is reporting that Govia have won the franchise. Although, there is a 10 day cooling off period, so it may well change. However, First Group seem to have humbly accepted defeat and no-one else is having a hissy fit (á la Richard Branson) so changes would seem unlikely. |
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Post by snoggle on May 23, 2014 17:34:17 GMT
It seems those rumours were well founded, BBC News is reporting that Govia have won the franchise. Although, there is a 10 day cooling off period, so it may well change. However, First Group seem to have humbly accepted defeat and no-one else is having a hissy fit (á la Richard Branson) so changes would seem unlikely. It won't change. I can't see Govia or the DfT deciding they wish to walk away from this contract which is the purpose of the stand still period. If First or anyone had any cause for complaint about the process they would have raised them by now and if there was any substance to those complaints then there would not have been an announcement. The DfT (and government lawyers) would not want a re-run of the West Coast mess so this award will have been crawled over to make sure it was beyond a challenge. |
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Post by metrailway on May 23, 2014 19:29:33 GMT
Notably TSGN is rather different as it is a management contract as the DfT is taking the full revenue risk, unlike the other franchises. The DfT will pay Govia a flat fee of around £8.9bn over 7 years, whilst the DfT expects to get around £12.4bn from revenue.
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Post by domh245 on May 23, 2014 19:47:40 GMT
If I were a cynical, profit orientated business person, I could see an opourtuniry from this new style to boost profits: remove the ticket inspectors from services, thereby lowering costs, and at the same time collecting less fares to pay back to government. Hopefully, the government (for once) will keep an eye on this, otherwise it could go horribly wrong.
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