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Sandra with her Assistance Dog

On guard!

Southern rail workers have gone on strike again as part of a long running dispute over proposed changes to the role of train conductors. HOT’s Erica Smith went to show her support for the strikers.

My short journey to work involves a bicycle and no timetable. I realise I’m lucky that I don’t have to commute. And very lucky that I don’t depend on Southern trains to get to and from work. Up until recently, I’ve kept from getting involved in the rail strike – I’ve not even kept up to date with the issue. But the other day I saw a post on Facebook about a couple of teenagers sitting in the priority disabled seats, accompanied by the following text:

00selfishkidsCharing Cross train to Hastings 3.28pm had walker with me not one passenger offered me a seat. Asked these two passengers if they had disability they said no. I said I have mobility issues and chronic pain and need to sit down. Got told f**k off you scrounging b*****d by both of them: “You can f*****g stand there is nothing wrong with you. That’s why we need guards on trains. They could have helped me sort this out. I had to stand all way to Orpington in agony and was sent flying. No one assisted me. Not one person. Am upset.

It made me realise how essential a guard on a train is. Not just for wheelchair users, but for anyone in a vulnerable position – and if there’s an accident or incident that means EVERYONE.

00picketI am surprised that the Southern dispute has run on so long. Striking is not an easy option; I admire the tenacity of those Southern workers. They have had to bear the brunt of disgruntled passengers when often the delays on the trains are NOT to do with strike days, it’s to do with the poor management of Southern rail, the low levels of staff and poor rail maintainence.

So, when my friend Sandra, who is a wheelchair user, said she wanted to go and show her support for the strikers, I said I’d like to come along too.

2 examples of serious accidents on Driver Only Trains – the drivers were unaware that a passenger was caught in the doors before leaving the station.

Two examples of serious accidents on Driver Only Trains – the drivers were unaware that a passenger was caught in the sliding doors before the train left the station.

If nothing else, it has given me the opportunity to think about the arguments on either side. The  dispute is about implementing Driver Only Operated trains. This means that the drivers can open and shut the doors in all carriages and in theory there is no need for a second member of staff on a train. This might be fine on urban lines where there are short stops between stations, and the stations are all staffed, but a lot of Southern lines are rural with unstaffed stations, long distances between stops and challenging terrain.

St Leonards resident Helena Wojtczak was a train guard for 20 years, the last five at Hastings. She says, “There is a lot of misunderstanding about what this dispute is about. At the moment, on the lines in question, no passenger train can run without a guard.

“The proposal is to put the driver in charge of the doors and abolish the position of guard. Existing guards will be designated on board supervisor. So when they say there will be ‘no job losses’, they are telling the truth as it appertains to now, i.e. the current guards won’t be sacked.

“However, and this is the crucial point, a train can run without them. So if one is on leave, off sick, late on duty, whatever, the train still runs, with just the driver. Naturally, in time, as on board supervisors resign or retire, the management won’t replace them, thus jobs will be lost overall. More and more trains will run with driver-only. Eventually the company can argue that, as X% of their trains run driver-only anyway, they can abolish the on board supervisors altogether.”

Commuter Shelley says: “I have a season ticket and, yes, it is a pain when trains are cancelled – but I still support the staff’s right to strike. Let’s remember that these are fellow workers and it’s unlikely that anyone would strike for the fun of it. Striking workers don’t get paid, Southern gets its money regardless of whether the trains are running or not, and the government gives them more in compensation for strike days than is handed back out to commuters.”

Hastings resident Sarah says: “The service is absolutely run on overtime. Guards start this job knowing they get their basic and the overtime top up makes the wage worthwhile. If they strike they get ‘unofficially’ penalised by the company so anyone striking does not do this as an easy option.

“This issue is a test case for all other operators, so as soon as the role of guard is reclassified/removed other train operators will follow suit to cut costs. This is a union and cost thing. It will impact public safety (seen at first hand) and in my view, no guards on trains is very wrong. I don’t rely on the trains but do use them. For me this has caused inconvenience but not the daily anger it has caused for some.

“I think it’s right they strike and make a stand. I support the guards’ stance and I’m sorry for the severe disruption it’s caused many. The staff feel this pressure and get the verbal, but they are making their case not for greed but for passenger safety. The Government is acting in an appallingly irresponsible way (again!) and in part, along with the operator, I blame them. I currently live with a train employee and it’s not fun for them, it really isn’t.”

In order to be fully qualified for their job, guards/conductors have to take a 14-week course. They have to know the lines that they are working on intimately – down to the length of tunnels and platforms and the distances between stops. All this information is critical if there is an accident or an incident. And, let’s face it, IF there is an accident, the train driver is unlikely to be conscious (or even alive) and able to help passengers. I don’t think the “Keep Safe, Keep Your Conductor” slogan on the campaign leaflets is an exaggeration.

If you want to show your support for Southern staff, then come along to Hastings Station today (Wednesday 23 November) at 5.30. You can keep up to date about the dispute by subscribing to the Momentum Hastings Facebook Page.

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Posted 09:33 Wednesday, Nov 23, 2016 In: Campaigns

2 Comments

  1. Zelly Restorick

    The Facebook post that inspired Erica to get involved is awful: I found it hard to believe that people would treat someone like that. Guards are needed on the trains, but I’m surprised that no-one else came to the support of this person. Are we too scared? Too intimidated? Do we not want to get involved because of repercussions? Too apathetic? Too out of our depth and simply don’t know what to do? Don’t want to get involved as it’s ‘none of our business’?
    I would like to think that this is not typical of people’s behaviour – both the comments and behaviour from the duo who stayed seated – and the other passengers who didn’t help the person involved.

    Comment by Zelly Restorick — Wednesday, Nov 23, 2016 @ 14:06

  2. Kathy Bor

    Well said Erica. I’m really sorry I can’t be there today (having commuted into London, though not by Southern), but hope to be able to attend further demonstrations. I am surprised not to have heard more outcry from disability organisations, and also wonder if appeals can be made re Disability Act…?
    Kathy

    Comment by Kathy Bor — Wednesday, Nov 23, 2016 @ 13:20

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