please empty your brain below
Wasn't there a trade union overtime ban that started at the end of November? Is it still on?

dg writes: There was indeed, and I've partly rewritten the post to reflect this. Thanks.

Kittens | 17.02.17 - 7:34 a.m. | #

It's probably stating the obvious, but the stations most affected are not interchanges.

In other words, once upper management have made their unwise job cuts, the operational managers have the thankless task of shuffling staff around so that passengers at interchange stations are not let out on the platforms of stations which are closed at ground level.

RayL | 17.02.17 - 7:47 a.m. | #

I asked a similar question about stations being unmanned or having no step-free access due to staff shortages, but they don't hold all that information in one place, so it would be too expensive to reply.

martin | 17.02.17 - 7:58 a.m. | #

Temple, or as it isn't known as, Aldwych. If you renamed it tomorrow they'd have staff all over it. That, and its passenger numbers would increase immeasurably.

EonLeader | 17.02.17 - 9:15 a.m. | #

It would be interesting to hear from Tube workers what their view on the situation is with respect to staffing levels. I've heard in other industries that some staff welcome the need for overtime, seeing it as a good way to top up their earnings at better hourly rates. I imagine it depends on the number of 'non-overtime' hours scheduled per week and the pay rates on offer.

Galbraith | 17.02.17 - 10:28 a.m. | #

The working time directive does have some impact, there were always 'zombies' who never seemed to sleep, and just clocked up endless overtime, but the culture has also changed, staff want 'me' time rather than overtime, it may also be that staff live further away now, so going into work when you don't have to is less attractive.

Still anon | 17.02.17 - 11:08 a.m. | #

As a station supervisor, I am directly involved in this. Yes, staff were /are moved from less busy stations to more busy/complex stations, i.e. Interchanges, lifts/escalators, or busy local music venues nearby. So quiet surface stations are the sacrificial lamb whenever there's shortages. At the top end of the Northern Line, Totteridge, West Finchley, Brent Cross and Burnt Oak are the first to get their staff pulled so that Finchley Central, Archway etc remains staffed. There is a pecking order as to which station get staff first.

Lu's 'modernisation plans' or cuts went far too deep. Staff levels have been drastically cut. Some stations like Finchley Central, which has 3 platforms and two lifts is now lone worked by a single supervisor, as is Golders Green. Prior to these cuts the supervisor would have Customer service assistants. These were cut and the staff sent to Central London to plug the huge cuts there.

On the tube we do what most working people do, work 5 days out of 7. However the way the roster is arranged you could work 3 weeks i.e. 15 days with just a single day off. I recently completed 7 night shifts, 2300-0700, I finished on Tuesday morning, but Tuesday is classed as a day off. Wednesday was my only proper day off. Thursday was the start of seven late shifts 1500-2300. I'm now on a day off and back in for seven early 0700-1500 shifts tomorrow. There was overtime today, but due to being shattered, I declined doing it. Because of the loss of 838 staff last year, massive amounts of overtime were/are available. Nice every now and again to pay for Xmas, birthdays etc. But demoralised when management keep asking you to do it and you're so tired. Overtime is paid at a time and a quarter.

We've just heard that of the 838 jobs that were cut, 533 will be created/reinstated. Even LU realise they cut far too many posts. ASLEF the drivers union in my opinion were too quiet in opposition to the cuts. Drivers are routinely driving through surburban stations with no one to assist them if there is an incident. When I speak to drivers, they're either shocked at the depth of the cuts or dismayed that the union leadership are not doing more. Trains staff have much more muscle than station staff.

Nigel | 17.02.17 - 12:56 p.m. | #

Those new shift rosters are diabolical. Cut to the absolute tightest cloth the union agreements will allow.
7 dead earlies (5:30-13:30), 4 off (long weekend), 7 dead lates (17:30-01:30), 1 rest day, 3 afternoon peaks, 1 rest day, 5 afternoon peaks.

It's a killer. It really is.

Uncle Audrey | 17.02.17 - 3:58 p.m. | #

I wonder if the Canary Wharf numbers are a regular member of staff being on Summer holiday with the kids (or their cover being from south of the river)

PeterI | 17.02.17 - 4:09 p.m. | #

An interesting post with some fascinating responses. I do just wonder if the misjudgment of how many posts to cut can be pinned down any further, to some particular manager, or some particular outside pressure. Not to be vindictive, just to try to guard against anything similar happening again.

Malcolm | 17.02.17 - 5:52 p.m. | #

@Nigel
I would like to thank you for taking the time to explain the whole situation.

Those shift times sound like a torture, and the payment is that great either.

All overwork here is time and a half for weekdays, double time for weekends, this fixed by our labour laws.

Michael | 17.02.17 - 5:52 p.m. | #

I wonder how many gatelines have been left open as well, due to staff shortages. I regularly use St James's Park and the Palmer Street gates are often unstaffed, unattended and open. I guess while the staff are elsewhere.

A little no impact - but it all adds all up - what is happening to ticket revenue?

| 17.02.17 - 6:28 p.m. | #

@ Anon - something rather odd is happening to revenue on the Tube. Although patronage is relatively bouyant on the Tube it is below budget (£43m down year to date as at the end of Period 9 (Dec last year)). This is despite 23m more pass jnys on the Tube. Something's seriously wrong somewhere. The situation on the buses is even worse but that's off topic before the text "colourer in" invades!

PC | 17.02.17 - 6:54 p.m. | #

I don't understand the need to alter shift patterns every week. Surely some members of staff would be happy to work 0400-1200 every day all the time, and others would be happy to work 1500-0100 every day all the time?

The shifts could even be paid differently (is this legal)?

- - - - - - - -

I don't think ticket revenue would suffer that much. Firstly, travelcard holders will have paid even if their journey is not recorded because they don't bother to touch in and out.

People with a travelcard valid for their origin zone but not for their destination zone might opportunistically not touch out if the barriers are open at the destination, depriving the system of the PAYG extension fare. But how many people are likely to have a travelcard yet need to pay an extension fare for their last journey of the day (when the station would be unstaffed)?

Finally, if you are on PAYG, then you need to be certain that the destination barriers are open before you can risk not touching in, or you need to be going to an unbarriered outer zone station.

Any other types of fare evasion will occur regardless of station staffing, so are not relevant

John | 17.02.17 - 7:04 p.m. | #

While there may be a few staff willing to work permanent nights, or permanent anything else, there would probably be not enough. And permanent nights have been shown, I think, to be rather bad for people's health. (Though some of the shift patterns described also sound pretty unhealthy to me).

Malcolm | 17.02.17 - 7:34 p.m. | #

I don't know how many unbarriered outer zone stations still exist, but any which do could be subject to serious levels of opportunistic PAYG evasion if the entrance barriers are unstaffed and open - and each fare evaded will be a big one, because outer zone.

Malcolm | 17.02.17 - 7:43 p.m. | #

Regarding shift times, there is opportunity to swap shifts, some prefer nights, others prefer early shifts, but this is the exception rather than the rule. It's possible between individuals on a temporary basis, but large numbers of people on an even semi permanent basis is impossible. It's been tried before, and most staff would pick early shifts as you'd be free to have a reasonable social life in the evening. There wasn't enough takers for the late/night shifts.

Basically stations need to be staffed, ideally 24/7. Outside operating hours, engineers and technicians visit stations to do works of all sorts. As to paying different amounts for different shift times, that's a non starter. Each shift has its pros and cons, but the work is virtually the same.

Gatelines are left open when no staff are available. This could be either no staff or the station, or a lone member of staff dealing with the ticket machines, or having a meal break. You can't have people getting stuck when their ticket doesn't work or a child getting trapped in them.

Fare evasion does take place, it's a minority of people, but still a reasonable money pot being lost. I'm sure the more observant have noticed that certain stations at certain times have no staff around so take full advantage of it.

Nigel | 17.02.17 - 8:34 p.m. | #

Bromley-by-Bow to Plaistow is a 'free' gateless journey pretty much every night of the week.

diamond geezer | Homepage | 17.02.17 - 8:48 p.m. | #

Most DLR stations are gateless

DGB2B | 17.02.17 - 9:28 p.m. | #

Staff aboard DLR trains run ticket checks.

diamond geezer | Homepage | 17.02.17 - 9:33 p.m. | #

Public utilities often bring value much more to the society than the budget can tell. Either the management, politicians and (to some extent) the general public ourselves have to change their financial mindset, or there has to be another way to fund the stuff. Otherwise struggles like these will go on forever.

Patrickov | 18.02.17 - 1:03 a.m. | #

Over on the main line ASLEF drivers are regularly carrying train loads through unmanned stations in darkness, left mostly on their own to deal with accidents, fights, power failures plunging platforms into darkness etc. Diagramming is extremely tight so anything not allowed for (driver needs WC, small fault, obtain starting signal late) starts a cascade of delays which leads to trains turned back early, run fast or cancelled. And our shifts have plenty of body clock issues. Finishing a week of lates at 1.30 on a Sunday can be followed by a week of earlies starting at 3.30 on a Monday. Legal but not sensible or even moral.

Destaffing public transport is a downward spiral. Work tends to be a fixed rather than a fluid task ie it gets done or it doesn't. A driver can't get more trains driven in his shift in the way that overworked nurses can attend to more patients or teachers can take marking home, so staff shortages have more obvious and public consequences in transport.

Anpnympis | 18.02.17 - 5:35 p.m. | #

Seven weeks later, the BBC have noticed...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-39491219

diamond geezer | Homepage | 05.04.17 - 8:07 a.m. | #











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