OPERATIONS DUTIES, TRAIN MANAGERS – AVANTI WEST COAST

Our Ref: BR2/14/2

 

5 February 2024

 

 

Dear RMT Member

 

OPERATIONS DUTIES, TRAIN MANAGERS – AVANTI WEST COAST

 

You will have seen the communications issued by Avanti Management today which attacks your union over the dispute on the future of train managers’ responsibilities and roles.

Firstly, it is true that the RMT accepted a method of work for Hitachi Trains - they have been introduced with similar methods of work at LNER, Great Western and Transpennine.

 

RMT has always expressed a desire to work to achieve better industrial relations and where possible embrace innovations. However, we will not see our members’ roles and responsibilities undermined.

 

With regard to the shunting, coupling and hand signalling issue, Avanti management seem to have forgotten an agreement was made with them to retrain those competencies (at least for the time being) and ensure that new staff were trained up to those competencies and existing staff would be retrained as appropriate and required. However, within days, management broke this agreement.

 

We believe that shunting, coupling and hand signalling are crucial operational roles - with particular relevance to Pendolino trains.

 

With regard to Hitachi trains and train preparation, once again Avanti management are less than robust or transparent over either their intentions or position - they want to remove your tasks when it comes to train preparation or shunt these tasks to checks when the train is in passenger service. At the moment they won’t touch train preparation time but have indicated they will “review” that at some stage in the future.

 

This will reduce diagrams, reduce turns of duty, reduce rest days and reduce - in our opinion - the robustness of train preparation and ultimately safety.

 

So the bottom line is management are attacking your job, your role and rail safety. Don’t fall for management propaganda as it is aimed at confusing matters just as ballot papers should be dropping through your doors.

 

VOTE YES FOR STRIKE ACTION AND ACTION SHORT OF STRIKE!

PROTECT YOUR GRADE!

 

 

Yours sincerely

 

Michael Lynch

General Secretary