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Post by Dmitri on May 3, 2005 7:24:21 GMT
No-one knows for definite what the plans are, but (from what he's heard) the ticket office is only going to be open for a few hours a day, and the barriers will be unmanned for the majority of the day. There is also a rumour that once the last train has departed, the station will be manned only by a contract security guard rather than by a fully trained station supervisor as at present. Hmmm... ideas look questionable, I'd say... Moscow Metro isn't known for good customer service , but at the very least there always are: - 1 opened ticket office;
- someone at the ticket gates;
- someone overseeing escalators.
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Post by wetbed on May 10, 2005 4:41:02 GMT
There's a vast amount of rumours flying around about the reduced working hours change thats yet to come about, some of them are worst case scenarios others are just plain outlandish. At my station I'm due to lose one of my Multi Functionals but he/she will remain on the station as a spare when the new rosters are introduced and will not be replaced when they eventually move on. As for the S.A's who knows? well my GSM does but he's not letting on. One concurrent theme thoughout all of the changes that I've heard discussed, is that station staff become more flexible in their work practices and job abilities. For example replacing Station Assistants with Station Assistant Multifunctionals makes sense because they can cover a greater range of duties and if you're running the gateline from the ticket office you can get rid of the Station Assistants quite easily. Having staff that can cover a range of responsibilities rather than rigidly stuck on the gateline or ticket office is something that the Underground has been headed towards, and wanted to introduce for a long time. Some of the old hands amongst you may remember something called action stations where everybody could do everybody elses job (before my time but thats what I've been told) for whatever reasons it was never introduced. I could be wrong but I believe that up on the far northen end of the Jubilee, the Supervisors are grade 1's (the highest paid S.S. position) but have to cover several stations as part of their area of responsibilities. The stations are manned by S.A's and booking office staff when the Supervisor isnt about. I could go on about 'Group' station control rooms as well and how they would affect station staffing levels, but they were put on hold by the mayor when TFL took over. Hope it helps answer some questions feel free to ask me any, and I'll try to give a half decent answer
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Colin
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Post by Colin on May 10, 2005 14:24:09 GMT
The biggest concern I have is that there are many proceedures a train operator may have to carry out, which involves input from station staff. Then there's the much appreciated assistance when passenger alarms are operated.
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Post by chris on May 10, 2005 14:33:53 GMT
As some of you may remember, I had an idea of driverless trains. That didn't seem pheasable. So how about this; voice activated trains! The driver doesn't have to work so hard and still has to pay attention, unlike being just a 'captain'!
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Colin
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Post by Colin on May 10, 2005 19:02:30 GMT
That could have some merit!! ;D
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Post by Dmitri on May 11, 2005 7:25:13 GMT
So how about this; voice activated trains! Drivers should refrain from swearing then - who knows what will happen after the train is told to sod off ;D?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 28, 2005 19:41:02 GMT
Guys.
I'll try and explain what's happening to us station staff.
As a part of our 35 hour week agreement, it was conditional that the agreement must be self financing. Something called a steeple fund was created. Management & the unions then agreed a certain price against certain concessions, like for example not getting extra money for New years eve working.
2 major contributors to this steeple fund was agreement to customer driven rostering (CDR) and remote monitoring of gatelines.
Now the CDR process, began with LU producing a report that specified if a ticket office, platform or gateline needs staffing.
LU then created rosters around this, in the vast majority of cases, alot of frontline SA jobs are going, with various new SAMF jobs being created. The idea behind this, as has been discussed is that having a SAMF is more flexible as they can do both gateline & ticket office, than having just an SA.
The other part of the deal, remote monitoring, currently means that staff can monitor gatelines from ticket offices (like most SSMF stations do anyway) or from SS offices. I doubt you'll see S/S's on gatelines, unless it's warm and some nice 'eye candy' comes through.
The trouble being is that under the CDR process, many non Z1 tciekt offices will be closing at around 2000. Some ticket offices will be closed on Sundays, and I believe Upminster Bridge will lose it's ticket office.
The problem for station staff is that LU will then begin to cut the SAMF positions, as Oyster has got rid of their jobs, and replace SSMF's. with SS3's who earn about £28k - not much more than a ticket office coach.
BTW, someone asked about what are the RMT doing? In truth, nothing. They agreed to the SWW and all it's conditions back in Nov (remember Bob Crows famous quote, this is the deal that sets the standard for the rest of the industry!).
The TSSA are holding a meeting early June, and I've heard they will REJECT the SWW proposal, and force LU back to the table, to save station staff jobs.
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Post by Admin Team on May 28, 2005 20:13:16 GMT
Thanks for that Simon - makes interesting (though still concerning!) reading. Do let us know more as it filters through.
Nice to see you in our 'happy band' here - hope we'll hear from you regularly.
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Post by Secret Squirrell on May 31, 2005 14:45:35 GMT
And of course what about the 40+ that will leave the Metropolitan/ H&C signalling relief, possibly into re-deployment. And at times at the moment there are s days with no spare cover at certain boxes. As for the goings on with the Modern Apprentice Signal Operators- God Knows. Still at least a certain bunch of americans get there nice free houses in high St Ken SS
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Post by Station Cleaner on Jul 8, 2005 10:00:11 GMT
£35k for being a SS on the Extreme ends of the lines, I don't think so, if that is the case then some one better tell LU to award me and my work mates some back dated pay!! We are on £30.5 K , but as far as watching a gateline goes, I think I might find other duties to take care off around the station, when the UNderground give me a Stab Jacket, similar to the Police then I'll do the late night gate line duties. That all said, I wonder if LU are still going to press ahead with the Staff cuts sorry redeployments, following yesterdays bombs?
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Post by q8 on Jul 8, 2005 11:43:37 GMT
Money, money, money! This damn obsession with money. In my day the government kept the purse strings very tight and the railways had to make do with what was dished out. Despite that the system ran efficiently and reliably. Stations had adequate staff on them all day. Trains had proper crews.
Then comes privatisation and PPP and suddenly the whole kaboodle is awash with cash and yet STILL the boss's are not satisfied and want to cut,cut,cut. WHEN will they realise that you can't bake a cake without flour? I am CONVINCED it is a massive scam to line private shareholders pockets from the public purse.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2005 12:18:41 GMT
I completely agree with you, Q8. It's all about saving money. As I was chatting to the boys and girls in the ticket office at my local station yesterday, they're all convinced that despite yesterdays atrocities, LUL will still push ahead with the 'redeployment' of station staff.
If they do, there should be a huge public outcry. Yesterday proved how essential station staff are. How can one person (managing a ticket office, gateline etc) also then be responsible for evacuating hundreds of people from a train in his/her station in such an emergency. The driver of the train has to check his train for any lost property while the station staff are evacuating the passengers.
Let's hope that common sense prevails.
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Post by piccadillypilot on Jul 8, 2005 12:42:57 GMT
Let's hope that common sense prevails. There's no precedent for such an event.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 17, 2005 20:37:56 GMT
Thanks for that Simon - makes interesting (though still concerning!) reading. Do let us know more as it filters through. The shorter working week for station staff has now been put back until Jan 06. Now that doesn't mean that those at LU are having a re-think. It's just taking them so looooong to get the rosters agreed. BTW, the current Operational Standard 48 (Lu staff will know the one) has a HUGE impact on station staff. It's a shame management don't realise it yet
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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2005 0:42:33 GMT
when the UNderground give me a Stab Jacket, similar to the Police then I'll do the late night gate line duties. When do us train operators get our stab jackets for when we're supposed to answer passenger alarms with no other staff on the station? In my opinion you really can't have OPO trains AND unmanned stations. BTW, the current Operational Standard 48 (Lu staff will know the one) has a HUGE impact on station staff. It's a shame management don't realise it yet That would the one that says that in the event of train radio failure and a code amber, each station must provide a member of staff to act as handsignaller on EACH platform! Not possible at some stations with current, let alone proposed, manning levels. They'll realise eventually - probably the first time they actually have to impliment it.
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Colin
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Post by Colin on Aug 18, 2005 4:20:23 GMT
That would the one that says that in the event of train radio failure and a code amber, each station must provide a member of staff to act as handsignaller on EACH platform! Not possible at some stations with current, let alone proposed, manning levels. They'll realise eventually - probably the first time they actually have to impliment it. Which is why the RMT fella I spoke to the other day is quite confident the SA grade (or whatever they're called this week) is now safer. The ticket office losses will probably still happen because of Oyster, but at least the staffing issue may not be as draconian as I first feared.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 6, 2005 17:15:08 GMT
That would the one that says that in the event of train radio failure and a code amber, each station must provide a member of staff to act as handsignaller on EACH platform! Not possible at some stations with current, let alone proposed, manning levels. They'll realise eventually - probably the first time they actually have to impliment it. Which is why the RMT fella I spoke to the other day is quite confident the SA grade (or whatever they're called this week) is now safer. The ticket office losses will probably still happen because of Oyster, but at least the staffing issue may not be as draconian as I first feared. Unless of course you're a Booking Clerk.
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Post by dunois on Dec 24, 2005 23:27:16 GMT
Are 'one unders' really that much of a problem? No they are not a problem for an automated tube line if access to the track is impossible from the station by using gates similar to the ones fitted in the Jubilee Line extension statios or Paris line 14. And to talk about Station Assistants things, In Paris the RATP want to get ride off all the vending duties of the SA by moving ticket sales to an all machines system, the duty left for the SA would be to advise the passengers and give information to them. As you imagine the less frequented stations will eventually lose staff presence in them.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 28, 2005 22:44:20 GMT
Well i tell you something. Staff cutting at upminster bridge would turn it into a ghost station. Theres no-one there half the time and this morning when i entered the station there was no one there and the ticket machine was not selling child fares? ?? So i got my ticket at the other end. This has happened before and i call them toy badge police came out of no-where asking for tickets. I didn't have one because the machine was broken at ub and there was no one there. The guy said details. So i started and when it came to upminster bridge he said oh upminster bridge no wonder you don't have a ticket get it at the other end and went on his way. lol Cheers James
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Post by c5 on Dec 29, 2005 10:37:56 GMT
The ticket machines will no longer child tickets, except 0700-0900 and 1500-1700. But if the ticket office is closed this should not be the case, also an SA on the gateline can change this via the SCU
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Post by Tomcakes on Dec 29, 2005 18:43:33 GMT
It seems the new machines (all singing all dancing ones they're fitting now) won't sell child tickets, which is rather stupid since a) it clogs up the ticket office, or b) what if the ticket office is closed and the UTS gates are shut?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 29, 2005 19:58:59 GMT
Why won't it do them??? It usually did before!!
But remember the gate is always open if the gates are closed and the ticket office is closed. And if you don't have a ticket over you go lol
Cheers James
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Post by Deleted on Dec 29, 2005 20:00:34 GMT
And hold on there is no Sa at the gate line and when there is it's rush hour only.
But yes most of the time it's a ghost station!
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