Train staff shortages

In RAIL 967, both Philip Haigh and Industry Insider discuss the significant number of Avanti West Coast and TransPennine Express cancellations and attribute causes to the post-COVID training backlog and to drivers’ refusals to work rest days.

While this analysis is doubtless correct, I cannot believe that these factors alone can account for the huge number of cancellations and timetable reductions.

I suspect that there is a third cause in play: disgruntled staff are inclined to call in sick, often at short notice. This has become even easier now that COVID can be quoted as an unverifiable sickness excuse.

I am sure this is happening in all those industries that are claiming to be short of staff, but train drivers do have history on this.

I venture to suggest that a remedy might be to accede to ASLEF demands for increased remuneration to cope with the cost-of-living crisis, but to make the payments ‘attendance allowances’ rather than salary increases, so as to deter spurious sickness claims.

Incidentally, the RMT is claiming that one of its strike objectives is to “protect jobs”. Surely strikes are liable to have the opposite effect, giving our new right-wing Government a great excuse to reduce the size of the railway.

Peter Foot, Bedford