Discrimination is not an isolated incident

I read with interest the HRA article on diversity issues in issue 526 of Steam Railway and, in particular, the comments made by Joanne Crompton on poor experiences as she trained as a volunteer on a heritage railway. I knew Joanne very well as I was employed in the same role at the same railway at the same time as her.

I witnessed the whole sorry episode of her experience, but I would go further than Joanne in saying the poor experience didn’t just apply to female and young volunteers, but volunteers of all ages. Several older male volunteers left the railway at that time (me being one of them) because of the attitude of some senior people at the railway.

Although these senior people may have been excellent engineers and footplatemen, their approach to people management was positively Dickensian. They failed to recognise that they were haemorrhaging volunteers, some of whom were very experienced, and they treated constructive criticism with scorn and ridicule.

Managers of departments need to recognise that their volunteers are giving their time and money for free and are a valuable asset, and need to be treated with respect. While I would be the first to agree that a railway has to be operated in a professional and safe manner, new recruits need to be valued and trained to do the job for which they have volunteered, irrespective of their background.

I am glad to see Joanne seems to have overcome the difficulties of those early days and is now raising these issues. Kevin Leadbitter, by email

VOLUNTEERS ARE GIVING UP THEIR TIME AND MONEY FOR FREE