tfl have gone mad. Who want to change their work hours to this!?

[Charis1]

Just listening to the LBC interview with the tube union leader and tfl. The TFL representative (Mr Brown?) is expecting the tube staff to swap their day shifts for night shifts and is surprised they are voting to strike!

I can imagine the outcry if any other employer suddenly turned round to their staff and said oh, by the way, you will not be working days next week, you have been put onto the 10pm to 6am shift instead.

No consideration at all for family life, or health.

I'm an ex night shifter, socially and medically there is a significant cost. You can't just suddenly tell parents that they are now night shift workers.

It's awful. I really hope the strike is successful.

It's a huge financial cost to those that strike- you have to really believe in what you're doing to do it. It isn't something that a striker takes lightly.

It's horrible the way tube workers (& most workers for that matter) get treated. I never mind them going on strike as they generally have a point!

Tube drivers already work night shifts

It's shit but stuff like this happens.

I work in the nhs and we've had major working time changes locally. Gone from 7.5 hour shifts to a mix of 7 or 13 hour shifts with unpaid breaks even though our contract says we get a paid break per shift.

So you either get given a load of short shifts and every now and then have to work an extra day as you're down on your hours. Or you get long shifts which many find really hard. No choice, no say in the matter.

Advice from the union was that they can change stuff like this as long as they go through consultation which is just a 40 day box ticking exercise.

They are surely going to have to employ more drivers anyway, if the tubes are running for longer. I can't understand why they don't just employ new drivers on a different contract, higher paid, and including nights. Drivers on the regular contracts could apply for the higher paid night-shift including contract too, if they want to.

But don't try to force people to do nights. That's inhuman!

I often have to work until 2am or get up at 5am...and when I do I have to get a cab. Would be great if the tube worked then (& was safe...).

exactly charis. I don't understand how they can stretch the current staff to cover nights. Personally I'd prefer to have well rested and well paid staff on nights.

The action is not over having to work nights. They already work night shifts. It is over having to work more nights without any additional pay. TfL want to operate 24 hours a day but, presumably, aren't yet sure that this will bring in enough additional revenue to justify a pay increase.

It is not about justification. If you work unsocial hours, you get paid more. It can't be dependent on TfL's profits. Don't do it, if it can't be paid for.

Having looked into this a bit further...

Tube drivers receive a salary. They don't receive shift allowances, unsocial hours payments and the like. These were rolled into their salary some time ago at the union's behest so that pay was not dependent on rostering.

The union is saying that they want more money since the move to 24 hour running will mean more night shifts (and, presumably, more drivers). As usual both sides disagree on what is happening.

TfL say that drivers earn around £50k per year and that they would only be required to work 7 night shifts a year. They also say they want to give staff a pay rise this year and next, minimise the impact of night working on their staff and compensate those most affected. However, they say that any increase must be sustainable. In my view this is not unreasonable. I disagree that increases cannot be dependent on profits. If any business gives increases that it cannot afford it will eventually go under and staff will lose their jobs.

The union argue that many more night shifts could be demanded (I note they say "could" rather than "will") and that the proposed pay increase is only 0.75%.

So both sides have different versions of the current position. My view, having been close to some pay negotiations, is that it is impossible to tell which view is true or if the truth is actually somewhere between the two. I have come across cases where management has made public statements that are blatantly untrue. I have also come across cases where unions have made blatantly untrue public statements and lied to their members.

Note that I am not taking sides in this, simply reporting what I have found.

Air Traffic Controllers get paid the same regardless of shift, they do 2 days day, 2 days back, 2 days night, 3 days off in a cycle. Because everyone does shifts its built in to the pay.