The campaign continues

I have received a reply from Myriam Walberger on behalf of Charles Horton, suggesting that the imposed changes and degradation of the guards' jobs will lead to improvements. Here is my reply... Dear Myriam, Thank you, I have seen these PR lines already. Unfortunately, I consider them inappropriate. You are running a public service and the majority of the public, including service users and staff, want one thing and you want another, I think it's your job to give the service required, not spend a fortune on leaflets, advertisements and PR lines trying to persuade them otherwise. You say: 'there will be no loss of pay' - but this dispute is not about money - although you have done your best to financially disadvantage guards who took part in the legally balloted strike days. You say: 'the staff will remain on the trains'- so why did you start your re-organisation by claiming the right to have those who were guards on station or other duties in your initial communication, and why are you apparently so cheerful about a portion of the staff taking the offered redundancy? You say you are 'making staff more visible' - Currently, guards are on the platform during boarding and moving through the train during journeys. I can see them. And most importantly, a direct answer please: You say: 'the staff will remain on the trains' and 'on the older trains, the role of the conductor will remain' - but can you guarantee a member of staff, in addition to the driver, on safety-critical duty on every train, including ensuring passenger safety when boarding and alighting from trains, not just next week, but for as long as passengers want them there? Drivers are not happy about taking this additional responsibility. What you say about drivers' capabilities would sound more reasonable if not for the Scotrail accident last week, and the fact that the vast majority of drivers (including those who already drive trains with no support staff on board) disagree with you. And finally, you have forgotten to address the issue of bullying and penalising staff, and discriminating against staff who peacefully took part in a legally balloted dispute. Our campaign continues, due to the vocal support of passengers, staff and their families. Yours sincerely, Kay Green