AGREED MINUTES OF DRIVERS COMPANY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY 1 st December, 2011 AT EAST CROYDON

Transcription

1 AGREED MINUTES OF DRIVERS COMPANY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY 1 st December, 2011 AT EAST CROYDON Present: Colin Morris Head of Trains Brian Husbands DOM, Brighton Kate Scotford-Sneezum, HR Advisor Roy Luxford Drivers Company Council John Doyle Drivers Company Council Kevin Eade Drivers Company Council Shannan Grier (Observing) Jayne Byrne Note taker Previous Minutes Minutes of the last meeting held on 3 RD November were agreed, subject to some amendments being made. Ongoing Items Item A Staff Toilet Facilities Mr Morris advised Staff Side of the code for the toilets and said he would ask Line Managers to inform their female colleagues. Post meeting note: The toilets are located at: Seaford, Epsom, Caterham, Tattenham, Eridge and Worthing. Item B 377 Cab Environment/Seats Mr Morris advised that, since the last meeting, a posture brief meeting has taken place; Mr Hitchcock has undertaken observation work at Victoria and East Croydon and there has also been 2-3 days of DSD measuring at Brighton. Mr Morris has spoken to Fleet and they are happy with the work going on. Staff Side asked Mr Morris to arrange release for colleagues to attend filming for a DVD covering seat adjustment and posture advice. Mr Morris asked Staff Side to confirm dates and locations. Mr Morris mentioned that the Company have issued an invitation to train builders for new rolling stock, that Bombardier have responded and have been asked to spec a different seat. Mr Morris 1

2 showed Staff Side the spec and explained that it will fit in the same floor template but is more substantial. It is currently used on Stansted Express Class 379s and Mr Morris suggested that Staff Side make contact with them and then go and see it. Staff Side asked when the new stock would be ready and Mr Morris replied that the intention was for December Staff Side said whatever the outcome of the DSD test, it was known that the DSD pressure required on a 377 was more than on any other fleet. Therefore they requested that this be borne in mind in terms of the spec for any new stock. Mr Morris confirmed that he would take this up with Fleet. Item C Mobile Phone 761 Facility Mr Morris confirmed that IT now have unlock codes for the majority of drivers phones and they will get new SIM cards for the phones that are unable to be unlocked. Item D Uniform (Gloves and Trousers) Staff Side commented that the shirt material was thinner in the new batch compared to the original ones. Mr Morris responded that he was unaware of this but would take the matter up with the uniform manager. Mr Husbands reported that a risk assessment for the glare on 165 stock was carried out the previous day and it was agreed that a Drivers tabard would be fit or purpose although they will need to be produced in black. Staff Side reported that they have been invited to attend a meeting with Stewart Turner, the uniform rep, next Friday. They added that there is still an issue with the trouser material with regard to paddling-up. After discussion it was agreed that Mr Morris will arrange for a risk assessment to be undertaken to determine what risk this activity now holds. Item E Driver Announcement Guide Mr Morris showed Staff Side a draft guide which had been produced following consultation between Staff side and Les Hayden/Jane Bunyan. Staff Side said their main issue was that they did not want to be managed against the guide. Mr Morris confirmed that he is happy to proceed with this and agreed that Drivers will not be managed against the guide. Staff Side asked if Mr Hayden could attend the next meeting on 15 th December and said they would sign the guide off then together with the credit card sized announcement reminder. 2

3 Item F - 10 Car DOO Mr Morris confirmed that the test train will run tonight. Staff Side asked how the dwell time would be measured accurately. Mr Morris explained that the running times of the 10-car will be monitored and random downloads from the train will be looked at to calculate the dwell times. Staff Side had sent Mr Morris a form of words and these were agreed. The first lot of figures will be available for the January 2012 meeting. Item G - Mutual Exchange of Duties Mr Morris showed Staff Side a proposed form of words and explained the reasons for various points. Staff Side agreed to take it away and respond at the next meeting. Mr Husbands suggested that, once agreement has been reached, a date is put in the diary for it to be reviewed based on experience of how things have worked. Item H - FTA Eastbourne St Leonards Depot Stations Mr Husbands said he would look to arrange the site visit, with Staff Side and the Eastbourne LSRs, in January. Item I - Special Medical Following a Fatality Ms Scotford-Sneezum apologised for not providing the wording of the letter but explained that her meeting with Megan Taylor had been cancelled. She committed to providing the wording for the next meeting. Item J - Train Overcrowding This item was deferred 3

4 New Items 1. FTA Selhurst Starred Route Learners Mr Morris acknowledged that there are a number of locations where he would like to close the route-learner gap, however, he did not want to get to the position where there was a cancellation because a person was not able to work the train. Mr Husbands said Management Side would definitely support the fact that they would only be asked to work a train as a final option. Mr Morris repeated that he would not cancel a train that could be worked. Staff Side said that no-one at Selhurst has been link progressed for the last 12 months. SS said it is essential that there is enough spare coverage at Selhurst. Mr Morris said he would speak to Mrs McEwen at her 121 next week and would update Staff Side on the plan for the way forward at the next meeting. Staff Side said they could not understand how Management had allowed this situation to arise. It was agreed that this would be discussed further at the next meeting. 2. NHS Advice In response to an they had received from Ms Scotford-Sneezum, Staff Side asked how are you meant to provide a letter from a GP when you are either unable to get to the Doctor or, have been told to stay away from the surgery? They added that the proforma letters that had been suggested, did not mention a specific name or date. After a brief adjournment to discuss the matter further; Ms Scotford-Sneezum stated that there is no easy answer. She went on to say that having thought about it in terms of what has happened in the past 12 months, it is rare that it is an issue. Where there is an issue and the GP is refusing to give a letter, the Company will provide a separate letter, for the GP, which explains all the details and reasons around it. If the GP is still not prepared to provide a letter or certificate then the Company will deal with it on a case by case basis. Ms Scotford-Sneezum added that, as this is a rare occurrence, the Company will stand by their decision. Staff Side asked to see a copy of the letter which explains the position to the GP and Ms Scotford-Sneezum agreed to send it to them. Ms Scotford-Sneezum added that, since she joined the Company, this issue has only occurred a couple of times. 3. Stranded Train Crew Mr Morris referred to a letter from Staff Side dated, 18 th November, He stated there is certainly no feeling in the Company that, should a Driver become stranded, sleeping arrangements will not be provided. Staff Side stated that if crew are stranded at a station and are put up in a room together with passengers they should not be expected to go straight out and drive a train. Mr Morris said that he would rather they were able to get people home, however, if they couldn t then they will make every effort to put them up and would not expect them to then drive a train. Mr Morris added that anyone who is likely to be in Gold Command in Control would not ask train 4

5 crew to go and drive a train after being stranded overnight. It was agreed that if stranded staff were put up in a hotel room then they would be expected to stay there and rest. A discussion followed on when crew would be expected to work their next turn. Mr Morris said this would depend on whether a rostered duty follows on the next day, and, if this was the case then they would not be expected to work it. The item was agreed and Mr Morris will type up the agreement and re-send it to Staff Side. 4. Immediate Cass following a fatality Mr Morris said that on the night in question (7 th November, 2011) the on-call CD had been fairly near Selhurst. The PM had called a taxi but there had been some confusion at the time of booking as to the pick-up point which caused a delay of around 15 minutes. When the CD arrived at Thornton Heath he then had to go through the police cordon before walking several hundred yards down the track to get to the Driver. Staff Side said it seemed a long time to take to get there when they had been so close and added that the MOM had got there quicker despite being further away. Mr Morris said he didn t think there was anything to read into this, best efforts were made although clearly there was some delay which was admitted. However in the vast majority of cases staff are reached as quickly as possible, and issues such as this one have not happened very often. Staff Side asked if there was a plan that Driver Line Managers would go on-call. Mr Morris said yes but that they would not have gone on-site in this instance. Mr Morris confirmed that from 3 rd January 2012 there will be an on-call Line Manager for north and south of the network, and this could be a DLM or a CLM. They will be available to help out during service disruption and also if a Conductor is assaulted or a Driver is taken ill on while on duty. However, Mr Morris added that this is not relevant to this item as they would not have been called out to this incident. Staff Side asked if they would be on-call for a CASS issue. Mr Morris said that was not the plan, there is rarely an issue that cannot wait until a line manager is next on duty. 5. Early Turn Diagram Alterations at Barnham Mr Morris confirmed that changes have been made to diagrams 5 and 8 to make them shorter and lessen the impact should they be affected by engineering works. Staff side said the diagrams section need to understand that they are actually rostering people to work these diagrams and that they were shortened in the first place to ensure drivers were not getting fatigued and the workload was not of an onerous nature. It may be permissible within T&Cs but it is not moral in a number of cases and that a long term solution is required. Mr Morris said he will provide some wording for the next meeting in two weeks time, so that this issue can be resolved. 5

6 6. Late Running Reports In response to a Staff side question, Mr Morris explained what information is required when submitting delays after running under restrictive aspects. If drivers just put restrictive signals without any detail, then the most likely outcome is Southern will keep the delay minutes. Ideally signal numbers of red signals the driver is stopped at should be given, but if a Driver does not know the signal numbers they are happy to accept the location, e.g. running between X and Y on yellows, or red signal on approach to Gatwick for example. 7. FTA London Bridge Roster December 2011 Staff Side said that London Bridge are unhappy as they have now got back what had been taken away. Staff Side added that their view is there should be a percentage limit. Mr Morris said he agreed, and that these turns are better placed at a depot where people know they will have very early and late turns by the nature of the depot operation. Staff Side asked Mr Morris to look into this for the next meeting in two weeks time and see whether something can be done with the London Bridge turns. Mr Morris agreed to this. 8. FTA Victoria Roster December 2011 Mr Morris explained that there has been a large increase in the amount of unsocial turns at Victoria at the expense of Selhurst because someone different has produced the diagrams and not taken this into account. Train Planning accept they have made an error. In the immediate future there is no option but to provide taxis and address the issue by reworking the diagram and having a PA for Victoria. Staff Side asked when the PA would happen and Mr Morris replied that it would not happen before March. Staff Side mentioned a problem that had occurred last year with Brighton/Gatwick Express that had not taken so long to resolve. They asked why this could not be turned around before March. Mr Morris explained that the company had known before December last year that the diagrams would have to be amended whereas he had only heard about this problem this week. He said he would do his best and would respond to Staff Side on 15 th December with a date. Staff Side also explained that another part of the fail to agree is that there is now a turn with a sign-on. Mr Morris explained that this was simply a train that used to depart at that now goes at Mr Morris said he would see if anything can be changed. 6

7 Staff Side said the final part of the fail to agree was that a diagram has been placed at Victoria for Sundays that either has the night driver at Streatham Hill preparing trains or running a ghost train. They said you cannot do either/or, it has to be one or the other. Mr Morris said he agreed and the ghost train will be removed. Staff Side thanked Mr Morris. 9. Link Progression at Brighton Mr Morris asked if this item had been raised locally as he was not aware it had. Staff Side said this is not a local issue this is an issue with the interpretation of the PT&RA and the list clerk has a view that is contrary to the agreement. The senior unappointed trainee at Brighton has yet to pass out and the list clerk is saying they cannot be promoted. The PT&RA agreement is quite clear the vacancy must be held back for that person to complete their training and pass out as a driver. Mr Husbands said he will check everyone s interpretation of the PT&RA and will advise them accordingly. AOB 455 Mod (Vent) Mr Morris said this matter would be raised at the Ops Joint Health & Safety meeting on 12 th December. Redhill 609 duty Staff side had requested Mr Morris to have a look at the Conductor duty who joins the 1952 London Bridge to Reigate service at East Croydon and check to ensure it is robust. Post meeting note Mr Morris confirmed that the duty involved arrives at East Croydon a full hour before and then has a PNB, so service would have to be delayed by over 30 mins to have any potential impact. 7