Re: conditions as train operators

["John Kerley" <deaftech@ozemail.com.au>]

> I would not be surprised if the majority of readers of aus.rail and
> misc.transport.rail.australia-nz have no idea at all what our payment and
> working conditions are, and they'll probably be very happy to learn more
> about our rail system from a perspective that they normally wouldn't get
the
> chance to experience.
>
> Regards,
>
> Craig.
> --
>             Craig Ian Dewick            |       Stand clear - jaws closing
>  Send email to craigd@lios.apana.org.au |  Visit my Australian rail
transport
>    Professional Train Driver, Cityrail  |      and rail modelling web
site:
>        and HO scale rail modeller       |
http://lios.apana.org.au/~craigd

Very well put, Craig.

I wonder if the reticence of your colleagues to discuss their wages and
conditions is embarrassment at how poor they are compared to London
Underground.  $62K for a 35 hour week with 7 weeks annual leave!

I shared a house in London  in the mid 1970s with a LT (as it was then
called) driver.  I was utterly amazed at how good their conditions were
compared to Victoria.   For example fixed 8 hour shifts, not just the
maximum.  If there was only enough work for six hours, you still got paid
for eight.  There was also a night shift from about 11pm to 7 am which ran
the last and first trains with a nice four or so hour "sleepover" in the
middle!  This of course meant that the first services each day actually ran
but also meant drivers could use trains to get to and from work!

I think the introduction of so called "flexible rostering" has worsened
things a little since then, but apparently not too much.

What the above shows is that Australia is not the "Lucky Country", at least
as far as ordinary working people are concerned, although a lot of people
still seem to be conned into believing the myth.

Maybe a few facts from abroad may wake some people up, but from the tenor of
some of the comments in this thread, I will not be holding my breath.

Cheers,

John Kerley