Re: Working Coditions all Enginemen. was Guards to Drive During Olympics?

["Gavin Potter" <gavpot@ozemail.com.au>]

Rod <comtrain@mpx.com.au> wrote in message
7voeih$26h$1@news1.mpx.com.au">news:7voeih$26h$1@news1.mpx.com.au...
> Well then  [If what you say is true] New Zealand Drivers are a bunch of
> Dickheads also !!
> But I bet like us ,they are doing everthing in their power to return to
> their hard won  working conditions as soon as possible??
> If workers have to suffer 'burn-outs' before the bosses think they need to
> do something, it means you are paying a union to improve your working
> conditions, and you are being robbed!
> Freight Victoria crews in Victoria have an average age of 47 and their are
> no plans to start training new guys. It is obvious that they intend to run
> Computer Training Courses to replace us as we drop! [ ..then watch out]
OUR
> Union is a waste of time, they lay over belly up, and do absolutely
nothing
> except lighten our pay  $15 a fortnight! The reason that this is
> happening....No one  [almost] is interested any more. How do I fix my
> working conditions? I found a good Doctor and use my sick pay! something I
> never [had to] did when it was V/Line
> A how to vote card included in the recent mail out for our Union Elections
> outlined the many fine things they had done for Victorian Enginemen.
> I looked for the Freight Victoria...V/Line Freight section to see what
they
> claimed they had done.........Could not find one thing..........They did
not
> even bother making anything up.
> Get Stuffed Marotta I will give my vote to JJ at least he will chat with
us.
> Rod
>
>
>
This isn't directed at anyone personally, it is just that I piggy backed
onto this message.
I've waited 11 years to say this.
Conditions, what conditions. We sold our souls years ago. If it wasn't for
our so called work mates then there would still be conditions and I would
still probably be driving trains. I started as a Trainee Engineman in 1977
at Hamilton in Victoria. Transferred to Dynon for a while then back to
Hamilton. Just after getting back to Hamilton I am told that the depot is
going to be closed as Ararat and Portland Crews are now going to run
through. Those old enough to retire did, those young ones like me ended up
with compulsory transfer, mine was down to the sparks. We were also told
that once a person is compulsory transferred they will never be subject to
it again. I did my time down the sparks, eventually getting enough seniority
for transfer to Ararat. After being at Ararat for 18 months those mongrel so
called work mates from Dynon started a campaign for longer running. They
wanted to rest at Ararat. After achieving that, then it was Dimbola that
they wanted to go to.
Our own so called work mates took away our hard won conditions, most of whom
I had never seen on a picket line during the late 70's and early 80's. The
so called condition about only one compulsory transfer had also been
conveniently forgotten about. I was offered to choices, back to the sparks
or take a package. What choice did a person have.
You complain about conditions, blame your own work mates who wanted to run
all over the place, blame the minority hysterical mob amongst the drivers
that wanted to see the country and didn't care if they had to drive trains
for 12 hours.
When they first introduced 2 man crewing in Victoria we got it at Ararat as
it had to work there as we were the most militant depot in the State. We
didn't get any support from any other depot in the state to object to 2 man
crewing unless we had an appropriate pay increase. Dynon totally ignored us
and took advantage of our stoppages by running trains through us. What
happened to one out all out. What happened to crossing picket lines.
The day Frank Hussy went from the AFULE was a sad day. The day the AFULE was
dissolved was an even sadder day. Look at every thing the people before us
had worked for and look at what was given away for the sake of a few measly
dollars and a hell of a bigger work load. The engineman of today have sold
themselves out.

Gavin.




--
Gavin Potter
e-mail
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"Planning without action is futile. Action without planning
is fatal."  -Alan Speigel.