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Railway staff threatened with sack over ticket office protest
Dick Murray, Transport Editor22.01.09
STAFF working for a commuter rail company were today warned they could be sacked if they tell commuters about plans to close ticket offices.
First Capital Connect wants to axe jobs and close ticket offices at 28 stations along the Thameslink route in the evenings and weekends to save money.
FCC is owned by transport giant First Group, which made interim operating profits of £48.3 million in the six months to 30 September last year.
Stations which would be affected include Elephant & Castle, Harringay, Hornsey, Luton Airport Parkway, New Southgate, Stevenage and Tooting.
Staff objected to the plans, revealed by the Standard last week, and displayed petitions in ticket office windows urging commuters to complain.
FCC told staff they would face disciplinary action, and ultimately dismissal, unless they took down the posters and stopped urging passengers to object. In a letter, staff were told they are under contractual duty to "promote FCC's commercial interests and not put themselves in a position where this duty and their personal interests may conflict".
Managers were sent to stations to take down petition notices.
Passenger fears over unstaffed stations have been highlighted by the Standard's Safer Stations campaign launched in 2006 after the murder of Tom ap Rhys Pryce as he left an unmanned station at Kensal Green. Surveys have shown passengers want more staff at stations not fewer.
Gerry Doherty, general secretary of the TSSA transport union, accused FCC of "bullying and intimidatory tactics". He added: "It beggars belief that a company in the 21st century wants to silence staff when it is axing jobs and services which directly impact on passenger services.
"It is not in the interests of booking office staff who will lose their jobs. And it is not in the interest of passengers who will see their ticket offices suffer cuts of 750 hours a week. They will have to buy more expensive tickets from machines and their stations will be less secure."
The union boss also accused FCC of trying to "rush through" the closures by allowing passengers less than a month in which to lodge objections.
South West Trains allowed a three-month consultation when it tried to reduce opening hours at 114 stations - a move partially rejected by ministers.
Mr Doherty said: "FCC is worried staff will win the backing of many more passengers if they have a proper three-month consultation."
An FCC spokesman said: "The TSSA leadership agreed with FCC that sending such communication while staff are on duty and in uniform is inappropriate and have asked their members to cease such activity. The process is for customers to make their views known through [the watchdogs] Passenger Focus and London TravelWatch."
He said ticket machines account for a third of sales "and are preferred by increasing numbers of customers", adding 18 "station roles" would go but there would be no compulsory redundancies.
Reader views (9)
The service and communication on the Thameslink line deteriorated the day FCC took over, appropriately enough 1st April 2006. Staff I speak to say they are demoralised and that conditions are worse under FCC than the old Thameslink regieme. FCC recently took over the free bus service between Luton Airport station and the airport itself, and introduced a charge. To be honest nothing they try surprises me. Things continue to get worse on this line, and the sooner First Group either have their contract terminated or are made to improve the better.
- Angus Gulliver, Luton, UK
...staff were told they are under contractual duty to "promote FCC's commercial interests and not put themselves in a position where this duty and their personal interests may conflict". That says it all. It's not about running a first-rate service for rail travellers, it's about First City Connect's commercial interests, i.e. profits. Anyway, this is not about the personal interests of staff, it's about staff concerns for the travelling public, so I don't think an industrial tribunal would look too kindly on any sackings.
- Pat, East Kent UK
The shuting down of ticket offices should be an open debate, this gag order is high handed and flies in the face of the passenger charter. As for ticket machines, they don't do all of the options. You have a zone 1&2 goldcard and have to go into zone 3, the machine can only give you a standard ticket and can't apply the discount. More money for the rail company, of course there is the Oyster prepay option but BR services don't allow this.
- Ian, London
It is typical of the soi-disant Stalinists in charge of our railways to suppress freedom of expression like this. Their idea of "efficiency" is to ignore the wishes of their customers, whom they treat with contempt and disdain and to offer a worse service for higher fares. The management are a disgrace and should be summarily fired.
- Peter Sykes, Pirot, Serbia
Like any other trader, First Capital Connect have a duty to season ticket buyers if they are going to change the terms of the ticket half way through i.e, no access to a ticket office which also denotes a non staffed station. The staff are simply being whistleblowers.
- Andy, London
FirstGroup, (not First Capital) which turns over about £7billion made £40million profit, which isn't much % on that turnover. First Capital looks like it is struggling to break even like South West Trains with these cuts. Soon cometh Network South East.
- Toby, Wimbledon
It's not so much security that bothers me but buying tickets - the machines don't sell all possible tickets (and even of the ones they do sell, you often can't work out which one you need!). We can't go to stations to buy tickets while we're at work - that's why they have long queues in the evenings and at weekends.
- Suzanne, London
ticket machines are preferred by increasing numbers of customers, where did the train company glean this nugget from ?
not from my experience or comments i got from fellow travellers today
- Alan Baker, essex .uk
I think this puts the bosses of First Capital Connect in a very bad light. Someone should tell them we still have freedom of speech in this country, if not a decent rail service.
- Sarah Bradshaw, Enfield, Middx
