Serco staff cuts

[fionajohn]

didn't take them long

http://www.shetnews.co.uk/news.....-sea-staff

[posiedon]

^ And NorthLink ferry fares increase. Ba*tards!
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[suuusssiiieee]

Are Serco now beginning to show their true colours? If the staffing levels on board are to high i would of thought it only right that appropriate cuts should also be made to senior management onshore as well in these times of austerity...
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[sheltie53]

Well said posiedon

[shetlandpeat]

[JohanofNess]

^Your bench mark doesn't mean a whole hell of a lot to the people who have to come and go on a regular basis from the isles using the boat.
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[owre-weel]

I don't have the qualifications to judge the number of staff required to safely run the nort boats, but it seem to make sense to me that if you have, say 20 staff on duty when the boat is full to capacity, do you really need the same amount of staff in the winter when there might be only 20 passengers on board?

Why staff up the cafe/restaurant to cope with 300 passengers, when there is only 20 ?

Logically it seems reasonable.

My concern would be to ensure there are always sufficient staff to deal with the passengers numbers on board, in a safe and efficient manner.
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[Spinner72]

^^ Thats the thing.

It seems to make sense, but what about the times during the winter when there is more than "average" (or whatever they model to) demand?

Will the passenger numbers be limited if these changes are made?

I just can't envisage extra crew being prepared to come on for a few days at the festive, up helly aa etc.
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[shetlandpeat]

[piggywiggie]

im sure when they took over they did say that there would be fare rises. and well if you think about it with fuel costs going up and with the improvements they have suggested then it seems fair? is it not only going to be about a 3% rise?
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[RFR937]

[fusion]

[unlinkedstudent]

I'm struggling to ascertain how they'll be able to cut jobs. At present, I understand the shifts start in Aberdeen for a two week period. They live on the boats. So even if they cut back on the catering/cleaning staff, what happens in the event of foggy weather? They can't 'magic up' temporary staff this end and they sure as hell wouldn't be able to fly them in due to the foggy weather. It is when such foggy/bad weather occurs that flights get cancelled and suddenly, more people use the boats. How do Serco propose to address that scenario then?
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[JustMe]

I am wondering if Serco understand the meaning of a "lifeline service". Means one that runs all year subject to extreme weather conditions and also means that passengers in the depths of winter are entitled to at least a reasonable service. Also means that passengers and freight users are entitled to a service that is not disrupted because Serco is finding ways to save money that do not meet with the approval of the unions.

Since Serco took over this route I have discovered that Serco Northern run the filthiest trains in the UK although to be fair the trains do manage to run more or less on time except in exceptional weather conditions but I am left wondering if filthy trains equates with missing out on dry docking periods for the North Boats.

On the other hand some of Serco's ideas may be progressive so I guess we have to see what they offer next year in terms of improvements.

[Speccy]

Fusion wrote:

[fusion]

[shetlandpeat]

Does life line mean the ability to get a car to Aberdeen? I have wondered about this. The service is there to get you to the hospital say, you may not need a car for that, as there are buses and taxis. There is also a thriving car rental industry as well on both sides of the water. We never needed a car when we stayed at the Red Cross hostel while folk were in hospital.

Perhaps a definition of what the life line service is, should be extracted verbatim from the contract and agreements. Not from hearsay though, that tends to be wrong and suits the current argument and not the facts. Then, you could start a campaign.

The boat, passage only, for me to visit my family, sick or not is still the cheapest for me, passage only is a great deal compared to the additional costs of flying and the limitations. I could not afford to fly anyhow.
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[Symbister]

The points made about what happens when an unexpectedly large number of passengers turns up in (say) mid-November are important and Serco need to address them. Suppose that flights are cancelled and the boat suddenly has 200 aboard instead of 40. Are there any safety implications and is it possible that they might then have to limit passenger numbers? Will the catering work? If staff are brought in to cope with the busy winter periods, what about the safety training of those staff?

I wonder if these staffing cuts were factored into the bid that Serco made to run the service, and (if they were) whether or not the Scottish Government understood what was involved.

Or, having secured the contract, are they now doing what Serco specialises in, namely shaving costs to the absolute minimum in order to increase their profits, with the aim of running a service that is flaky but not quite flaky enough to make the Scottish Government withdraw their contract? In outsourcing companies, that's par for the course. Sometimes they misjudge that fine balance, as when G4S screwed up on the Olympics or Reliance kept losing prisoners.

[RFR937]

[wastafirth 01]

I'm just waiting on us being told we can only travel when booked in advance....I can see that's how they'll get around the staffing....or they'll bump up the prices nearer the travel dates to discourage last minute bookings

[shetlandpeat]

There seem to be always be kids, or even children on the boat when I travel.
Are folks saying now that to afford the staff cuts, Serco will limit the number of passengers and will not be able to fill the boat to capacity. That would be good to be seen in black and white from Serco.

As for the car being part of the lifeline service, you could be quite right, but as I said, you would need to find the legal definition within the tender of the lifeline service.

I do remember my Mam when we were little, working and saving nearly all year so we could come up in the summer for 5 weeks, the costs were quite prohibitive then. That did include the train. For me to come up would require about 4 months of saving though there are funds set aside for that emergency when required.

There are also the odd facts and stats that may be used. We all have been told that Shetland has a very high pay average, the sums quoted here in this thread to transport a family are similar to that. The average of course is distorted by those few on the island who do earn a substantial wage, this of course does no good to folk like us who either just about earn a living wage or those on minimum wage using benefits they are entitled to to top that up.

The crew levels would have to fit with current legislation. You could find that the crew would have to multi task more. I have often wondered what happens to the galley crew once meals have stopped.

Cutting staff/crew is an emotive subject, to fight such cuts need to be a little hard nosed. The emotions can still be there but it would have to be backed up with hard facts and figures to prove your cause. Sadly, we do not get that here often, as ever, just hearsay.

If folk are worried about this, then, as with the MCA cuts, Shetland folk can band together with one voice, there are still ongoing campaigns for other services, sadly forgotten on here, that sorta shows folks interest.

Oh, we hear of these "non-jobs" all the time now, generally spoken by those who know little of the facts.

The first step would be for someone to get all the details about this part of Serco including staffing/crew and shore based staff.
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[unlinkedstudent]

[Kavi Ugl]

I rather doubt that this will just end up the way of everything in life now which is cut to the bone with either no people to do the work and the ones left having an inhuman workload heaped on them and expected to do it. Oh, and crewed by East Europeans....

What Serco are doing just shows how little they really know about the route and islands they're supposed to be serving. As mentioned what about the afternoon when 200 people turn up at Jamieson's Quay because the flights are cancelled or if the ferry misses a trip which results in the numbers doubling. There are a lot of workem coming and going in relation to the Total Gas Plant project now.

As the man said, it'll end in tears.....

[tooney1]

[Spinner72]

I do;t think anyone should be surprised at Serco trying to squeeze every ounce of profit out of the contract they can. After all, thats what they do.

The worry (speculation of course, as we really don't know yet) that these cuts will mean fewer passengers able to travel is completely logical, as Serco have said it is based on winter volumes and there is a lot of local knowledge to support this.

*If* that is the case, then at times when flights are cancelled, during holiday times when people go away and students come hom, up helly aa, music festivals etc if numbers are restricted - is it really Sercos fault?

Or is it the Government for not having a minimum level of service written in the contract?
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