Wednesday 6 November 2013


I'm back.  So what’s been happening in the last two months while I’ve been idle?  Not much really, just the same old same old, the new timetable came in, we have less turnaround time which seems to leave us constantly running late, I seem to be working down the W&C more often thanks to the expanded service but otherwise it’s pretty much business as usual.

The big news yesterday was the cat that got stuck on a ledge on a road bridge over the track just west of NOA, it was first spotted up there on Monday and wasn’t rescued until Tuesday.  From what little information I managed to glean the bridge belongs to Network Rail so we weren’t allowed to get it down, I don’t think we had a ladder long enough anyway and I have heard a rumour that one WHC TOp refused to take their train underneath the distressed moggy.  If I get any more details I will pass it on but at least there was a happy ending to the story, if anyone has a photo of the cat please send it to aslefshrugged@gmail.com
 
More to come later

4 comments:

  1. Welcome back AS. I enjoy reading your blog so thank you for taking the time to keep us entertained.

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  2. Me too, Mr Shrugged, thank heavens I thought you was dead. I missed your veering-on-geeky comments about your journeys.

    Would you be willing to let me (and perhaps your followers) know your views, as a fellow TfL trade unionist (Unite) why we have RMT, Unite, Aslef, flipping TSSA, PCS and old uncle tom cobbly and all representing our workforce of a mere 21,000 staff? If we were one union it might make us stronger. I personally would go for RMT if we could go for one union in the place.

    This is not trolling by the way, I am interested as a TfL member of staff, why we are so fragmented.

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    1. Outside of LUL 99.9% of train drivers are in ASLEF, 99.9% of the booking office staff are in TSSA, everyone else is in RMT apart from a few UNISON members. When the Tube went OPO they converted some guards who were RMT members into TOps, the same with railmen on stations becoming SAs and then getting promoted to SAMFs, what are clear lines of demarcation elsewhere became blurred thanks to LUL’s reorganisation.

      Out on the mainline there is co-operation between the unions, a friend of mine who is an RMT rep on London Overground was recently asked to speak at an ASLEF branch meeting. Down in the Tube’s there is conflict because they are in completion for members, TSSA and ASLEF have many complaints with the TUC over RMT’s attempts to poach members.

      As much as I admire Unkle Bob’s achievements in expanding his membership I would never join RMT for various reasons, one of which being I’m a member of the Labour party and RMT are no longer affiliated.

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  3. ps not like I think you are god with the oracle or owt!!

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