Northern (Arriva Rail North)

[knutstransport]

RE: Northern (Arriva Rail North)

(23/12/2019 13:21)mikestone Wrote:  It needs a change of policy by the DfT to ensure franchises are let with a commitment to employ sufficient traincrew to provide adequate sickness cover and eliminate rest day working - if there was no RDW that might also make Sunday work more attractive.

One of the problems with current Northern and old Northern is they finished up with two sets of drivers on very different contract terms. In the last year of the ATN franchise Arriva took the decision to offer massively improved terms to their drivers in a bid to end an industrial dispute, in the knowledge the next franchise would foot the bill for those improved terms. It led to DfT banning franchises from offering above inflation pay rises in the final year without first getting DfT approval.