CSA Forever?

Posted in Tubeworker's blog on ,

Congratulations to everyone who passed the SCRA assessment. If your name's in the Traffic Circular, it's time to nominate a position.

But we can't help noticing the Traffic Circular's list of names is rather long. There are more people on the list than the number of SCRA jobs across the combine!

So what's LU up to? Some suspect this is another LU scam: LU doesn't want to promote hundreds of CSAs but just wants a pool of licensed staff to do occasional Higher Grade Working.

LU did the same with ticket office recruitment four years ago. Over a thousand staff passed the SAMF assessment, some obtained licenses. Then LU slashed SAMF jobs. The licenses will now never lead to a promotion. But they are handy when LU wants a CSA to pop into an unstaffed ticket office to clear a note jam in the ticket machines!

LU has been getting ticket selling staff on the cheap. Is it doing the same with SCRAs?

The recession and LU re-organisation has virtually eliminated promotional opportunities on stations. Many staff feel trapped in the lowest-paid, most physically exhausting LU grade. Many are reluctantly applying for train op because there seems to be no other way out.

The latest advert for LU Supervisor might inspire optimism, except the advert is for a 'core licensing opportunity' only. Again, no hope of promotion: just the chance of a licence so LU can use you as and when it sees fit.

LU needs to make up its mind: does it want more trained and qualified staff or not? If yes, then advertise actual jobs, which allow us to plan our lives and futures. If no, then at least be honest. Allow us to look elsewhere for work, if we have to.

Enough of this cheap and casual 'higher grade working' as and when you want it! LU must stop playing with our expectations and our futures. We deserve well-paid work with a career path if we choose to take it.

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