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Plant hirers angry at Network Rail’s terms
10:35 17 Aug 2005
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Plant hirers have warned that the onerous terms and conditions of Network Rail’s (NR) long-awaited maintenance contracts for rail plant could compromise the delivery of vital maintenance work.
According to Rail Plant Association (RPA) chairman Magnus Mildwater, most RPA members are “very concerned” about the terms and conditions of the tender.
One major worry is NR’s insistence on price as the determining factor, with a targeted 31% reduction in maintenance spend. “Everything is focused on price; quality, effort and passion don’t count,” said Mildwater.
This has lead to disenchantment among NR’s regional staff, who have not been involved in the process of assessing the merits of each tender.
“The commercial team is seriously upsetting the engineers, as they know the merits of certain
teams in certain areas,” said Mildwater.
The concentration on price is also a factor behind anticipated reductions in drivers’ working hours.
One major hirer commented: “They’re going from a five-day week plus overtime at the weekends to two eight-hour shifts in the week and two 12-hour shifts at the weekend. This will halve what a driver can earn, from £1,000 per week to £400/£500.”
This in turn may reduce the number willing to work on the railways. “Good drivers are at a premium already. They’ll just follow the money, and there’ll be plenty of that around with the Olympics coming up.
“Drivers at T5 get £750 for a five-day week and have their weekends to themselves. Why would they work on the railways?” he added.
Another concern is the way NR is planning to manage the kit under the new contracts. “It envisages using a machine from one company, a driver from another and delivery from a third. It’s just unworkable,” said Mildwater.
The situation is likely to be exacerbated by worries over the degree of risk passed to the hirer under the contract. “The tender takes so much risk away from NR, while the hirer is liable for so much more,” explained Mildwater.
“Say you’re working on a Saturday night and have to stop work because you have a bucket stolen. If you can’t prove that it wasn’t a failure to deliver the bucket in the first place, you’re liable for a £5,000 fine.
“At the most, the shift is worth £900 for man and machine. And who will pay the fine if it’s my machine delivered late by another company?” he added.
NR declined to comment.
According to Rail Plant Association (RPA) chairman Magnus Mildwater, most RPA members are “very concerned” about the terms and conditions of the tender.
One major worry is NR’s insistence on price as the determining factor, with a targeted 31% reduction in maintenance spend. “Everything is focused on price; quality, effort and passion don’t count,” said Mildwater.
This has lead to disenchantment among NR’s regional staff, who have not been involved in the process of assessing the merits of each tender.
“The commercial team is seriously upsetting the engineers, as they know the merits of certain
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teams in certain areas,” said Mildwater.
The concentration on price is also a factor behind anticipated reductions in drivers’ working hours.
One major hirer commented: “They’re going from a five-day week plus overtime at the weekends to two eight-hour shifts in the week and two 12-hour shifts at the weekend. This will halve what a driver can earn, from £1,000 per week to £400/£500.”
This in turn may reduce the number willing to work on the railways. “Good drivers are at a premium already. They’ll just follow the money, and there’ll be plenty of that around with the Olympics coming up.
“Drivers at T5 get £750 for a five-day week and have their weekends to themselves. Why would they work on the railways?” he added.
Another concern is the way NR is planning to manage the kit under the new contracts. “It envisages using a machine from one company, a driver from another and delivery from a third. It’s just unworkable,” said Mildwater.
The situation is likely to be exacerbated by worries over the degree of risk passed to the hirer under the contract. “The tender takes so much risk away from NR, while the hirer is liable for so much more,” explained Mildwater.
“Say you’re working on a Saturday night and have to stop work because you have a bucket stolen. If you can’t prove that it wasn’t a failure to deliver the bucket in the first place, you’re liable for a £5,000 fine.
“At the most, the shift is worth £900 for man and machine. And who will pay the fine if it’s my machine delivered late by another company?” he added.
NR declined to comment.
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