Competition in Most Fields of Passenger Transport is Now Limited
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to a Struggle to Obtain Sufficient and Suitable Staff. The Attraction of the Five-day Week in Industry can be Overcome, However, if the Right Approach be Used ALL over the country a new type of man-hunt is proceeding. The description of the wanted men is that -they are conscientious, tactful, cheerful, quick at figures and physically fit; they do not object to irregular hours of work and they are prepared to sacrifice personal interests in exchange for a certain
iegree of personal freedom and a limited income. . Men of this calibre are being sought throughout ,the country for work as platform staff; the passenger transport industry is no longer embarrassed by a superfluity • Of applicants for poSts, as it was before the war. Now there is a severe labour shortage, made worse by a rapid ' labour turnover.
• The 10th report of the House of Commons Select Committee ' on Estimates, issued Te,cetly, emphasizes the seriousness of the situation. The luxury of a welfare state has to be paid for by the maintenance of nearly 750,000 more national and local government officials than in 1939. So that the existence of this welfare state may be preserved from possible attack by our enemies, we have to have • 350,000 more people in the armed Services. True, there are nearly 2m. more people employed than before the war, but these are absorbed by an almost equally increased number engaged in basic and manufacturing industries.
The population graph shows that the number of young people reaching the age of 15 this year is 105,000 fewer than in 1939. The number of boys reaching the age of 18 is down by 110,000. This is a severe reduction in the number of young people available to compensate for losses from the labour pool and, apparently, the situation is unlikely to improve until' 1957-60.
Juggling with Duty Rosters
That, basically, is the reason why transport administrators are juggling wildly with duty rosters, why scheduled services do not always run, and why the protecting figure of the policeman is not always to be seen when he is most wanted.
Against this background, the problems of the platform staff shortage must be examined. Reactions to employment as conductors or drivers vary from undertaking to undertaking, partly according to the conditions of work in the department in question and partly according to the prospects of alternative employment in the particular district. Almost everywhere the labour turnover is high. Many transport managers tell me that in recent months there has been a steady net loss of staff recruitments, so that they have failed to compensate completely for resignations, dismissals and retirements.
Many managers would be prepared to pay a useful reward to anyone who could provide them with permanent additions to their staffs. I hopenobody will point out that as we are already paying a lot of good money to the officials of the Ministry of Labour
and National Service for this purpose, they ought to bp able to find an answer. Some of my personnel officer friends are distinctly concerned because the Ministry of Labour insists on pointing out to bus employees that there are other ways of serving the Nation's urgent needs, ways which enable them at the same time to take home a pay packet as fat as a York ham.
Whilst a bigger wage has a strong pull on some kinds of mentality, 1 doubt whether the pay question makes as much difference as some people believe. At any rate. figures which were extracted by a certain corporation transport department over a five-month period last year showed that there were nearly six times as many resignations by men who disliked the hours of work as there were by those who thought they could work more profitably elsewhere.
Before moving on to what is, therefore, the most important point at issue, it may be as well to dispose of the question of remuneration. Few of the advertisements which I observe put this, matter in the most favourable light. Usually, although there have men exceptions, the figures given refer to basic rates only, and these arc substantially below those which the average man earns. On the other hand, quoting the highest possible pay is equally wrong.
Some concerns follow the wise course of endeavouring to arrange duty rosters so that each member of the staff earns roughly the same each week. The vicious circle of labour shortages, however, sometimes brings about a succession of weeks in which everyone earns substantial supplements. Frequently, discontent is created when the lower level of pay is reached after a period during which the family budget has leaped to new heights.
The average week's pay may be about £7 10s. However, lower figures are sometimes referred to in advertisements. Many men contend that when such advertisements appear in buses, they lose caste among the working population, which tends to underrate the intelligence of the individual who cannot find a betterpaid job.
Psychological Approach
As can readily be seen, the right psychological approach can make an immense difference in the labour field. To-day's industrial aristocrats in this country, as elsewhere, have responded to a building-up process not unlike starlets in the hands of a Hollywood producer.
Years ago platform staff sometimes exhibited excessive zeal in their work. But they also showed a proper pride in the powers of minor officialdom and, in general. they were much more willing to use any authority which they possessed to ensure public compliance with the regulations of the undertaking. If public property is to be preserved and services are to operate efficiently. such authority must again be used and recognized. in some areas increased fares seem to have been accompanied by increased " faredodging," a practice that inevitably makes the conductor's job more difficult and irritating. Nothing discourages the dodger so much as conductors with a reputation for unremitting conscientiousness.
Probably nothing has more bearing on labour difficulties than the total of hours worked and, particularly, the manner in which they are spread over. The relationship between staffing difficulties and the hours question is another vicious circle. The undertaking with sufficient personnel can arrange a satisfying regularity of working for conductors and drivers. But staff shortages result in erratic and unpopular roster revisions which are apt to bring in their train resignations from experienced men, thus increasing the difficulties.
Week-end Work Problem
The argument that it is an advantage to be free when other people are at work so as to enjoy parks, cinemas and other amenities when they are less crowded falls upon ears that are singularly hard of hearing. This is particularly true of the younger element whose girl friends are invariably at work during the day and free in the evenings. For this reason, complaints about Saturday duties are frequent. From reports I have examined it is clear that young men of promising character have relinquished work in the transport industry to take up jobs with substantially less pay, for the sole reason that they were unlikely to be asked to work week-end shifts. , However, the explanation given for the resignation of a man of one age will not suit an employee who is at another stage of life. Men over 30 are More concerned with the financial aspect of their work. To a limited extent they . are quite happy where there are opportunities to add to their basic pay. But when rest days are cut on a wholesale basis, trouble is likely to arise.
Irregular Leisure Hours
To many men, eminence in some field of sport or pastime more than compensates for a mediocre place in the workaday world. The man who works irregular hours is denied the chance of participating in most sports, of winning prizes for his flowers or garden produce, or even occupying some honorary position at club or church. '
If these things appeal to a man, he soon becomes discontented when they are placed beyond his reach by varying turns of duty. To the older man long hours are acceptable without objection so long as there are specific periods each week that he and his wife can call their own'''.
Few resignations are provoked for reasons of health. Although irregular feeding "can, and sometimes does, result in digestive trouble, evidence suggests that this is not severe enough to cause men to seek other employment. Canteens at terminal points undoubtedly help to mitigate this difficulty and if properly run can be an added inducement for recruits.
Although subject to a certain amount of supervision, bus employees enjoy long periods when they are largely left to interpret their duties as best they may. For this reason the atmosphere of the "happy ship" is much more common in bus operation than in a factory where movements are ruled by the speed of a conveyor or a machine.
Although employment in a factory or warehouse offers certain advantages, the loss of this sense of personal freedom sometimes weighs heavily on men who undertake the change from bus -work. Some
municipal transport departments report that 10-20 per Cent. of those employees who leave for other fields of activity ultimately return, requesting re-engagement. They undoubtedly seek a return to their lost freedom of movement.
In many undertakings more might be done to encourage long-term service by the payment of merit money for conscientious attention to duties and by increments for long service. In some places, one, or both, of these arrangements already applies, but the extra money thus earned is usually ,insignificant in comparison with the total wage.
One municipality offers an extra 3s. a week after completion of a year's satisfactory service. This may create temporary stability among the newcomers, but caii hardly cause satisfaction among those who have really long service to their credit. At the same time, an increase of Is. a week after each period of three or five years is hardly enough to make any difference until a man is on the verge of retirement anyway.
The best type of merit pay, in my estimation, is the quarterly one, which increases with length of service and is granted to any member of the platform staff who completes the period without loss of points; debited against him whenever a complaint is substantiated. This system has the effect of stimulating interest in the job and might be extended.
Examinations for Promotion
Instead of making appointments by selection, one Lancashire undertaking recently invited appliCants to sit an examination, from the results of which members of the platform staff would be graded for future promotion to inspector. This move was well received and, in consequence, one man was appointed permanent inspector and three others were graded relief inspectors. They then continued with their normal duties .on their previous conditions of service, but were available as temporary inspectors in case of sickness or when the senior staff was depleted by holidays.
These examinations revealed that the applicants had developed a gratifying interest in their work.
Other undertakings might consider whether more encouragement could be given to platform staff by the appointment of relief or junior inspectors, so as to widen the promotion field. At present this is extremely limited. Men who have qualified for some form of seniority should undoubtedly be given some outward and visible sign of their competence.
Position Improving The effect of recent wage increases for platform staff has, in some areas at least, checked the constant loss of trained personnel. This had been going on for a long time, but nobody knows yet whether the trend has actually been reversed or whether winter weather will start the decline once more.
Unless bus fares go up to such an extent that services cease to be a public amenity and become a luxury, so that platform staff rates of pay can be substantially raised, there appears to be no solution to the problem. In the absence of other attractions, the passenger transport industry may have to try to obtain its staff only from the over-40 age group or from those independent characters who prefer the varied conditions offered by bus work to the more hunt-drum, even though more profitable, routine of the factory.
No passenger transport undertaking, however, should be discouraged by failure, from keeping up efforts to attract suitable recruits.