The changes to admin will wreck what's left of work-life balance for station staff. With so much rostered weekend working, we rely on favours from admin if we want to get to weddings or family birthdays. We also rely on admin sorting out cover weeks so we can do shifts that suit commitments outside work.
Admin staff based in a central 'hub' can't possibly get to know our individual requirements. Often we need a face to face conversation, but we will lose that option. There will be fewer admin staff and their time will be limited, so many things we rely on at the moment will simply not get done. Those of us who have used the Rostering and Coverage Tool know it's a disaster. It's designed for another organization; LU has tried to adapt it on the cheap and it doesn't work. It only gives you the option to swap duties with people already doing the same duty as you! It sometimes allows you to book on but not book off so it shows you working for whole weeks at a time. It has no idea how many annual leave days you've used and how many you're owed. It will be a terrible replacement for admin support.
As far as we know only station admin are facing 'transformation' right now, but other areas will be in TfL's sights as it slashes spending to please the government. LU has been sneaking this through and has not discussed these plans with us although our lives will be affected. Our unions should demand a day on these proposals for all grades that will be affected. We need to work with admin staff to stop these plans, including preparing for industrial action. It is too often said that admin have 'no industrial muscle' but a strike would have impact because of the number of vital roles that admin staff perform. It's not too late for admin staff to join unions in large numbers. If station staff and all affected operational staff strike alongside admin, it will have an impact that could stop these cuts.
