Chapter 6: - Rail, Tram and Bus Union of NSW

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*On Wooden Rails Chapter 6 8/30/05 8:50 PM Page 226 On Wooden Rails - Celebrating 150 Years of Work on the NSW Railways ‘When we first started even some of the management were not comfortable with bringing women onto the job. We work the same as the guys – we do the same work. Probably the most awkward thing now is for some of the guys not knowing how they should behave, in terms of language use and so on, that’s something they need to work out.’ Both agree that the job is good – even ‘excellent’ – the people are really great – and the variety of the work’. Not hard, sometimes challenging. Love the terminal work – the blokes have been great. More comfortable in terms of interactions with co-workers – honest, straightforward. Suzanne argues that there is no reason why women shouldn’t or can’t do this “we can still be women, still be feminine, giggle and carry on – but we can get in and do the work. There was some disquiet among some drivers. Some were a bit resentful. It was another major change they had to put up with.” Many argue that the previous progression through the ranks to the footplate was unnecessarily protracted. In this day and age it can be done more quickly. Suzanne thinks it too quick – drawing a distinction between competent and ‘competent’ and receiving basic training – not really addressing the full range of skill and knowledge required. Bronwen puts more trust in her own and others capability and confident that she can perform the work, but still has some reservations about whether the process is adequate. “It is one thing to ask about identifying a signal, and knowing whether it is functioning properly and indicating the right things”. Bronwen is cynical about the value of much of the classroom-based learning. “If I’ve got a query – people are only too ready to help – everybody has been fabulous, and most real learning happens on the job. I don’t learn a lot in the classroom, I wait until I get out on the job with a mentor” Suzanne, on the other hand, feels that more could be done both in the classroom and on-the-job. “I don’t feel prepared. I believe that they could prepare us better and teach us better, even in the classroom– in this job it is unforgiving – you don’t have the time to learn later. I am wary of the preparation. We can do the job, but we don’t necessarily know it.” There are shared concerns, not about their own personal capability, but whether the process prepares employees adequately to deal with a range of contingencies. 226 “What do you do in a situation as a second person when driver has a heart attack – as personality types we may be able to deal with it, but not sure that we are prepared well enough for these types of contingencies. We are succeeding because of who we are, we have good mentors, almost despite the training”. They are both concerned that they will be required to do things that we are not properly prepared for. ‘Pacific National doesn’t particularly want collaboration or mateship, looking out for each other – they are encouraging ‘looking out for yourself’ and focusing only on your own requirements’. The personal attributes described are those of experienced, adult, evolved people and employees The doubts are around whether an inexperienced worker would benefit from the process. Family Friendly The two women work 24 hour rotating rosters with variable start times, which under most circumstances is disruptive in terms of regular routines and family, social and community commitments. The work is all over the place and dependent on new rosters and allocations. Suzanne as a single person, quite enjoyed the hours, while Bronwen as a single parent simply ‘dealt with it’. Many male drivers on the railways were previously supported by their women – their mothers or their wives - allowing them to work erratic hours knowing that their children and homes were being cared for and maintained, and knowing that they would be fed and cared for on their return. Bronwen matter-of-factly says you just ‘wing it’. Her children are 14 and 16 years of age, are responsible, ‘good kids’ and independent enough to cope. Her daughter competes in swimming at state and national level, requiring commitment to training, early mornings and all that goes with a regular sporting undertaking. Bronwen insists that while the hours can be disruptive Bronwen MacDonald Chapter 6 - No Place for a Woman
*On Wooden Rails Chapter 6 8/30/05 8:50 PM Page 227 Suzanne Molattam and inconvenient, they can also benefit. In some ways, she can now do more with her kids, because she can be there at some times when she couldn’t previously. Despite some of the drawbacks to the job, both Suzanne and Bronwen see themselves staying with the company for some time into the future, if not as a driver then ‘somewhere within the company’. They don’t have any direct reference with dealing with ‘the company’ in a range of situations. Reflecting maturity and workforce experience, and an ‘open mind’ they are prepared to wait and see how their new area of employment goes. ‘A lot of the drivers want to tell you the bad stuff about the company, but nowadays there are a lot of companies like Pacific National.’ They are both happy with the opportunity presented, the fact that the company is prepared to train them, pay reasonably well and keep them in regular, secure employment. In many ways, Bronwen and Suzanne, and their other new colleagues at Pacific National represent a new generation of workers in the industry. They are not joining as naïve juniors, but with life and work experience in other industries. They have different expectations of their employer and the industry than existed last century. In other respects, they are the ‘meat in the sandwich’ of a transition period in the industry, where there are tensions around changes in conditions and practices of employment, of which they are a part. They will be embraced by some of their colleagues, while others will revive age-old suspicions around their work potentially being ‘devalued’ or eroded through the new practices and the new employees required to perform their jobs under the new arrangements. Organising on the Station – Joanne McCallum Joanne McCallum has worked in the industry for just over nine years and currently works as a Customer Service Attendant (CSA) at Tuggerah Station on the 6 Candidate information in Rail & Road, December 2004, p13 On Wooden Rails - Celebrating 150 Years of Work on the NSW Railways Central Coast. She has been an active union activist during much of that time, and has held positions as President of the CSA Sub-Division, and as the first female Secretary of the Rail Operations Division. In the recent union elections held in late 2004, Joanne was also elected as the RTBU National Vice-President (Affirmative Action – Women). The latter position allows Joanne the opportunity to pursue her interest and commitment to women union members. In her nomination for the position she stated: “I am standing for this position because I believe that women in the RTBU need strong and effective representation of their interests on the job and in industry generally at the highest levels of our union. In NSW women are campaigning for increased maternity leave provisions and leave sharing rights as part of the general campaign for a new Enterprise Agreement in RailCorp. These claims were developed by the women attending the NSW Branch Women’s Conference this year which was attended by women from all sections of the union.” 6 As is the case with many more recent entrants to the industry [ten years as opposed to those with 30 or 40 years service], Joanne came to the job as a mature and experienced person with other industry experience. Immediately prior to becoming a rail worker, she had worked in retail management, and decided it was time for a change. On the advice of her brother-in-law she applied unsuccessfully for a job at Hornsby, then shortly afterwards received a call offering her a job on the City Circle. Trying to get closer to home on the Central Coast, she applied for a position as relief Customer Service Attendant (CSA) for the Central Coast, which meant doing a range of jobs between the Hawkesbury Joanne McCallum Chapter 6 - No Place for a Woman 227
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Chapter 6: - Rail, Tram and Bus Union of NSW

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