CrossCountry Trains – CSMs – Role and Responsibilities shake up!

TSSA is driving forward change for Customer Service Managers with regards to their job descriptions. For far too long now CSMs have been seen as the grade where additional duties and tasks are just dumped on with no prior agreements, no consultation, and certainly no extra pay, and this needs to stop. 

Whenever you agree to do and take on additional work and tasks that are outside of your “core” duties, you are driving down the value of your role. In addition to this, I am aware of specific tasks CSMs have been asked to carry out such as risk assessments and Service Centre Audits when either they are not trained, competent or qualified to do so, which could have devastating consequences for CSMs. 

There are many, many tasks and duties that have been identified as being “additional” to your “core” role and it is these duties that we are challenging the Company on. Your current job descriptions are extremely flimsy and do not even give a “main purpose” for the role you do! 

At the end of this process, we aim to achieve a fit for purpose job description that takes account of the tasks and duties of a CSM, whilst ensuring there is no ambiguity, there are no areas open to interpretation, but most of all to ensure you have a well-defined role that carries a significant value in the business, and this is recognised. 

I have also been made aware that there is not a grade salary for CSMs and that you are all paid differently for doing the same job. This could mean that there are potential equal pay claims amongst you. TSSA will be seeking a definitive salary for the role to ensure fairness and consistency. 

Of course, we can only ensure you have the tools going forwards to protect yourselves and your roles, ultimately it will be up to you as a collective group to ensure going forwards you stick to your tasks and duties and say NO to any additional work. 

If you know of a colleague who is not yet a member, ask them to join and make your position even stronger. 

Contingency Guards 

TSSA does NOT have an agreement yet with the Company on the use of CSMs training other staff other than their own direct reports to become contingency guards. 

CrossCountry believed it was a good idea and OK for CSMs to train anyone to undertake this duty at the drop of a hat. We are extremely concerned and worried as to whether a 4-week course for staff to be trained in rules, traction and core route is safe? We cannot allow roles to be undermined by this process and potentially any de-skilling of our members. This is not acceptable. Again, no consultation was had with us prior to announcing this. 

Whilst I understand that some will see becoming a contingency guard a “development opportunity” and a way of earning extra money, it is in fact a way of using people to overcome an industrial dispute elsewhere in the business. Whilst we cannot stop people from coming forward to do this and nor would we want to, you must acknowledge and appreciate we cannot allow the Company to just expect its staff (CSMs) to take on this huge additional workload with no thought about covering their day jobs, answering specific safety concerns, and ignoring our member’s needs. 

TSSA staff reps for CSMs are Donna Tudor and Nicola Perry.