boatone
Well-known member
Following received from the EA this morning:
Last edited:
Fancy Being a Volunteer?
- Thread starter boatone
- Start date
sarabande
Well-known member
the whole country will shortly be run for free by volunteers !
Don't get me started on what is happening to Mental Heath services.....
Don't get me started on what is happening to Mental Heath services.....
oldgit
Well-known member
the whole country will shortly be run for free by volunteers !
I am a blimming collector of VAT for a start
the_wanderer
New member
Vaguely interested.........but.
Hi all.
Yep, the old goat is back!
Having navigated the Thames for many years I would certainly be interested in helping out on the locks. The problem is that I may be taking away the opportunity of a job for somebody, especially a younger person. I retired early as I realised I can make my own way financially with my company pension and not rely on the state to keep me. A younger person took my job and he was on the verge of being made redundant.
I feel that I would be going back on my commitment to employ younger people if I did this.
Regards.
Alan.
Hi all.
Yep, the old goat is back!
Having navigated the Thames for many years I would certainly be interested in helping out on the locks. The problem is that I may be taking away the opportunity of a job for somebody, especially a younger person. I retired early as I realised I can make my own way financially with my company pension and not rely on the state to keep me. A younger person took my job and he was on the verge of being made redundant.
I feel that I would be going back on my commitment to employ younger people if I did this.
Regards.
Alan.
dash300
Active member
I realise I might be opening a can of opinionated worms here, however, why can't we tap into some of those who are deemed suitable and are currently on job seekers allowance. I know there are far too many who are 'DSS lifers' and unemployable. However there are many who are decent and capeable and 'between jobs' and might relish a bit voluntary work in a river environment if only they knew about it.
Perhaps the new agency/charity might tap into such a source.
Perhaps the new agency/charity might tap into such a source.
TrueBlue
Well-known member
I think the Agency are looking for a commitment for the whole boating season - but not necessarily full time.
The initial training is not without cost (to the EA) and is limited in numbers to how many can be trained at once, so there's not a lot of point taking on folks who might suddenly disappear.
There are / maybe jobs available on contract on a paid basis, but that's a separate requirement.
The volunteers are unpaid and aimed at folks with time to spare..
OK I've not explained it very well, but doubtless somebody will come along to do it better.....
The initial training is not without cost (to the EA) and is limited in numbers to how many can be trained at once, so there's not a lot of point taking on folks who might suddenly disappear.
There are / maybe jobs available on contract on a paid basis, but that's a separate requirement.
The volunteers are unpaid and aimed at folks with time to spare..
OK I've not explained it very well, but doubtless somebody will come along to do it better.....
Captain Coochie
Active member
I think its a disgrace myself and a poor replacement from the staff they already had .
I guess we all think that so what do they do ?
A big thing on the Thames for the Queen but they have pulled the funding . Does anyone care apart from us boaters ? I dont think they do but would be up in arms if the river went to pot as it has been in the past .
Lottery funding may be a way to go for the EA ? Sounds totally stupid but if the Government aint gonna fund it then who else .
I guess we all think that so what do they do ?
A big thing on the Thames for the Queen but they have pulled the funding . Does anyone care apart from us boaters ? I dont think they do but would be up in arms if the river went to pot as it has been in the past .
Lottery funding may be a way to go for the EA ? Sounds totally stupid but if the Government aint gonna fund it then who else .
dash300
Active member
Yes you're right. Just thinking aloud really. It's a pity it has come to this.
The public service sector is resorting to keen amateurs to get by - that is until it all goes wrong and they all run for cover.
TrueBlue
Well-known member
Sage words indeed, Cuchie.
I think you're right. To be even more gloomy to 'us boaters' means the few folks who stick their heads above the parapet on this forum, so that's an even smaller number.
TrueBlue
Well-known member
Yes you're right. Just thinking aloud really. It's a pity it has come to this.
The public service sector is resorting to keen amateurs to get by - that is until it all goes wrong and they all run for cover.
I've been on the Thames for 12 years now and a visitor for a lot longer. It's only in the last four (?) years that Summer Assistants have been much in evidence. I think EA expanded their presence as a result of some pressure from outside.
Given that the funding has been chopped, I take my hat of to the EA for doing the best to plug the gap by any means that they can; in this case it means unpaid volunteers. They could so easily have said - "sorry chaps, no money, work the locks yourselves".
Sulley
New member
Slight thread drift..
I moved a boat from Penton Hook to Windsor on Saturday between the hours of 12 and 4pm, 5 locks and I only saw a lock keeper on one lock.
I moved a boat from Penton Hook to Windsor on Saturday between the hours of 12 and 4pm, 5 locks and I only saw a lock keeper on one lock.
boatone
Well-known member
January is Category A in the Customer Charter - e.g. Expect Self Service - so no commitment to manning hours.
Sulley
New member
Boatone, many thanks for the detailed explanation
I'll go and be quiet now
It was a lovely day out if a bit windy!
I'll go and be quiet now
It was a lovely day out if a bit windy!
boatone
Well-known member
No Regrets
Active member
You get good hard facts from our TMBA chap, the service really is impeccable isn't it?
Riverleak
Member
I'm sorry to have to put things right but this is now my 26th year on the Thames and think there are many misconceptions around things and the summer lock assistants is one of them.I Count a number of lockies on the river amongst my friends, and over the years have got to learn quite a bit about different issues. Back in the mid 90s summer assistants used to start in early March prior to the Easter Bank Holiday (so they could be 'trained' on how to pack a lock with boats before Easter when the busy season used to start) and not finish until late October, they were only allowed one day off a week, and that was not a Saturday or Sunday. Every lock had an allocated assistant and a travelling experienced assistant would cover for their day off. This is how many of the longer serving resident staff started on the Thames AND a number of the Senior managers like Mr. John Redmond who was the senior Navigation Inspector and Harbourmaster,he started at Bray Lock as one such assistant, and having worked his way up through the ranks new how everything ran and gained a wealth of experience getting to know the boaters the river and the staff, the same as many long term serving lockies. So I do actually fail to see how things are improving. If you were boating at this time of year 15 plus years ago it would be very unlikely that you would find a lock unmanned when boating in the winter is more dangerous (fast flows, cold water) Sorry to harp on but I look back with great fondness on a busy, vibrant, very well run river of the past.....
TrueBlue
Well-known member
Whoops, must have been a senior moment. I stand corrected.
I can only think that at the time I wasn't aware of Summer Assistants as a genre.
My first four years were spent on the tree huggers river and our journeys were mostly below Windsor where the level of lock manning was always good.
It was not until this forum started and the lock house problem raised its ugly head that I even bothered to engage with the lockies - other than a "good morning" / "thank you". Since then, you won't be surprised that my attitude has changed.
In those days there was a supply of SAs happy to do the job in their summer vacation - several were treating it as work experience before they graduated, indeed some were even reading related subjects.
With ever tightening of funds from DEFRA and less availability of SAs, the current management have had to find other ways of trying to keep service levels up.
Hence The Volunteers.
No, it's not as good as full time paid staff, but boaters want a service for their licence / registration fee.
EA are trying.
One GOOD thing (may be) that is coming out of the volunteer programme is that the public profile of the River is being raised by some non users being exposed to what the Thames can offer.
I don't think anybody is saying that service is improving.
Given that funds are being more than cut - strangled would be my word - what would YOU do to make things better and to make the task more difficult, cutting support staff (as some would do) is not an option.
mlines
Active member
Well they are clearly not that keen for volunteers......
my son who is 16 and leaves school this summer, either for employment or college, is too young. Only 18 years old and above can apply for volunteer positions despite the fact he could take a paid job with them at 16 years old??
I have sent back an email asking how this fits with discrimination etc. as he can be legally employed on full time work.
my son who is 16 and leaves school this summer, either for employment or college, is too young. Only 18 years old and above can apply for volunteer positions despite the fact he could take a paid job with them at 16 years old??
I have sent back an email asking how this fits with discrimination etc. as he can be legally employed on full time work.
watson1959
New member
Hi Martin (Happy New Year btw)
That's disappointing to hear, especially as he's not exactly lacking in skills or experience both in and off-shore.....interested to see how they respond.
Cheers
Riverleak
Member
Don't get me wrong, I support the volunteer option, yes it makes economic sense to exploit willing, enthusiastic people with time on their hands. All I am stating is how things used be, it seems there are a diminishing amount of people (and many thousands of others that don't use the media of this forum to express their views) that remember how well things used to be run on the Thames when things were busy, don't forget there have been other serious economic slumps in history during boaters living memory, (including mine!!!!!) The four day week of the 1970s, the 1980s with over 4 million unemployed, the market crash of the 1990s and the Thames still managed to weather these storms, and still keep the family Jewels (lock Houses, dedicated staff etc) I thought we were supposed to learn from history. It would be intresting to know how budgets were once spent in previous economic decline and compare them to today.