Not really. No more so than the broken record of pilots here whining about the "race to the bottom", but failing to
actually do anything about it. Google reports there's 6,500 individual posts on 'Prune with that phrase and you think
I'm the one obsessed with spruiking something?
What I have
tried to to is give a factual and potentially
reasonable alternative career option should someone have had a gutful of CAsA, sim checks and being told to take your shoes and belt off going through security only to then have a crash axe and be in control of a 60-tonne weapon loaded with 10 tonnes of flammable liquid at their disposal as soon as they step on board - and that option being something that can offer a more-than-livable salary with the benefit of only working 6 months of the year and with a roster that you can look at 2,5,8 years out and know if you're working your kids birthday or NYE...
Given it takes anywhere from 18 months to three years to qualify as a Driver in your own right depending who you work for, yet the Covid disruptions have been with us for barely two, notwithstanding most every
trainee Driver's role having hundreds if not a thousand or more applications, I'm calling bollocks on that claim.
Suburban & highspeed passenger no argument there. It's been done worldwide including the Sydney Metro Freight? Not a chance. The RoI isn't there. Rio Tinto
did do it - after spending several
billion dollars to do so, and have now found they cannot get qualified Driver's to work there because of their robots. On the other hand BHP is currently recruiting
200 trainee Driver's for their Pilbara operation.
Aurizon recently took on
150 Qualified Driver's for their WA operation and Sydney Trains has recently undertaken a bulk trainee intake for both Suburban and Intercity working. Not exactly what I'd call under threat...
On the east coast, I believe it was around 85-90%, in the Pilbara not as many, perhaps 30-35% but that is rapidly increasing with the CFMEU making inroads and the likes of Rio & BHP negotiating EBA's.