INSIDE THIS ISSUE · OCTOBER 2016 INSIDE THIS ISSUE SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN FOR DOO PAGE 4 TUBE BALLOT OVER JOBS AND SAFETY ... THE MIGHTY GREAT CENTRAL Page 25 REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT

ISSUE NUMBER 9, VOLUME 19

Essential reading for today’s transport worker

OCTOBER 2016

www.rmt.org.uk

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

SOUTHERNCAMPAIGN FOR DOOPAGE 4

TUBE BALLOT OVERJOBS AND SAFETYPAGE 8

RMT AT TUCPAGE 11

NORWAY SAYS NOTO PRIVTISATIONPAGE 15

RMT News is compiled and originated by National Union of Rail, Maritime &Transport Workers, Unity House, 39 Chalton Street, London NW1 1JD. Tel:020 7387 4771. Fax: 020 7529 8808. e-mail [email protected] Theinformation contained in this publication is believed to be correct but cannotbe guaranteed. All rights reserved. RMT News is designed by BighandCreative and printed by Leycol Printers. General editor: Mick Cash.Managing editor: Brian Denny. No part of this document may be reproducedwithout prior written approval of RMT. No liability is accepted for any errorsor omissions. Copyright RMT 2016

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: october 2016 :: RMTnews

3

The House of Commons TransportSelect Committee has singled out the

woeful experience of passengers onSouthern Railway in a damning reporton rail franchising.

Its evidence was dominated by theproblems faced by Govia ThameslinkRailway, operators of Southern Railway:poor management from the beginning,inadequate staffing, rolling stock issues,mismanagement and prolongedindustrial strife.

The report considers whether GTR isnow in default of its contractualobligations. The proportion of servicescancelled on GTR's network is nowsubstantially in excess of the defaultlevel. In normal circumstances, thiswould be grounds for termination of thecontract.

On top of this GTR is determined toremove guards and introduce Driver-Only Operation on Southern in the teethof opposition from RMT and the publicin general including Helen Mitchell asurvivor of the Paddington train crash17 years ago this month.

Only in the last two months guardson trains in the North West and atWatford protected the train andevacuated passengers to safety followingincidents that incapacitated the driver.

In contrast to GTR’s belligerentattitude Scotrail has seen sense andguaranteed the retention of a safety-critical guard on current Scotrailservices.

Make no mistake this is a majorvictory in the fight to stop thecompromising of rail safety through theextension of DOO.

There is only one reason forremoving the guard, to increase profits.This is at a time when the Office of Rail

and Road’s (ORR) revealed thatgovernment subsidies to the rail industrytotalled £4.8 billion, while privateerscontinue to reap huge profits.

Incredibly, the ORR has highlightedthat this is double the subsidy levelrecorded 30 years ago in real terms.

Since privatisation our railways havebecome a corporate welfare racket forthe private sector, when working peopleare subsidising the operation to the tuneof nearly £5 billion a year.

It is also a public scandal thatGerman-owned Arriva has been handedthe Cross Country direct contract on aplate without UK state-owned DirectlyOperated Railways even beingconsidered to run this service.

DOR has a proven track record ofrunning services for less money andwith any profits being pumped directlyback into the UK railway system.

On a brighter note, following years ofcampaigning we are seeing new ratingsbeing trained and taken on in themaritime sector. The fact that DFDS andCaledonian MacBrayne ferry operatorsare developing successful apprentice-ships is a vindication of RMT’s long-standing support for ratings training.

Our S0S 2020 campaign has alreadywarned that unless action like this istaken then British ratings will disappearand skills will be lost forever by the endof the decade.

Congratulations to offshore membersat Wood Group for battling for animproved offer under very difficultcircumstances. It goes to show that unityand solidarity can produce results.

contents

When you have finished with this magazine give it to aworkmate who is not in your union. Even better, ask them tojoin RMT by filling in the application form opposite

DEFENDTHEGUARD

Page 4 SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN FOR DOO

Page 5 GUARD VICTORY AT SCOTRAIL

Page 6 VIRGIN EAST COAST STRIKE

Page 7 ADELPHI PROTEST FOR A LIVING WAGE

Page 8TUBE BALLOT OVER JOBS AND SAFETY

Page 9PARLIAMENTRY COLUMN

Page 10FAIR TRAVEL FOR ALL

Page 11RMT AT TUC

Page 14HEATHROW EXPRESS CHAMPION

Page 15NORWAY SAYS NO RAIL PRIVATISATION

Page 16NEW RATINGS JOIN THE CREW

Page 18A FIGHT FOR TRUTH AND JUSTICE

Page 20CHANGE4KLEYO

Page 21PRESIDENT’S COLUMN

Page 22THE MIGHTY GREAT CENTRAL

Page 25REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS

Page 26CORBYN AT BURSTON

Page 29BADGE AWARD/OBITUARY

Page 30

CROSSWORD

EDITORIAL

GTR Southern is deliberatelypreventing trains from

stopping at specific stations toforce though Driver OnlyOperation.

The revelations expose thefact that the company is hell-bent on DOO, despite publicclaims, and are determined tohave 1,600 trains a day runningwithout a guard by Januaryregardless of the impact onaccess and safety.

Passengers expecting totravel to Redhill, on Victoria toPortsmouth and Southamptonservices earlier this month weretold to leave the train as itwould not be stopping at theirdestination.

RMT general secretary MickCash said that GTR has shown ablatant disregard for thetravelling public in its drive toget rid of the guard.

“What is even more shockingis that there physically wereguards working on those trainsbut they had been ordered by

GTR bosses to not get involvedin any train dispatch duties inthe Redhill area,” he said.

A leaked memo from thetrain-company funded RailSafety and Standards Board(RSSB) also shows that not onlyis Southern Rail boss CharlesHorton a key player in it but heis advocating the sacking oftrain guards to maximise profits.

The briefing, which listsSouthern chief Charles Horton asa participant, claims that:“Adopting a strategy of guardsredundancies delivers thegreatest economic benefit whilea strategy of staff turnover andredeployment of guards deliversa reduced but positive NPV [netpresent value] over a 20-yearanalysis period.”

Mick Cash said that theleaked briefing blew apartrepeated claims from SouthernRail that RSSB was anindependent organisation.

“It is a classic case of ‘hewho pays the piper calls the

tune’ and makes a nonsense ofthe claims in Southern'staxpayer-funded advertisingcampaign.

“Nowhere in this memo doesit mention safety, it is all aboutaxing guards and making fat-catreturns for the private trainoperators, the issue at the heartof the dispute,” he said.

On the anniversary of thePaddington rail crash in October1999 one of the survivors HelenMitchell gave her full support tothe union’s campaign to keepthe guard.

“As a survivor of the crash inwhich 31 died and countlessothers were burnt and injured, Iam only too aware of the role ofthe guard/conductor.

“Colin, our guard helpedmany people and in my eyeswas a hero, directing manysurvivors to safety as the driverswere sadly, both immediatelykilled which for me underlinesthe deep importance of guards,”she wrote.


4

RMT forced Southern to scrapit's ‘Strike Back’ poster

campaign of incitement toviolence against staff after ahuge public backlash.

After as deluge of hostiletwitter messages the companyhurriedly told managers to

remove and destroy theoffending posters which cost thetaxpayer up to half a millionpounds.

It also led to a continuingtorrent of twitter messagesdenouncing the company, theopposite of its intended affect

SOUTHERNSTRIKE OUT

SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN FOR DOO


5

RMT has called on transportauthority Merseytravel to

abandon ‘reckless’ plans fordriver-only trains after failingfor more than six months toanswer key safety questionsover plans to remove guardsfrom Merseyrail trains.

Multiple attempts to getanswers from the transportauthority have been met withsilence concerning plans thatwould place passengers andrail workers at unacceptable

risk.Since the union first wrote

to Merseytravel chair LiamRobinson, emergencies havetaken place on the railwaynetwork – one of them onMerseyrail itself – which haveunderlined the critical roleplayed by guards in protectingpassengers.

On August 25, a safety-trained Merseyrail guardprotected the train, isolatedthe electric rail and evacuated

passengers to safety after acar collided with a train at alevel crossing while the driverremained in his cab sufferingfrom concussion.

On September 16, a guardprotected a train derailed by alandslide at Watford, carryingout all the safety protocolslaid down in the railway rulebook, and again leadingpassengers to safety while thedriver was incapacitated in thefront coach, which had

become detached from the restof the train.

RMT general secretary MickCash said that these latestincidents would have put livesat serious risk had there notbeen trained guards present todeal with them.

“To continue along thepath to driver-only operationin these circumstances wouldbe nothing short of reckless,”he said.

RMT members on Scotrailhave voted by a massive ten

to one to accept a deal thrashedout in negotiations thatguarantees the retention ofsafety-critical guard on currentScotrail services.

RMT general secretary MickCash said that it was a majorvictory in the fight to stop thecompromising of rail safetythrough the extension of DriverOnly Operation.

The principal agreementapplies to ScotRail EMU servicesthat will operate on thefollowing newly electrified

routes: Edinburgh to Glasgowvia Falkirk High; Edinburgh toGlasgow via Shotts; Edinburghto Dunblane; Glasgow toStirling, Dunblane and Alloaand Glasgow to EdinburghWaverley via FalkirkGrahamston.

It will apply to existing EMUservices that are Conductoroperated and part of the NorthBerwick – Carstairs – Glasgowroutes. It is the intention to putlonger formations on this lineof route. All of the abovespecified EMU services willoperate as conventionally

staffed with a competentConductor on board.

It also retains conventionalstaffing of the electric trains onthe above routes. Hitachi hasbeen instructed to fit doorcontrol panels to Class 385rolling stock.

The proposals guarantee aguard on every new electrifiedtrain and that the Conductorwill retain their full competencyincluding rules, track safety,evacuation.

In addition Scotrail confirmthat trains operating theseservices will not run without a

competent conductor on board."This deal, which represents

a benchmark for the industry, isexactly what we have proposedas a resolution to the Southerndispute. If it's good enough forScotland it's good enough forthe rest of the country.

"The agreement has beenreached after a campaign ofindustrial action and intensenegotiations and shows whatcan be achieved in serious talks.That lesson should be a wake-up call to Southern Rail," saidMr Cash.

GUARD VICTORYAT SCOTRAIL

MERSEYTRAVEL SILENT ON GUARDS


6

RMT members working onVirgin Trains East Coast

took 24-hour strike actionearlier this month over a threatto around 200 jobs, workingconditions and safety.

Talks collapsed after thecompany chose to ignore thenegotiating machinery andsubjected staff to a barrage ofdirect propaganda in order tobulldoze through a package ofcash-led measure that woulddecimate jobs, workingconditions and threaten thesafety regime that currentlyensures a guard on every train.

Nearly 200 jobs across thefranchise are threatened by thecuts and remaining staff will beforced to do cover the work ofthe deleted posts pilingintolerable pressure on allsections of the workforce.

There is talk within theindustry that Virgin/Stagecoachseriously overbid for the EastCoast franchise when the hugelysuccessful publicly-run servicewas kicked out by the Torygovernment.

It is thought that VTEC’sincompetence means that theyare losing a fortune every weekand are now looking to hackback on the staffing budget to

try and prop up their position. The losses could be as much

as £1 million a week asVirgin/Stagecoach took agamble on this crucial inter-cityfranchise coming up trumps forthem.

This has led to the companynow expecting staff andpassengers to take the hit. Theunion has pointed out that thisstate of affairs is a reflection ofthe anarchy that persists on

Britain’s privatised railways.RMT general secretary Mick

Cash said that the union wouldnot sit back while nearly 200members' jobs are under threatand while conditions and safetyare put at risk by a franchisewhich is clearly in financialtrouble.

“We will also not tolerate thecavalier attitude to safety that isnow on show as the companymobilises its scab army of

managers.“The union suspended an

earlier programme of actionwhen it looked like seriousprogress was being made intalks and we have shown ourcommitment by continuing totry and negotiate right up to thewire today.

“Our members will not paythe price for a crisis cooked upin the Virgin/Stagecoachboardroom,” he said.

Cleaning staff on VirginWest Coast are being

ballot for industrial actionagainst plans that wouldreduce staffing numbers by 15per cent and leave thoseremaining facing anintolerable workload.

The job cuts comealongside attacks on pay andworking conditions.

The union also launched aballot for action by cateringsupply staff on the West Coastroute in a separate disputeover pay.

In the nightmare, complexworld of contractors and sub-contractors on Britain’s

privatised railways thecleaning services have beencontracted out by Virgin toAlstom as part of a facilitiescontract and Alstom havethen, in turn, subbed out thecleaning to Voith IndustrialServices which wants to 37jobs.

The cuts hit both on-boardcleaners and those who cleanand prepare the trains onturn-around at main railstations

The union is also fighting athree year pay freeze for staffand the imposition ofdraconian new terms andconditions without negotiation

or agreement.RMT general secretary Mick

Cash said that it wasdisgusting that staff that keepVirgin West Coast trains cleanare now themselves beingtreated like dirt and RMTwould fight the job cuts, theimposition of draconianworking conditions and theattempt to impose povertypay.

“We now have two separatedisputes on Virgin West Coastinvolving both cleaners andcatering staff and it is abouttime that Sir Richard Bransonand his Virgin outfit stoppedpassing the buck and started

taking some responsibility forthe exploitation and abuse ofsupport staff that is now rifeon his services.

“RMT will be calling onpassengers, who pay topdollar for the Virgin long-haulroutes, to support the staffthat slog their guts out indifficult, overcrowdedconditions to make thejourney as comfortable aspossible.

“They should not be linedup for a kicking by privatecompanies whose sole driveris their own profits and thereturns to their shareholders,”he said.

VIRGIN EAST COAST STRIKE

VIRGIN WEST COAST BALLOTS


7

Low-paid hotel workers andtheir supporters staged a

stages a flash-mob protestoutside Liverpool’s Adelphi hotelto turn the spotlight onprofiteering at the world-famousinstitution.

With Adelphi profits up by ahuge 40 per cent and Britannia’sowners sharing an eye-wateringdividend of £35 million, theunion said that it was time forthe hotel’s super-exploited staffto receive a fair share of theprofits their labour generates.

RMT membership at the hotel

has rocketed in recent months,and the union is launching acampaign to secure decent payand an end to demeaning andinsecure zero-hours contracts atthe profitable hotel.

RMT general secretary MickCash said that the Adelphi wassupposed to be one of Britain’spremier hotels, yet its hard-working staff are on appallingpay and conditions.

“Britannia Hotels can hardlyplead poverty, but for too longthey have treated their staff asexpendable, with rock-bottom

wages, no sick pay scheme andthe imposition of insecure zero-hours contracts on the verypeople they rely on to maketheir profits.

“It is a source of shame thata hotel chain that rakes inmillions should seek to exploitany and every means to squeezeever more out of its staff.

“Yet on top of barely legalpoverty pay, the company wantsto reduce by 20 per cent thetime allowed to clean rooms andis attempting to reduce back-of-house staffing levels to

ludicrously inadequate levels.“And anyone who dares point

out that cutting cleaning timeand putting even greaterburdens on already overworkedstaff is bad for business is facedwith the threat of suspensionand disciplinary action.

“There is no doubt thatBritannia can afford decent payand conditions, and RMT isdetermined that its members atthe Adelphi will be treated withthe dignity and respect theydeserve,” he said.

Carillion Rail signed up to anew charter last month

aimed at helping employees whobecome terminally ill at work.

Carillion Rail managingdirector Andy Joy signed up atRMT Midlands office along withRMT regional organise KenUsher and Midlands TUCRegional Secretary Lee Barron.

The Dying to Work VoluntaryCharter is a TUC initiative whichsets out how employers cansupport terminally ill workersfollowing their diagnosis.

It is part of a wider campaignto win greater security forterminally ill workers through a‘protected period’ where theycannot be dismissed as a resultof their condition.

Dying to Work was set up bythe TUC following the case ofJacci Woodcook who was forcedout of her job after beingdiagnosed with terminal breastcancer.

The TUC is asking employersto sign up to its voluntarycharter to stop cases like Jacci’s

happening in the future.RMT regional organiser Ken

Usher said that to receive theawful dreaded news that you areterminally ill is difficult to dealwith.

“Therefore this charter seeksto provide support via goodemployers to their workers inorder that they are treated withdignity, compassion and respectwithout being `cast adrift’ fromtheir job, workplace andcolleagues”

“I am extremely pleased that

Carillion, one of our leadingemployers, have signed up tothis charter and I nowencourage all other decent like-minded employers to followtheir lead and sign up to thischarter.

Andy Joy said that CarillionRail was delighted to sign up asit “reflects one of Carillion’score values, ‘we care’, anddemonstrates our commitmentto treating our workforce fairlyand with respect”.

ADELPHI PROTESTFOR A LIVING WAGE

CARILLION SIGNS UP TO TUC CHARTER


8

London Underground stationstaff RMT members are beingballoted for industrial actionover job cuts, the critical safetyrole of control rooms, forceddisplacement of staff, gradingand a crisis resulting from ticketoffices closures.

Nearly 900 jobs have beenremoved from stations leavingstaff unable to cope with thedemands of running busystations. Many station controlrooms, where communicationand alarm systems should bemonitored, have been closed.

A recent report, compiled byLondon Underground itself,blames the job cuts andunstaffed control room for aserious incident at CanningTown station, when anevacuation spiralled out ofcontrol following an accidentwhere a passenger fell betweena train and platform

RMT general secretary MickCash said that LondonUnderground knows that it hascompromised safety andcustomer service across itsstations by cutting jobs.

“A responsible employer

would reverse the job cuts andput staff back into stationcontrol rooms and if LondonUnderground really cares aboutpassengers it would reverse theticket office closure programme.

“The continuing impact ofthose cuts leaves us with noalternative but to move to aballot for industrial action,” hesaid.

Fit for the Future is thename given by LondonUnderground to new tubestaffing arrangements thatinclude cuts but goes muchfurther.

As well as closing ticketoffices management has givenevery grade roles that werepreviously done by the gradeabove, ie an unpaid promotion.

Customer info points gounanswered as many stationcontrol rooms are nowunstaffed and fire controlpanels, lift alarms and crucialcommunication lines are allbased in the unstaffed controlrooms.

According to the companyreport into the Canning Townincident it was unclear as to

who was performing what role,there was a lack of familiaritywith local incident managementprocesses and no liaisonbetween stakeholders as definedwithin the Control andCongestion Emergency Plan(CCEP).

Canning Town operates witha zero numbers staffing leveland communications fromNSCC were impaired due to thenoise and no instruction wasgiven to stop the DLRdispatching passengers atCanning Town

The massive job losses haveleft stations running onovertime. In many areas thelegal minimum staffingnumbers cannot be maintainedwithout rest-day working.Shortage of cover meansstations are kept open at thecost of short notice changes toduty and constant changes ofduty patterns when workingcover weeks. A mixture of early,late and night turns in one fiveday week is not unusual.

This means that as well asrunning stations with fewerstaff there are far more

“managers” amongst those left,who are pressured to carry outnon-operational work instead ofbeing available on the stations.

The company is trying tomould these new managers intoan anti-worker aggressivemanagement team. Staff aregetting told to attend workplacemeetings after just a few daysof sickness and threats towithdraw sick pay are becomingmore common.

Further chaos has beencreated by the massdisplacement of staff. Ticketclerks with years of experienceat one location have been putin charge, as stationsupervisors, of Euston, KingsCross or Victoria overnightwhile others have been movedto lone working locations inouter zones. At least a third ofall station staff have beenmoved.

Some 600 continue to facethe prospect of a furtherdisplacement anytime in thenext three or four years. RMTwon a 30-minute limit todisplacement and the companyagreed to negotiate a policy to

TUBE BALLOT OVERJOBS AND SAFETY


9

manage this. However, theyhave now imposed their ownarrangements, which give staffno effective say in where theymight end up.

As a result of previous strikesRMT has won importantprotections meaning salarieswere guaranteed andmanagement’s plans for flexibleworking practices were pushedback. We also won over ahundred jobs back. But it is nowclear that too many jobs werestill cut and staff cannot beexpected to keep doing the workof two or three people day afterday.

Selling tickets on self-servicemachines takes far longer thanin a staffed ticket office. Thesame Customer ServiceAssistants are expected to dothis at the same time asmanaging ticket gates andproviding assistance topassengers.

In response to the growingcrisis the new LondonUnderground managing directorhas ordered an internal reviewof Fit for the Future while theLondon Mayor Sadiq Khan hasasked the statutory passengersgroup, Travelwatch, to reviewthe ticket office closure plan andassociated impact on passengers.

RMT has made a submissionto Travelwatch and is calling onthe company to bring forward aplanned review with the unionsto take place now.

But RMT is recommendingneed action and not just reviewsand reports and is balloting allstation grades for strike actionand action short of strikes. Anovertime ban will expose thechronic short staffing acrossLondon Underground’s stations.

RMT IS DEMANDING:

- More staff – back to the pre-Fit for the Future levels

- All control rooms to bestaffed

- No more displacements untila transfer policy has beenagreed

- Reverse the ticket officeclosure programmes

- Make all Customer ServiceAssistants fully operation-ally qualified CSA1 grade

Parliamentary column

Labour’s purpose has always been to speakfor the workers of Britain. As the worldchanges, we have to listen and understandthose changes. The patterns of work thatmany grew up with are no longer set instone. That’s why Workplace 2020 is so important.It’s essential to the wholesale renewal of theLabour Party that we reflect a world wherework is less secure for a growing section ofthe population. The challenges of the nextindustrial revolution mean that the verydefinition of a worker may be radicallydifferent in 20 years than it is currently.The Tories claim to be the party of workingpeople, to speak for communities up anddown the country, but they don’t. Theyrepresent division and insecurity for those inwork and demonization for those not. We remember the damage they did last timearound and we see what they are doing towhole swathes of society now. Theirs isn’t agovernment that looks to the future forworking people. They look to the past; theschools of the 1950s and the Trade Unionrestrictions of the 1820s. Under their government many people notonly don’t have employment rights, theynow feel lucky to get any scrap of workoffered. They are expected to accept the crumbsfrom the table, whilst the employers and theshareholders feast on vast profits. Sixmillion people earn less than the LivingWage. Young people are stuck at homeunable live independently because theydon’t know if they will earn enough fromweek to week to pay their rent. Almost amillion people are employed on Zero HoursContracts.As the Tories turn their fire on Trade Unions,unscrupulous and exploitative businesspractices, such as those recently revealedat Sports Direct and BHS are goingunchecked. Through recently passing theTrade Union Act they have further shrunkworking people’s rights in a country alreadydescribed as the most restrictive in theWestern World.

Workplace 2020 is Labour’s response. It willbe the biggest discussion with workingpeople and employers in a generation. Itunderlines how serious we are aboutcreating workplaces fit for the future.Everyone has a story to tell on the world ofwork and on what it should look like in thefuture.And Workplace 2020 isn’t about focusing onthe negatives. Many people have positiveexperiences of the workplace. Many peoplebenefit from apprenticeships, trainingopportunities and additional support. Wewant to hear from working people andemployers about how we can promote goodpractice and raise standards.We will be travelling around the UK – to ournations, to our regions, to local communitiesbecause I want to hear from as diverse agroup of people as possible.We want to work with employees andemployers to create an environment that isfair to all. But alone I can only do so much, Ineed your help.We need you to set up meetings in yourworkplace, your local community centre,place of worship, local cafe, pub or evenyour front room. You can hold a Workplace2020 discussion anywhere.Even online - you can visitwww.Workplace2020.org.uk We want you to tell us exactly what youthink the future world of work should looklike. The Labour and Trade Union movementis best when we work together, and this isyour opportunity to embody the spirit ofgenerations of men and women who havegone before, who have transformed society.The old adages proudly displayed on tradeunion banners remain relevant today;Agitate, Educate, Organise. Together wecan change can the world of work. You canbe part of that.

Ian LaveryThe MP for Wansbeck, the Shadow Minister forthe Cabinet Office and a Member of the RMTParliamentary Group.

TELL USWHATYOUWANT


10

RMT has raised concerns withRail Staff Travel aroundsafeguarded or former BR staffmembers having their travelfacilities reduced if they enterinto reduced working hourstowards the end of their railcareers.

RST responded that it wouldhighlight the impact of certainrules of the scheme which statethat the level of benefits heldat the point of retirement is thelevel retained throughoutretirement.

As a result, if a memberscales down to part time priorto retiring, then the schemecould not allow a reversion tofull-time after the retirementdate.

To avoid this, the RSTsuggested that if an individualthinking of scaling back is

already eligible to retire intravel facilities terms then theemployer can notify it of thatfact while they are stillworking full-time.

Travel facilities are then“banked” at full-time level andwill be issued as retired. Theindividual can then “return” towork and still have activeresidential facilities, assumingthe minimum of 15 hours perweek is worked. In this waystaff member is protected.

TRAVEL FOR ALL

All three transport unions havealso united against the two tiersystem where some staffreceive travel benefits andsome don't.

In a joint statement earlierthis year the three generalsecretaries Mick Cash , Mick

Whelan of ASLEF and ManuelCortes of TSSA (above)reiterated their support for stafftravel benefits across the board.

“We note that rail workerswho entered employment in therailways before 1 April 1996are safeguarded and eligible forthe full range of protected railtravel facilities for themselvesand their families.

“We further note that nearlyall those who entered the railindustry after 31 March 1996are either not entitled to freetravel at all or only restrictedfacilities on an individualcompany basis if they work fora passenger train operatingcompany.

“Travel facilities are clearlyan important benefit and weare concerned that despiterepresentations by our unions

the employers and governmenthave allowed a damaging twotier system to develop amongstUK rail workers.

“Furthermore it is the casethat rail workers from othercountries such as Spain orFrance are entitled to freetravel across the UK railnetwork yet a British railworker employed after 1996 isnot. “We believe that all railworkers and their families,irrespective of service, shouldreceive equal, free andimproved travel facilities whichmay be multi-modal.

“We call on the government,devolved transport authoritiesand rail companies to ensurethe introduction of a moreequal and improved system oftravel facilities provisionforthwith,” it said.

FAIR TRAVELFOR ALL


11

RMT AT TUC2016

Union fights for democracy, jobs andrenationalisation and against austerity,

poverty pay and social dumping

Mick Cash


12

This year’s TUC meeting inBrighton was the first

coming together of the tradeunion movement since themomentous vote to leave theEuropean Union in June.

Unsurprisingly the issueloomed large throughoutCongress and RMT stuck tolong-held democratic principlesand backed the vote to Leave.This position was vindicated bythe strong support for Brexit inworking class communitiesacross the country that havebeen cut adrift by themetropolitan elite.

RMT London executivemember John Reid spoke for theunion in the debate on whathappens after the vote and setout the union’s position.

Opposing the composite puttogether by the unions thatsupported the Remain campaign,John said: “It is a trap to blamethe Brexit vote for the currentattacks on the trade unions.

“The fact is that RMTsupported leaving the EU for thevery reasons that we are anti-austerity, anti-privatisation andanti-big business.

“RMT supports aninternationalist and socialistprogramme and that is why wewelcome the vote, it means thatwe are now free to fight against

policies like TTIP and railprivatisation”.

Responding to claims fromother speakers that the EU was adefender of workers’ rights Johnsaid: “It wasn’t EU diktat thatsecured advances in ourworkplaces.

“Those rights were won bytrade union action andmobilisation by the likes of thewomen at the Ford plant inDagenham,” he said.

Paul Shaw, union EC memberfor maritime grades, spoke inthe debate on the living wageand highlighted the appallingabuse in the shipping sectorwhich RMT had highlighted inan amendment to the originalmotion.

“RMT has long campaignedfor an enforceable minimumwage for seafarers that willmean ship owners cannotexploit our members.

“Our SOS2020 campaign willbe taken out to ports, piers andparliament and we are callingfor your support.

“The fact that companies likeCondor Ferries, operating justup the South Coast from here,are paying seafarers £2.40 anhour is a scandal. Join us in our

campaign to rebuild ourshipping industry which hasbeen devastated over the past30 years,” he said.

The motion was carriedunanimously.

Paul’s comments were echoedin a later debate on maritimejobs by Billy Jones from HullShipping branch whoemphasised just what an outrageit was that, as an island nation,our shipping industry has beendragged to its knees.

RMT’s president Sean Hoyletook the union’s case right tothe heart of the matter with hisspeech moving the maincomposite motion on workers’rights.

Sean reminded the congressthat it had existing policy,thanks to motions from RMTand the POA in previous years,to look at the whole issue ofgeneralised strike action inresponse to the repeated attackson our workplaces – but withlittle actually done as a result.

“This year we are calling foran urgent conference toconsider in detail our variouslegal, political and industrialresponses to the Trade UnionAct.

“We need to tell the bossesthey can shove the crumbs fromtheir table. The working classare coming for the whole cake.”

Our delegates intervened ona key debate on public land andaffordable housing, highlightingthe scandal of Network Railbeing cajoled into selling offland assets to balance the booksand the parallel scandal of themulti-million pound Earls Courtelite housing development whilesocial housing is wiped off theagenda.

An emergency RMT motionon ticket office closures and theaxing of jobs on LondonUnderground was moved byJohn Reid and was carried,committing the trade unionmovement to all-out support forour unions campaign to reversethe cuts and closures.

On the final day, RMT took amotion onto the floor of theCongress calling for full supportfor the guards on Southern Railfighting for jobs and safety witha demand for public ownershipof buses and rail to end theprivatised chaos that isparalysing Britain's transportservices.

The motion also applaudedthe long-running fight byguards and their colleagues onScotrail for safe rail services

RMT at TUC

across Scotland and pledgessupport for all groups ofworkers on rail and tubestanding firm againstprofiteering and cuts.

In a scathing attack on GoviaThameslink Railways, and theircheerleaders in Government,RMT general secretary MickCash said that we were facingthe most concerted attack onrail workers and passengers inliving memory.

“The government and trainoperators have declared war onthe rail unions and they don’tgive a damn if passengers arecollateral damage

"How else can we explain thescandal that is GTR southern,the worse performing traincompany in the country?

"Passenger protests in shire

Tory areas are a regular eventagainst a service that is rammedout, late, expensive anduniversally unpopular.

“So toxic that even Tory MPshave called for the service to benationalised and so corrupt thatSouthern were given the greenlight by government to tear upthe franchise agreement andcreate chaos by cancelling 350trains a day

"It is so rotten that instead oftaking responsibility they havetaken out adverts in newspapersattacking their own staff andtelling lies about staff sicknessand so despicable that even therail minister resigned in shame.

Mick also attacked thegovernment for announcing a£20 million taxpayer bail-out ofthe Sou thern operation just 24

hours before the parentcompany confirmed profits of£100 million.

"We don’t want politiciansplaying politics with our busand rail industry.

"We don’t what halfmeasures. We want a national,integrated transport system andwe want all our buses andrailway under publicownership," he told delegates.

With a group of RMT guardsunfurling a banner from thebalcony of the Brighton Centre,to prolonged applause fromdelegates, the union’s motionwas carried unanimously, givingus a platform right across thelabour movement from whichwe can build and expand ouron-going campaigning work.

It was a fitting end to a busyand highly productive week forthe union’s TUC delegation.


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RMT at TUC

The union held a verysuccessful fringe meeting

at the Labour Party conferencein Liverpool last month aspart of the Save Our Seafarerscampaign SOS 2020 aimed at

politicians, trade unions andthe wider general public.

The union is demandingaction from government andindustry to address the ageingworkforce, inferior

employment and equalityrights, lack of Ratings trainingand de-regulated shippingregisters which are driving thecrisis in seafarer jobs andskills in the UK.

SAVE OUR SEAFARERS

Paul Shaw

Billy Jones John Reid


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Heathrow Express Servicemanager Kirsty Sando has wonthe Business Impact Award atthe Association of WomenTravel Executives’ annualawards last month.

The award is presented to awoman who has shown greatinnovation within her rolewhich has had a positive impactwithin the business.

Ms Sando, (below centre)won the award for integratingdrivers into the customerservice side of the business andintroducing a mentor mappingscheme for the driving team.

Heathrow Express director

Fraser Brown described howKirsty voluntarily devised aprogramme, which includestraining modules to put driversat the heart of the business andnot just in a compartment atthe front of a train.

“She also introduced amentor mapping scheme fordrivers, which has helped newtrainee drivers becomeintegrated into the team fasteras well as helping themimprove skills and careerprospects.

“As a young woman in ateam of mostly older malemanagers, Kirsty has changed

the dynamic and brings a newoutlook and fresh energy thathas allowed her and her bossesto make changes to the way thedriver team interact with therest of the business and withcustomers,” he said.

Ms Sando has progressedthrough the ranks withinHeathrow Express, becoming afully qualified driver at the ageof 24 and progressed to beingone of the youngest drivermanagers in the industry by 27.

Her achievements can beseen in the significant increasein drivers’ ‘engagement.’ In therecently published employee

satisfaction survey, driver‘engagement’ has increased 22per cent year-on-year.

“I’m delighted to havereceived this award as ithighlights that train drivers -women, as well as men – canbe recognised for the importantwork that they do within thetravel and rail industry,” shesaid.

Heathrow Express provides anon-stop 15-minute trainservice between Paddingtonstation and more than 40 percent of drivers are women - ahigher proportion than anyother rail operator.

From left to right Sponsor of theAWTE Awards Lorraine BarnesBurton from the British TravelAwards, Kirsty Sando HeathrowExpress and Debbee Dale Chairof the AWTE.

HEATHROW EXPRESS CHAMPION RMT member Kirsty Sando wins award forhelping trainees improve skills and theircareer development


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Trade unionists from theNorwegian Railway Association(NJF) visited Britain last monthto learn about the impact of railprivatisation on workers inBritain.

The right wing Norwegiangovernment has announced thefirst two packages of routes itplans to privatise using EU raildirectives that fragment thenetwork between infrastructureand operations.

The first package includesthe Sørlandet, Arendal andJæren lines, while the secondincludes the Dovre, Rauma,Røros, Meråker and Nordlandlines, as well as the Trøndelag

Commuter Rail network. Norwegian State Railways

(NSB) and its subsidiary NSBGjøvikbanen, which operatesservices between Oslo andGjøvik, will be awardedcontract extensions fromDecember 2017 to the start ofthe tendered contracts inDecember 2018.

A new state-backedcompany will assumeresponsibility for train lineexpansion, property,maintenance and operations.Both maintenance work androute operations will be put outto bid through a public-privatepartnership, which will sound

familiar to many in Britain. The overall system will be

backed by the state but NSBoperations will need to competefor the rights to operate onvarious lines.

The government has saidthat bidders may include MTRof China, SJ of Sweden andDeutsche Bahn of Germany,along with Dutch and Frenchtrain operators.

NJF delegation leaderMorten Olsen said that it wouldnot be fair ‘competition’ for thebenefit of passengers.

“This will be competitionbetween foreign companies tosecure monopolies for running

trains for years to come in theinterests of profit.

“Under governmentproposals for the NSB ticketsystem, the players who win thetender and get a monopoly onroutes shall also be able to selltheir own tickets.

“Then NSB will be drainedof knowledge and technology,and competitors will have anadvantage, It is not fair play,”he said.

The move towardsprivatisation has alreadythreatened workers’ pensionsand the future of ticket officesacross the country.

NORWAY SAYS NORAIL PRIVATISATION

Norwegian trade unionists visit RMT to learnabout rail privatisation being imposed inNorway next year

Ferry operatorsDFDS andCaledonianMacBraynerespond to theratings crisis withapprenticeshipschemes

NEWRATINGSJOIN THECREW


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DFDS ratings with their families

A very special passing-outcelebration took place on thedeck of a ferry operated byDFDS heading out of Dover toCalais last month as nine newratings completed their two-yearapprenticeships.

The families of the nine –made up of seven deck and twoengine apprentices – looked onproudly as DFDS vice presidentof crewing Gemma Griffinexplained that they were nowabled-bodied seafarers.

The apprentice scheme is afirst for DFDS designed toaddressed the problems of anaging workforce that is clearly aproblem across the maritimesector.

A previous attempt tobringing on new ratings saw anintake of seven but only twosurvived the training to stay onin the industry.

As a result begin to developa scheme in conjunction withthe National Maritime TrainingCentre in Gravesend and theMerchant Navy Training Board(MNTB) and other organisationsand by 2014 the first nineintake began their training.

The training combinedlearning the theory side of theindustry with periods at sea.During the course the deckapprentices learnt skillsincluding operating ships’ helmsand being a part of the bridgewatch-keeping team, whilst thetwo engineering apprenticestook time studying propulsionand engine maintenance, repairs

and fabrication.“We took the group on and

delivered the underpinningknowledge in three phases,” saidStephen Watkins, curriculummanager at North Kent College’sNational Maritime TrainingCentre.

They did an initial trainingphase with safety courses then aphase at sea, back to the collegefor the middle phase and a thirdsea phase before coming backfor their final college sessions.

The nine apprentices camefrom a variety of backgroundsand spanned almost fourdecades in age; from theyoungest just turning 19 to theoldest who was 50.

Some candidates were takenfrom other parts of the DFDSoperation, Daniel Sale wasworking shoreside whileArgentinian-born PatriciaBrizuela, the oldest apprentice,was working in the cateringdepartment for six years.

To acclimatise the newratings jobs there will be a six-month easing-in period toensure they have time to learnthe ropes properly in their newcareers at sea.

The audience on-board onthe day also included the newbatch of apprentices that havebeen taken on for the two-yearcourse this year to ensure thatthe flow of new ratings keepsflowing in.

RMT national secretary SteveTodd told the gathering that theunion welcomed the DFDS

apprenticeship scheme.“I would like to commend

DFDS for their progressiveapproach to maritime trainingand for being forward-thinkingenough to understand thatwithout new ratings theindustry will suffer.

“I would encourage othership owners to take the sameapproach in order to avert thedemographic time-bomb that weface in 2020 when manyexisting ratings will be comingashore for the last time.

“I can also report that we aremaking progress elsewhere withnew apprentices being taken onat Caledonian MacBrayne,” hesaid.

Dover Shipping branch alsosaid that it extremely pleasedwith the success of the DFDSApprenticeship scheme and isvery proud to have beencampaigning on the subject ofratings apprenticeships for anumber of years.

Former branch secretaryMalcolm Dunning was involvedfor many years highlighting theshortage of UK and Irish ratings,the demographics in regards theage profile of ratings and theskills gap that shippingcompanies had created byfailing to train ratings.

Mr Dunning worked tirelesslywith both with the Chamber ofShipping and RMT’sParliamentary group whileserving on the union’s nationalexecutive.

The branch also puts rating

apprenticeships on the agendaof all meetings with shippingcompanies the union deals withand encourage companies whohave piloted ratingapprenticeships to increase thenumbers they are taking on.

Incoming branch secretaryLee Davison said that it was agreat achievement for DFDS andratings training as a whole.

“The commitment thecompany has put into ratingstraining is second to none andwe look forwards workingclosely with the DFDSapprentices of the future,” hesaid.

CAL MAC APPRENTICESHIPS

RMT reps and officials have alsoworked closely with CaledonianMacBrayne to ensure that sixdeck and four engine ratingapprentices started their coursesat the City of Glasgow Collegeunder the Maritime OccupationsFramework in the autumnintake.

Once again there were over athousand applications for these10 apprenticeships, dispellingthe industry myth that youngpeople don’t want to work atsea anymore.

Following intensive workbetween the union, CalMac,Scottish Qualifications Authorityand the Scottish TUC, thecompany was also able to useModern Apprenticeships inRetail and Hospitality to take on10 apprentices, eight womenand two men, to train them forjobs as Ratings in the cateringand on-board servicesdepartments.

RMT general secretary MickCash said that it was a goodnews story for the union and aprogressive example to thedomestic ferry industry of theprogrammes that exist torecruit, train and employ thenext generation of ratings.

“The SOS 2020 campaign willuse CalMac’s programme ofratings training as an exampleof what can and should be doneby public and private sectoremployers in the shippingindustry in order to revive UKseafarer numbers,” he said.


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In 2006, a group of tradeunionists came together inLiverpool to overturn thismiscarriage of justice and theShrewsbury 24 campaign wasborn.

All the work carried out byus is done so on a voluntarybasis and the monies raisedthrough trade union and LabourParty affiliations pay our legalcosts.

The campaign decided toadopt a twin-track approach inthe fight for justice for thepickets. Legally, the convictionscould only be overturned by theCourt of Appeal and thecampaign has spent considerabletime and effort towards thatend.

This legal work is combinedwith taking the case of theShrewsbury 24 to every tradeunion and labour movementevent the length and breadth ofBritain. RMT has always beenstaunch supporters of thecampaign. Bob Crow spoke atmany of our events including

handing in a petition toDowning Street containing tensof thousands of signatures.

We have 21 national tradeunions affiliated to ourcampaign, trades councils andhundreds of trades union andLabour Party branches.

We realised that to overturnthe convictions we needed to getthe case back to the Court ofAppeal. Only the Criminal CasesReview Commission (CCRC),which has the power to refercases of miscarriages of justiceto the appeal courts. The termsof reference of the CCRCrequired us to obtain ‘freshevidence’, which we obtained,and lodged an application to theCCRC on behalf of the pickets inApril 2012.

The government has withheldmany files relating to the trialsat Shrewsbury and have turneddown repeated requests todisclose them. They cite section23 of the Freedom ofInformation Act 2000, which

A FIGHT FOR TRUTHAND JUSTICEEileen Turnbull ofthe Shrewsbury 24Campaign outlineswhy the prosecutionof 24 buildingworkers in the1970s is unfinishedbusiness

“We want to clear our names before we die.We were innocent of all charges.”Ricky Tomlinson, speaking in 2015

Handing in the petition


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1972 saw the first-evernational building workersstrike. At that time constructionworkers faced hostile andpowerful employers, lumplabour and isolated workplacesthat changed constantlywhenever a contract finished.

Health and safety measureson building sites were non-existent and building workersfaced dangerous workingconditions on a daily basis.One building worker would dieeach working day in early1970s and over 70,000 wouldsuffer serious injury or illnesseach year.

During the strike, buildingworkers organised picketing ofsites throughout the country.After a new pay offer from theemployers was rejected theunions stepped up picketingand called an all-out strike. At

the end of the twelve-weekdispute, in September 1972,they succeeded in winning thehighest ever pay rise in thehistory of the building industry.

Out of the blue, five monthsafter the strike ended, 24 NorthWales pickets were picked upand charged with over 200offences including unlawfulassembly, intimidation andaffray. Six of the pickets werealso charged with conspiracy tointimidate.

None of these pickets hadbeen cautioned or arrestedduring the strike. There were nopicket lines and noconfrontations with the police,as pickets would have meetingswith building workers on sites.There were no police cautionsor arrests. There were nocomplaints from the police asto the behaviour of the pickets.

The prosecution focused onthe picketing in the Shrewsburyand Telford area in September1972, specifically the‘Brookside’ site which wasowned by Robert McAlpine.Approximately 80 police hadaccompanied the pickets on theShropshire building sites at alltimes that day.

There were three trials atShrewsbury Crown Court. Threeof the pickets were found guilty

of conspiracy to intimidate,unlawful assembly and affrayand were sent to prison: DesWarren for three years, RickyTomlinson for two years andJohn McKinsie Jones for ninemonths. Three other pickets inthe second trial were alsoconvicted and sent to prison.Sixteen were given suspendedsentences and two wereacquitted of all charges.

relates to national security. Wehave campaigned tirelessly toget these files released.

We combined my researchwork with our collective effortsin campaigning to bring theissue of the Shrewsbury trialsinto the public arena. Wewanted to explain whathappened when the state jailedworkers who took industrialaction in 1972. A valuablesource of information was abooklet written by Jim Arnison,who reported on the strike forthe Morning Star. He attendedthe trials and wrote regularlyabout them. The Campaign hasrecently reprinted Jim’s account,The Shrewsbury Three.

My research has taken me tothe National Archives at Kew,the Working Class MovementLibrary, the Marx MemorialLibrary, the Bodleian Library theChurchill Archive Centre,Cambridge and many otherrepositories throughout Britain.The evidence that I haveobtained demonstrates clearlythat the government interferedin bringing the charges againstthe pickets.

The obstacle has always beenthe intransigence of thegovernment in refusing to

release the papers relating to thetrials. I have submitted severalFreedom of Information Act2000 (FOI) requests for themissing papers. The governmentcontinue to withhold themunder section 23 of the FOI Act,claiming that to release themwould be a threat to nationalsecurity.

We launched a DowningStreet e-petition and a paperpetition which gathered tens ofthousands of signatures. LabourMPs have raised two Early DayMotions, culminating in a threehour debate in the House ofCommons calling on thegovernment to give fulldisclosure. The vote was won by120 votes to three to release thedocuments but they continue torefuse to do so.

In its 2015 general electionmanifesto, the Labour Party saidit would “continue to supportvictims of miscarriages ofjustice and will ensure there areno barriers to access justice. Inthe case of the Shrewsbury 24we will approve the release ofall papers concerning theShrewsbury Trials and placethem in the public domain.”

Jeremy Corbyn and JohnMcDonnell have supported our

campaign over many years andreceived consistent support fromother Labour MPs in particularDavid Anderson and SteveRotheram.

In 2015 Andy Burnhambecame Shadow Home Secretaryand has taken up the fight toobtain the missing documents.Andy and the campaign havemet with Home Office ministerMike Penning, who admittedthat the government are holdingback files but in his opinionthey ‘are not relevant to thepickets case’. They are also beingwithheld under section 23 of theFreedom Of Information Act.

Ricky Tomlinson says: “MrPenning we will be the judge ofthat. If they are connected tothe case, why not release them?We believe that the reason theyare holding back is that they arewaiting for us all to die! Theeldest picket is 90 the youngestis 68, five pickets have passedaway.”

We have strengthened ourlegal team to make our finalsubmissions to the CriminalCases Review Commissionbefore they make their decision.We now have Mike MansfieldQC, the leading criminal andcivil rights lawyer who has been

involved with the Hillsboroughcase and the work of theOrgreave Truth and JusticeCampaign.

Our campaign has beenattempting to achieve justice forthe past ten years. It has beenan uphill struggle but we arealmost there. We have overcomemany obstacles and obtained aconsiderable amount ofevidence but we continue toface absolute opposition fromthe government.

We would ask RMT membersto contact their MPs and askthem to support the efforts ofour team of Labour MPs ingetting the government torelease the documents. Wewould also ask branches toaffiliate to the campaign. Wecan send speakers to branch andregional meetings to explain theimportance of the issues raisedby the Shrewsbury trials andtheir relevance for tradeunionists today.

For more information:[email protected] write to us at: Shrewsbury 24Campaign, PO Box 92, LiverpoolL19 3WD.Or phone: 07927-937773

THE HISTORY

There are many reasons why Iam proud to be a member ofRMT. One reason is ourrelentless fight to improvehealth and safety in theworkplace and throughout theindustries we organise in.

In fact, our union has alwaysprioritised health and safety andwe have an impressive historyof campaigning and fighting inorder to force changes that

prevent accidents and tragedy.Our current struggle to save

the grade of guard on trains is afight that focuses on safety. Asour banners on the picket linesstate: 'this strike is all aboutsafety'.

Well there is another fight tobe had about safety which is thereason I write this article. Agood friend of mine, Bernard(Be) Atwell, tragically lost his

wonderful daughter last year inan accident that was entirelyavoidable. Many of ourmembers know Be. He is one ofthe singers in the band Alabama3, who often play at RMTgatherings.

Be's daughter, Kleyo, died asa result of an unregulatedindustry that has next to no setsafety standards. Kleyo wentbungee jumping.

The extreme sports industryhas a variety of safety standardsaround the world but not onestandard, law or EU legislationthat provides a clear confidencebenchmark to protect holiday-makers and adventure-seekers.

It will further shock RMTmembers to learn that since thisheartbreaking tragedy evenmore young people have beeninjured or lost their lives. Thismust stop!

Be has now started acampaign –CHANGE4KLEYO.ORG - and weneed the help of every RMTmember. It will only take a fewseconds to add your signature tothe campaign. A few secondsthat will save lives!

Please read the followingletter from a loving father whowants to stop future tragedies.

Thank you for taking the time to readthis article.


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After reading this piece in the RMT News, I hopeyou take a moment to reflect on how precious andfragile life really is, and to be aware that the mostsacred things to us – our family and friends –can, in a moment, be taken from us with agruesome finality, leaving all in a stateunfamiliar, unyielding, and unnecessary.My wonderful daughter Kleyo’s life came to atragic and avoidable end in July last year 2015.She was 23 years old. Full of joy, beauty, andpurpose. All the things that bring joy to a father’ssoul. She had her plans, her ideas, and herdreams. I’m left with a gulf in my life, and anunimaginable form of frustration that no soulshould have to go through. This has impactedeveryone she has ever met, those she loved, andthose that still love her.I know I will never get beyond this, but in time, Iwill become stronger with God’s help. My soleintention is to ensure that this most painful andharrowing situation does not befall anotherinnocent, another parent, another family.It’s all I have. It’s all anyone ever has. I now havea single mission.The name of the activity which killed my daughteris ‘extreme sports’. I believe that this should alsobe accompanied with ‘extreme skills’. Extremesports companies, take on an often completelyunqualified member of the public, and let themtake their life into their own hands for the benefit

of an adrenaline rush. In many locations acrossEurope, staff at these sites have little or no‘extreme skills’. The staff are simply not qualifiedto take into their hands, the lives of thoseenthusiasts, for financial benefit.Let me put this into context. If you want to carrya passenger in a car, for example, you are a taxidriver, you have to have checked eyesight, youneed to have an MOT, you need a qualifiedlicense. You are effectively taking someone’s lifein your hands.The extreme sports market is not a consistentlyregulated as taxi driving across Europe. Are wenot Europeans? Do we not have regulatory bodieswhose duty it is to protect those that theyfinancially benefit from? Tourism is a hugemarket. We appear to be able to regulate theairlines, the transport, so why is the destinationactivity market so under-regulated?Unregulated businesses can make a huge amountof money out of the extreme sports market, soperhaps they feel they can afford to take thechance with safety, and sadly, other people’s lives.Please help me to support a pan-Europeanlegislation act that will help to enable all thosefun seekers to have a safe adventure. I need yourhelp to tackle unregulated and unskilled operatorsin this burgeoning market.It is true in life that accidents happen, but manyaccidents could be prevented. Many of these

accidents don’t have to happen, again.Within a month of losing Kleyo, a Dutch girl wasfatally injured in a similar way. Please visit thewebsite and sign our petition. www.change4kleyo.orgWe want the petition to drive our politicians toregulate the extreme sports market in Europe, andperhaps we can all prevent this happening in thefuture.

Bless you, Bernard AtwellLondon, 2016

Alan Pottage of RMT'sOrganising Unit makes anappeal that will save lives

CHANGE4KLEYO


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President’s column

RMT has long been a union that firmlybelieves in international solidarity with allworkers and recently I had a firsthandopportunity to experience this.

At the end of September I travelled to Najac inFrance with Wessex NEC member PaulMcDonnell, to attend the Annual GeneralMeeting of SUD Rail.

SUD-Rail is a militant fighting union that hasmany similarities to ourselves and we wereable to listen to delegates talking about thesame problems we have already experiencedor may well do in the future.

Unions sharing stories of victories and defeatscan only help us all, with our struggles that layahead.

I also had the privilege along with NECmember John Reid, of representing us at theWorld Federation of Trade Unions [WFTU], inSouth Africa.

The 17th Congress of the WFTU took place inDurban; with 1,500 delegates from 111countries.

There were 112 different speakers and thewhole conference was a democratic, open,internationalist and class-oriented trade unionevent held in the interest of workers aroundthe world who are fighting for a societywithout exploitation of man by man, for asociety with full rights for the world’s workingclass…well that’s what they told me…hopeit’s true.

After I delivered my speech, the Zuludelegates showed there appreciation [maybethat it had ended] by singing and dancing, thiswas followed by the conferences observing aminutes silence in memory of Bob Crow,someone they all wanted to talk about.

Our own Trade Union Congress could learn alot from the WFTU, from class struggleworkers solidarity and their completeopposition to the capitalist system.

And before any of my friends give me thatlook, I will remind you that Rule one of ourown union states in our objectives “to workfor the supersession of the capitalist systemby a socialistic order of society”.

Now a little closer to home, we all know thatJeremy Corbyn has been re-elected as Labour

leader with an even stronger mandate thanbefore, so I’m sure all those lovely membersof the PLP will put their knives away andsupport the leader to get the Tories out and aprogressive socialist Labour Party elected. I’mnot holding my breath.

I will remind those who refuse to respect theresult, because they believe that Jeremycannot win an election, of something I readrecently.

It is worth remembering that weeks prior toClement Attlee’s famous 1945 landslideelection victory, which heralded a governmentproviding the welfare state, nationalisation ofkey industries and the NHS, Labour partychairman Harold Laski sent his leader a letterstating that he should consider resigning, ashis leadership was a “grave handicap to thehopes of victory”.

The SOS 2020 campaign to save seafarersjobs is a much needed initiative; by 2020 therewill be few if any UK seafarers if we don’t starttraining and stop deregulation now.

For an Island nation it would be a completescandal if our seafarers are allowed todisappear.

We will be calling for:

• Equal rights in employment, equality andimmigration law for UK seafarers.

• Domestic cabotage, (transport betweenUK ports) protections for UK crew andflag.

• statutory annual target for training new UKRatings.

• Safe ships in safe seas – higher safetystandards in UK shipping.

• Protect Royal Fleet Auxiliary fromprivatisation.

Finally, I would like to send a message ofsolidarity to all our striking members out thereat the moment…Safety before profit, mustalways win.

“Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery.None but ourselves can free our minds”Bob Marley

In SolidaritySean Hoyle

CLASS SOLIDARITY ACROSSTHE WORLD

The Great Central Railway is thecountry's only double track,main line heritage railwaywhere steam engines can still beseen passing each other atspeed.

Its five and a half miles oftrack includes four stations,each restored to a period in therailway's history, the 1950sLoughborough Central, the1940s Quorn and Woodhouse,the Edwardian-era Rothley andthe 1960s Leicester North.

But this year it is about toembark on an enormouslyambitious project to re-instate abridge dismantled in 1973 overthe Midland MainlIne railway toreconnect the northern part ofthe Great Central Railway, thuscreating 18 miles of heritagetrack linking Nottingham to

Leicester once again. This involves the installation

of new bridges and the buildingof new embankments to closethe 500 yard gap left by British

Railways destruction under thewatchful eye of Beeching.

GCR general managerRichard Patching, who has beenwith the railway since 1969,explains that the bridge designis complete and the otherbridges have been donated byNetwork Rail.

“Refurbishment of the bridgeover the Grand Union Canal isexpected to start this yeargiving better access to therebuilding of the missingembankments,” he says.

This is a multi-million poundproject with the so-called‘Bridge to the Future’ over themainline railway costing over£2 million alone.

“We have been fortunate toreceive a grant from theLeicester and LeicestershireEconomic Partnership of £1million as they see its economicbenefit to the whole region.

“We have also raised over £1million from the fantasticsupport from the public andsupporters of the railway who


22

THE MIGHTYGREAT CENTRAL

The Great Central Railway isreconnecting Nottingham withLeicester to become among thelongest heritage railways inthe country

LAST TRAIN: The GCR collection of locos includes the BR Standard Class 7 70013Oliver Cromwell, one of the last steam trains to work on British Railways inAugust 1968 before the steam ban.


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have also seen the excitingbenefits that will be realised,” MrPatching points out with thesame enthusiasm.

He also points out that theHeritage Lottery Fund hasallocated funds for a multi-million pound railway museumto be built at Leicester North inconjunction with the NationalRailway Museum in York.

This bustling heritage railwayboasts 50 staff and hundreds ofregistered volunteers to ensurethat this living museumcontinues to develop into anational showpiece.

But the future of the GCRwasn’t always so bright.

After years of neglect the linewas closed in 1966 as a throughroute to London and the line

was severed just south of Rugbywhile the proud station atNottingham Victoria wasdemolished. A DMU service fromRugby to Nottingham wasdiscontinued in 1969 when theline was finally closed and theiconic GCR station atLoughborough was boarded upand abandoned and that wasthat. That is until a group ofenthusiasts formed apreservation group the same yearto begin the mammoth task ofpreservation and restoration.

Firstly, the boards came downat Loughborough Central, therailway's principle base - abeautiful Edwardian-era stationbuilt on the island platformmodel - had been saved.

Since then volunteers and

staff have re-instated a doubletrack section fromLoughborough Central toRothley and opened a singletrack to Leicester North and haverestored stations, signals andsignalboxes, carriages, wagonsand steam and diesellocomotives.

What you see today are theresults of more than forty yearsof hard work and dedication tokeeping main line steam alive.Today trains run every weekendof the year, bank holidays andselected week days through thesummer.

First Class restaurant carservices can provide five-coursemeals are served whilsttravelling betweenLoughborough and Leicester. The

GCR also runs many specialevents, including the ever-popular beer festival, steamgalas, bonfire night, wartimeweekends and Santa specials.

The railway has won anumber of awards including‘independent railway of theyear’, a gold award for the EastMidlands best visitor experienceand is a quality assured visitorattraction as designated byEnjoy England.

Visitors are invited to visitthe little museums dotted alongthe route and even to stick theirnoses into the impressive locoworkshops. There is a lot to beproud of here. It is a mightybeast in the world of heritagerailways which is well worth avisit and more is to come.

TAKING ON WATER: TheBR Standard Class 9F 2-10-0 No.92214 has beenre-named Leicester City tocelebrate the triumph ofthe City's football team inwinning the Premiershipfootball competition.

Apprentices at work


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We have audited the accounts of theNational Union of Rail, Maritime andTransport Workers for the year ended31 December 2015, set out on pages 9to 38. The financial reportingframework that has been applied intheir preparation is applicable law andUnited Kingdom AccountingStandards (United Kingdom GenerallyAccepted Accounting Practice),including Financial ReportingStandard 102. This report is madesolely to the Union’s members, as abody. Our audit work has beenundertaken so that we might state tothe Union’s members those matters weare required to state to them in anauditor’s report and for no otherpurpose. To the fullest extentpermitted by law, we do not accept orassume responsibility to anyone otherthan the Union and the Union’smembers as a body, for our auditwork, for this report, or for theopinions we have formed.

RESPECTIVE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THEUNION’S COUNCIL OF EXECUTIVES ANDAUDITORS

As explained more fully in theStatement of Responsibilities of theCouncil of Executives on page 7, theUnion’s Council of Executives isresponsible for the preparation ofaccounts which give a true and fairview. Our responsibility is to auditand express an opinion on theaccounts in accordance withapplicable law and InternationalStandards on Auditing (UK andIreland). Those standards require us tocomply with the Auditing PracticesBoard’s Ethical Standards for Auditors.

SCOPE OF THE AUDIT OF THEACCOUNTSAn audit involves obtaining evidenceabout the amounts and disclosures inthe accounts sufficient to givereasonable assurance that the accountsare free from material misstatement,whether caused by fraud or error. Thisincludes an assessment of: whetherthe accounting policies are appropriateto the Union’s circumstances and havebeen consistently applied and

adequately disclosed; thereasonableness of significantaccounting estimates made by theUnion’s Council of Executives; and theoverall presentation of the accounts.In addition, we read all the financialand non-financial informationpresented with the accounts, includingthe Report of the General Secretary, toidentify material inconsistencies withthe audited accounts and to identifyany information that is apparentlymaterially incorrect based on, ormaterially inconsistent with, theknowledge acquired by us in thecourse of performing the audit. If webecome aware of any apparentmaterial misstatements orinconsistencies we consider theimplications for our report.

OPINION ON ACCOUNTS

In our opinion the accounts give atrue and fair view of the state of theUnion’s affairs as at 31 December2015 and of its income andexpenditure for the year then ended.

MATTERS ON WHICH WE ARE REQUIREDTO REPORT BY EXCEPTION

We are required by the Trade Unionand Labour Relations (Consolidation)Act 1992 (Amended) to report to youby exception in respect of thefollowing matters if, in our opinion:- A satisfactory system of control

over transactions has not beenmaintained.

- The Union has not kept properaccounting records.

- The accounts are not in agreementwith the books of account.

- We have not received all theinformation and explanations weneed for our audit.

We have nothing to report to you inrespect of the above matters.

H W FISHER & COMPANYChartered AccountantsStatutory Auditor

Dated: 10 June 2016Acre House11 – 15 William RoadLondon, NW1 3ERUnited Kingdom

REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORSSet out below is the report of the independent auditors to the members ascontained in the accounts of the Union for the year ended 31 December 2015:

SUMMARY FINANCIAL INFORMATIONEXTRACTED FROM THE FULL ACCOUNTSSummary income and expenditure accounts for theyear ended 31 December 2015:

General Fund and Orphan Fund2015 2014£'000 £'000

Subscription income 14,899 14,184Operating expenditure (16,195) (15,517)Operating result (1,296) (1,333)Other income/(expenditure) 1,076 1,778Result for the year (220) 445Other comprehensive income 6,930 (2,608)Comprehensive result for the year 6,710 (2,163)

Political Fund2015 2014£'000 £'000

Subscription income 262 257Operating expenditure (328) (255)Operating result (66) 2Other income/(expenditure) 12 11Result and comprehensive result for the year (54) 13

SUMMARY OF SALARIES AND BENEFITS PROVIDED

Name Position Details AmountM Cash General Secretary Salary £96,766

Pension contributions £29,330Other benefits £6,139

S Hedley Assistant General Salary £54,499Secretary

Pension contributions £16,519Other benefits £6,211

M Lynch Assistant General Salary £55,316Secretary Pension contributions £12,514(from 7 April 2015) Other benefits £1,111

P Pinkney President Attendance, lodging allowance and reimbursed expenses £47,483

The members of the Council of Executives do not receive any benefits but doreceive attendance and lodging allowances, which are set out below. The GeneralSecretary, the Assistant General Secretaries, the President and the members of theCouncil of Executives are reimbursed for any expenditure incurred by them in theperformance of their duties on behalf of the Union.

Summary of attendance and lodging allowances and reimbursed expensespaid to the Council of Executives

General GradesName Amount Name AmountA Budds £ 52,962 N Quirk* £ 47,740T Butler* £ 47,012 M Rodgers £ 56,740P Collins* £ 47,877 J Reid £ 49,102P McDonnell £ 46,839 D Shannon* £ 50,478P Pinkney* £ 47,483 S Shaw* £ 49,816M Lynch (until April) £ 13,032 S Skelly* (until June) £ 21,724K Mazur (from October) £ 12,896 J Slee £ 47,026

Shipping GradesName Amount Name AmountI Boyle* £ 6,517 K Lingwood* £ 2,203L Davison* £ 7,085 M Craig* (from September) £ 2,401J Laing* (until April) £ 866 G Wallace* £ 5,267

*In addition, the Union provides accommodation while on Union business

We are required by the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (amended) to include the following declaration in this statement to allmembers. The wording is as prescribed by the Act. "A member who is concerned that some irregularity may be occurring, or have occurred, in the conduct of the financial affairs of the union may take stepswith a view to investigating further, obtaining clarification and, if necessary, securing regularisation of that conduct.The member may raise any such concerns with such one or more of the following as it seems appropriate to raise it with: the officials of the union, thetrustees of the property of the union, the auditor or auditors of the union, the Certification Officer (who is an independent officer appointed by theSecretary of State) and the police.Where a member believes that the financial affairs of the union have been or are being conducted in breach of the law or in breach of rules of the unionand contemplates bringing civil proceedings against the union or responsible officials or trustees, he should consider obtaining independent legal advice.”


Thousands attended BurstonStrike School Rally in

Norfolk to hear Jeremy Corbynjust before he was re-elected asLabour leader and otherspeakers from the trade unionmovement.

Mr Corbyn was cheered whenhe introduced his plans for a

National Education Service thatwould mean access to freeeducation up to university levelfor all. He also said that hewould introduce a £10-an-hourliving wage.

He slammed the Tory recordon the NHS and the crisis theservice faces with hospital

departments at risk — andpledged support for the juniordoctors in their contracts fightwith Health Secretary JeremyHunt.

His speech was followed bymusic and poetry from Attilathe Stockbroker and Steve Whiteand the Protest Family with a

mix of radical songs andpolitical music.

Each year trade unionistsfrom across the country gatherin the small Norfolk village tocelebrate the longest strike inhistory.

Children marched out of theirschool when their much-loved

CORBYN AT BURSTON


27

Trade Unionists Against the European Union proudly presents... No to TTIP - a 12-song CD celebrating the lives of Bob Crow and Tony Benn. As you might expect it is also a call to arms against the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership between the EU and the United States which is designed to abolish national democracy in the interests of corporate profit.

TONY BENN, ROY BAILEY, DAVE SWARBRICK, CALLUM BAIRD, BRIAN DENNYCRAFTING FOR FOES, RED WEDDING, PHIL BURDETT, MILK BOYS, BANNER THEATREMICK DENNY, FRAN FOOTE & ADAM REES, POL MAC ADAIMThis is only available in CD format. All proceeds go to TUAEU.

This limited edition CD features contributions from...

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teachers, Tom and Kitty Higdon,were sacked on trumped upcharges because of their supportfor the farm workers’ union.

Tom’s election as a Labourcouncillor inflamed the locallandowners and the Church ofEngland, which was thenresponsible for educatingchildren in the countryside, andon April 1, 1914, after thecouple had been dismissed, thechildren walked out on strike.

The Burston Strike Schoolwas built on the village greenfrom Labour movementsubscriptions and continued to

educate children right up to1939 until Tom Higdon died, 25years after the strike began.

Today trade unionists marcharound the village, retracing thesteps of the children in 1914.

The Strike School building isnow a museum, visitor centreand village amenity, and since1984 a rally has been held everyyear to commemorate theoriginal Burston rally.

The Burston rally is a greattrade union day out, one whichyou should put in your diary fornext year.


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BASINGSTOKE NO1 BRANCH NOMINATES

RICKEY GOODMAN FOR NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

WESSEX REGION

LU ENGINEERING BRANCHNOMINATES

PETER SKELLYFOR RELIEF REGIONAL ORGANISER (SOUTH)

BRIDGEND, LLANTRISANT & DISTRICT BRANCHNOMINATES

PETER SKELLYFOR RELIEF REGIONAL ORGANISER (SOUTH)

POOLE & DISTRICT BUS BRANCH NOMINATES

PETE SKELLY FOR RELIEF REGIONAL ORGANISER (SOUTH)

MARCH & DISTRICT NOMINATES

PETER SKELLY FOR RELIEF REGIONAL ORGANISER SOUTH

EUROPEAN PASSENGER SERVICE BRANCH NOMINATES


DORSET RAIL BRANCH NOMINATES


CARDIFF NO7 BRANCHNOMINATES


NEASDEN BRANCH NOMINATES


PADDINGTON NO1 BRANCH NOMINATES


WATFORD BRANCH NOMINATES


WATERLOO BRANCH NOMINATES


RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: september 2016 :: RMTnews

29

David Alan Roberts, known asDar, was presented with his

40-year service award recently.Alan is a member of the

North Wales Coast branch andwas presented with his 40 YearBadge and Medal by branchmember Paul Wild.

Alan started on the railway in1976 and in 1981 qualifiedsignalman to work boxes.

His first job was a Class 1based at Colwyn Baybefore beingupgraded to a Class 2 coveringClass A and B boxes – the twolowest in the signalling grades.

The area covered was ColwynBay, Llysfaen, Abergele, RhylNo2, Rhyl No1, Prestatyn,Deganwy, Llandudno,Penmaenmawr, Aber andLlanrwst and Alan carried ondoing the same relief job for thenext nine years until a vacancyappeared at Llandudno Junctionin March 1990.

By this time British Rail was

disappearing and making way toRegional Railways North West.This was a Class C; the onlyother Class C box on the coast atthe time was Holyhead. Hestayed there for 18 monthsbefore applying for a Class 3RDR Signalman at LlandudnoJunction.

After privatisation he becamea GPR Class 3 based atLlandudno Junction coveringboxes 15 miles radius fromLlandudno Junction covering anarea between Abergele andPenmaenmawr, Llandudno toLlanrwst. In 1999 Railtrack heextended his coverage from 15 to30 miles and he had the boxes atRhyl, Prestatyn and Bangor backon his patch. Additionally Hegained five new boxes andcrossings and they were Tyn-y-Morfa Crossing, Talacre, Mostyn,Llanfair PG Crossing andGaerwen where he loyallyremains to this day.

Ramona Martenstyn, a busdriver and loyal RMT

member of this branch lost herfight with cancer in June thisyear aged 56, she will be sadlymissed by all and ourcondolences go out to herpartner and family, rest inpeace.

John Williams recentlyretired as a guard at 62through ill health from SouthWest Trains. His retirementparty was well-attended byfamily friends, comrades andretired members.

John had been a localhealth and safety

representative at WimbledonPark for many years. Hequietly went about hisbusiness, recruiting members at"The Park" and because of himmembership is in the best ofhealth.

John was an active memberof the branch and assistant

chair until his retirement. Hewas also an avid Crystal Palacesupporter and was his requestthat people wear these coloursrather than black and white athis funeral. John's preferredCharity is PDSA.https://www.pdsa.org.uk/

Obituaries

WIMBLEDON BRANCH PAYSRESPECT TO TWO MEMBERS

WATERLOO BRANCH NOMINATES

RICKEY GOODMAN FOR NEC WESSEX REGION

DOVER DISTRICT GENERAL GRADES BRANCHNOMINATE

PAUL MCDONNELLFOR REGIONAL ORGANISER SOUTH

WIMBLEDON 1685 BRANCHNOMINATE

PAUL MCDONNELL FOR RELIEF REGIONAL ORGANISER SOUTH

SURREY AND HANTS BRANCH NOMINATE

G KITE FOR NEC WESSEX REGION

PORTSMOUTH BRANCH NOMINATE

GEOFF KITEFOR NEC MEMBER

PORTSMOUTH BRANCH NOMINATE

PAUL MCDONNELL FOR RELIEF REGIONAL ORGANISER SOUTH

NORTH WALES 40-YEAR AWARD


ACROSS1 Dominant (10). 8 Patio (7). 9 Abolish (5). 10 Apartment (5)11 Ceremonial staff (7)12 On ship (6)14 Provide evidence for (6)16 Conscript (7) 17 Closed litter (5) 19 Porcelain (5)20 Increase (7) 21 Replicable (10)

DOWN1 Serving to support (13) 2 Wealth (5) 3 Age discrimination (6)4 Local language (7)5 Absence (13)6 Celebrity (4). 7 Dry red wine (6) 12 Advance evidence for(6) 13 Go back over (7) 15 Unhappy (6)17 Colonial greeting (5) 18 Not ever (2,2)

£50 PRIZECROSSWORD

The winner of lastmonth’s prize crosswordJohn Davis, Poolene.

Send entries to PrizeCrossword, RMT, UnityHouse, 39 Chalton Street,London NWI IJD byNovember 20 with your nameand address.

Winner and solution in nextissue.

Last month’s solution...

30

Documents

INSIDE THIS ISSUE · OCTOBER 2016 INSIDE THIS ISSUE SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN FOR DOO PAGE 4 TUBE BALLOT OVER JOBS AND SAFETY ... THE MIGHTY GREAT CENTRAL Page 25 REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT