Anti-union laws force re-ballot on Southern

RMT news – Essential reading for today ’s transport worker RMT member wins Wing Award for track safety RMT health and safety rep Barry West picked up this year’s Wing Award for an outstanding personal contribution to track safety. Barry, who worked for Amey but has been recently transferred to Network Rail, was presented the award by parliamentary transport committee chair Gwyneth Dunwoody MP. Barry won the award for a number of initiatives including managing occupational road risk, which was designed to increase driver improvement and safety awareness. Other achievements include assisting in and the development of risk assessment in a number of areas designed to reduce accidents and the development of a needle stick syringe policy and register. Barry has been an RMT health and safety rep for 18 years and his message to reps was to get involved and propose solutions to present to the employer to increase safety at work. "This is usually more effective than just telling them what the problems are," he said. Barry said that his achievements were really down to the work of the Amey joint safety council and due to the help of a number of reps. Barry pointed out that a key contribution was development of excellent communications including being in constant touch with each other via e-mail. "It could not have been done without the full co-operation of the HSE, employers, both Amey and Network Rail, at all levels management have been totally supportive," he said. The annual Wing award was first made in 1994 to commemorate the life and work of Peter Wing, who was a Fellow of the Institution of Railway Signal Engineers. He was a driving force in the industry who became dedicated to the safety of his colleagues who worked on track. *Nominations for the award and supporting documentation not exceeding 2,500 words should be sent to K W Burrage, IRSE Chief Executive, 3rd Floor, Savoy Hill House, London WC2R OBS. WINNER: Left to right - Rt Hon Gwyneth Dunwoody MP, Barry West, Colin Porter INDUSTRIAL ACTION by more than 750 RMT members at Southern, formerly South Central Trains, was called off by the RMT executive last month thanks to the absurdities of Britain’s anti- union laws and a row over one minute’s notice. Complex anti-union laws dictate that the first industrial action must be called within 28 days of the ballot closing. The first action in the dispute was called for 00:01 on June 14 – technically 28 days and one minute after the last day of voting in the ballot. Other days of action were set involving guards and barrier staff, revenue protection, ticket office and other station staff in protest over the introduction of agency staff on less money to undermine pay and conditions. RMT members at the company were to refuse to handle revenue for two periods of 48 hours. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said that the company threatened to use the anti- union laws against the union because they claimed the action was called technically one minute too late to be within the law. “It seems that a judge can declare our industrial action illegal because it was set to begin on the last bong of midnight rather than the first. “These laws were designed as a straitjacket to make it as difficult as possible for workers to take industrial action – and this is about as absurd as it gets. “To ensure that we do not fall foul of potentially damaging legal action the RMT executive has decided to call off the action,” Bob said. However, the union is still in dispute with the company and intends to re-ballot staff on taking strike action. Assistant general secretary Pat Sikorski said that employing agency staff at £2,000 a year less to do RMT members’ jobs was the thin end of a very large wedge which threatened the jobs, pay and conditions of all of our revenue-handling members. “Using agency security is bad enough, but to insist on them doing our members’ work as well shows the company’s true intentions,” he said. Pat warned that the casual- isation of the rail network meant lower pay, longer hours, worse conditions and insecurity and it undermined the professionalism of railway staff. “That is bad for our members but it is also bad for the travelling public,” Pat said. Anti-union laws force re-ballot on Southern 6 Union says farewell to Mike Gardner RMT presented London Underground human resources manager Mike Gardner with a token of their appreciation on his retirement last month after over 40 years in the job. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said it was an unusual award to an outstanding manager that the union could always do business with. “This union will miss Mike, he was always straight forward and honest,” he said. Mike thanked the union for the award and said that in all his years working at LUL he had never known the union to break an agreement.