EWS

R MT REPS at rail-freight company EWS began consulting members around the country on stepping up industrial action as RMT News went to press, after talks with the company over jobs, working hours and conditions broke down. Our 1,300 engineering and groundstaff have already held one rock-solid 48-hour strike after the appeal court last month rejected the company’s claim that our ballot was flawed and overturned an injunction banning industrial action. Our members’ determination appeared to concentrate management’s minds, and they eventually agreed to talks at Acas, the arbitration service, four days after our weekend action on November 6 and 7. Hopes for a settlement were raised when the company abandoned its proposals to load engineering and groundstaff duties onto drivers and lengthen drivers’ hours – the notorious ‘£45k for 45 hours’ plan. However, the company failed to make progress on the outstanding issues or to give us the guarantees we are seeking that there will be no further back-door job losses or worsening of conditions. Industrial relations broke down in the autumn as managers tried to power through an extension of drivers’ hours and responsibilities at the expense of the jobs, pay and conditions of engineering and groundstaff. EWS had already taken more than its pound of flesh after the loss of the Royal Mail contract earlier in the year. But the company was determined to shed even more engineering and groundstaff, and divide and rule was the name of the game as they tried to set about bribing drivers into accepting longer hours and taking on other grades’ duties. When EWS was rumbled and our members voted for industrial action, the company went running to the courts – but the strategy blew up in their faces. For the company’s legal arguments proved too flimsy even for Britain’s repressive anti-union laws. The company argued that RMT hadn’t given proper notification of the ballot, because some of our members technically worked for a company called EWS International. Never mind that they’d never bothered telling us that EWSI existed, or that notice would have gone to the same person in the same office and the ballot result would have been no different. Nonetheless, rounds one and two went to EWS as the High Court first granted a temporary injunction against our industrial action and then made it permanent. A magnificent dis RMT news – EWS dispute The bitter EWS dispute underlines the importance of a union fighting for all grades, argues RMT general secretary Bob Crow 16 The company was left with egg on its face and a massive bill for the union’s court costs ‘ ’ ON THE LINE: EWS members on the picket line earlier this month in the Midlands 17 However, after some fantastic work by John Hendy QC and the Thompsons legal team, the three appeal court judges agreed unanimously that there was absolutely nothing wrong with our ballot. The anti-union laws were designed to make it as difficult as possible for unions to take strike action, but the appeal court accepted that EWS was attempting to stretch the rules beyond any reasonable point. The company was left with egg on its face and a massive bill for the union’s court costs. But having tried to frustrate the democratic will of our members and wasted a fortnight messing around in the High Court, EWS had not yet run out of tricks. These included denying us a seat on a working party discussing the loading of more engineering and groundstaff duties on drivers, even though RMT has full recognition rights for its driver members. The company was keen to foist its ‘£45k for 45 hours’ plan on drivers – a scam that would have had drivers working 45 hours on a dangerous productivity-led deal and engineering and groundstaff not working at all. No wonder they didn’t want RMT involved in talks. Freed by the courts to take the action our members had voted for, a ban on overtime, rest-day working and acting- up began on October 26, and a 48-hour strike was first scheduled for the following weekend, October 30 and 31. That action was suspended to allow the possibility of talks through Acas, but at that point the company said it would not talk unless we called off our overtime ban, and the strike was re-secheduled for the following weekend. That strike was a magnificent display of solidarity, as once again our members showed that there is no substitute for standing together in the face of an employer determined to divide and rule us. And once again we have shown the importance of a union in which all grades stand united to defend each other. splay of solidarity RMT news – EWS dispute