Railways Bill

FORMER RMT security officer Noel Fernando flew out to his Sri Lankan home town of Moratuwa last month with £3,500 in medical supplies provided by RMT. Hundreds were killed when the tidal wave reached Moratuwa, just west of the capital Colombo, in the wake of the Boxing Day earthquake, and as many as 15,000 were left homeless in the aftermath. “The dead were mainly poor people who lived on the coast – carpenters and fishermen, and whose simple homes were easily swept away,” says Noel, now based in London. “Those who survived have been left without boats or tools and little chance of making a living,” Noel added. “We heard that Noel’s home town was badly affected and asked him to take medical supplies with him when he flew out to help,” said general secretary Bob Crow. “The RMT executive voted to make a £3,000 emergency donation. Staff and officers responded magnificently. “Many had already given to the national appeal, but staff also voted to donate a payment due to them for having their pay-day shifted, putting another £4,500 into the disaster fund,” Bob said. The executive also invited branches to make donations through the TUC’s appeal. RMT have contacted rail unions in Thailand and India asking what specific help it can give in the longer term. G Noel is keeping head office informed on the situation in Moratuwa, and RMT News will carry an update next month. THE government’s failure last month to accept changes to the Railways Bill that would give the public sector the chance to show that it can run train services better than the privateers revealed just how divorced its policy is from public opinion. Three out of four people favour ditching the failed rail privateers altogether, but the government refused to accept even the idea of an independent assessment of whether a franchise should be brought back in-house. Still, 51 MPs – and not all of them lefties, either – did back RMT parliamentary convenor John McDonnell’s call for the public sector to be given that chance to prove itself capable of doing the job. And it would have been more, but for the whips quietly encouraging MPs to stay away. More than half of all Labour MPs stayed away from the Railways Bill debate altogether, a sickie rebellion that showed how deeply unpopular the government’s dogmatic attachment to private rail really is. And a measure of how keenly aware many Labour MPs are that being seen to endorse private rail would not go down very well among their voters – whether in the traditional Labour heartlands or in the southeast commuter belt. For if there is any issue that unites folk across the usual political divides it is this one. And as if to underline the folly of rejecting the public option, just after the Rail Bill debate came the news that the Strategic Rail Authority had called in the consultants with a view to cutting rail services in the Northern franchise. Those who had hoped that rail privatisation will be off the radar screens during the coming election are in for a bit of a shock. For in the run-up to the election RMT is embarking on a major campaign to put public ownership of our railways at the heart of the domestic political agenda. Men and women from every RMT region will join in a march from Glasgow on April 15 and 16, through towns and cities in Scotland and England, culminating in a demonstration and rally in London on Saturday April 30. It’s time for action Along the way MPs and candidates will be asked where they really stand on rail privatisation. They will be asked if it is OK to see the same contractors who were thrown off rail maintenance still raking it in on renewals contracts. They will be asked if is OK that three banks rake in super-profits by leasing trains to train operators at outrageous rates. In short, they will be asked if they are happy to see the private rail nightmare continue – or if they want to end it once and for all, in line with Labour policy. You can help put public ownership of our railways at the forefront of the election campaign – write to your MP and candidates asking them where they stand. Write to your local paper, call your local radio station – and get involved with the RAP campaign. G For details of what is happening in your area email James Croy at RMT at j.croy@rmt.org.uk, or call organisers Larry Cotton on 07793 052 138 or Geoff Revell on 07753 748 066. RMT aids tsunami victims rap railagainstprivatisation RMT general secretary Bob Crow looks at the Railway Bill and the union’s Rail Against Privatisation campaign Bring the troops home 19 3 Demonstrate Saturday 19 March central London 1pm Stop the War Coalition, CND and the Muslin Association of Great Britain www.stopwar.org.uk 020 7278 6694 office@stopwar.org.uk Designed by David Gentleman Printed by Lithosphere 020 7686 6111 8 and huge numbers of Labour MPs simply would not turn up to vote for the government and against party policy of rail renationalisation. Labour MPs voted with their feet, refusing to support the government’s blinkered privatisation agenda on rail. It was also encouraging to note that those who did support the amendment came from a broad range of the Parliamentary Labour Party, including former foreign secretary Robin Cook who made an important intervention in the debate, reminding the government of the success of South Eastern Trains in the public sector. The Bill now goes to the Lords and the government is aiming for Royal Assent by the end of March. As well as continuing the lobbying of Ministers, RMT will also be taking the campaign to the Lords. Fighting for public railways RMT parliamentary convenor John MacDonnell MP explains the goings on around the Railways Bill T HE RMT parliamentary group together with our colleagues from ASLEF made significant interventions on the government’s Railways Bill. Complex parliamentary procedures make placing amendments to Bill, let alone having those amendments debated upon or voted upon, an extremely difficult task. Yet after a week of intensive activity we were able to push the issues that matter to RMT members to the forefront of the parliamentary agenda. With support from RMT head office we drafted three separate amendments calling for public ownership of the railways, to remove the bustitution, clause in the Bill and for travel facilities for all rail staff. Once the amendments had been drafted there was an intensive ring round of MPs to seek support. A great deal of this important work was carried out by Simeon Andrews and Andrew Fisher in the RMT parliamentary office. This was backed up by briefings and direct mailings from Unity House. This lobbying process ensured that when the Bill came to be considered there was enough support from MPs for all our amendments to be debated. Despite parliamentary time rapidly running out, I was able to force a last hour vote on an amendment which would oblige the government to consider allowing the public sector to run train services. 51 MPs, including 28 Labour, voted to support this moderate proposal. But the real story was that half the Parliamentary Labour Party went missing for the vote. This was not unexpected South Eastern Trains JUST before the Railways Bill was debated, Labour MPs Clive Efford, John Austin and John McDonnell met Transport Minister Tony McNulty to make the case for keeping South Eastern Trains in the public sector. These three MPs have been at the forefront of this campaign and were well briefed by RMT prior to the meeting. Not surprisingly, arguments about improved punctuality, better financial management and a massive drop in customer complaints fell on death ears. The Minister and his team provided no rational or intellectual justification for re-privatising South Eastern Trains. They simply stated that it was government policy to have private operators running passenger services and that South Eastern Trains could not be treated differently. When John McDonnell MP asked why it was government policy, again there was no credible response the Minister. “He might as well have just said “because it is, because it is, because it is”,” he said. However, John said that campaign was still far from over. “I am sure the RMT Rail Against Privatisation campaign will be making this a key issue over the coming months,” he said. 9