STRIKES BITE AT ‘ONE’/ CREDIT UNION PUTS DAVE IN THE DRIVING SEAT

june 2005 :: RMTnews 9 R ail privatisation has been an unmitigated disaster, driven simply by dogma and the determination to force public assets into private hands to reverse the democratic advances of the 20th century. It has been justified by irrational gobbledegook, such as the supposed need to ‘lever in private investment’ and to keep borrowing “off balance sheet”, when public borrowing for public investment is massively cheaper and easier to raise. The reality is that privatisation has been used to pour billions of pounds of public money into deep corporate pockets with no public benefit whatsoever. The numbers are mind-boggling. In the ten years after privatisation, estimated public subsidy per passenger journey rose by five times. The cost of laying a mile of railway line has risen by an estimated four times and maintenance costs undertaken by private contractors multiplied by three and half times. All sorts of scams have been used by private companies to rake off as much money as possible, either directly from the public purse or indirectly from passengers through high fares. Rail staff kept the show on the road - or the track - but the privateers have been laughing all the way to the bank. One technique has been for the networks of interlocking companies to hire staff to each other at vastly inflated costs. Another has been to undertake engineering work precisely to specification, even when the specification is wrong. Work then has to be done all over again, with more cash for company coffers. By contrast, BR engineers worked within strict cash limits and used every ounce of skill to get the best job done within those cash limits. They made adjustments to ensure everything worked properly when the job was finished, as the former Rail Regulator put it only two years ago: “BR worked miracles on a pittance”. The recent Catalyst report revealed that, while British Rail was under-funded for decades, it was remarkably efficient with a high level of productivity. The Regulator confirmed that when privatised, the railways were handed over by BR “in good order”. Another technique used by the privateers is simply over-charge for a job. If a new bridge should cost £3 million, they pump up the costs to perhaps £12 million and, of course, keep former BR engineers away from the job so their scandalous over- charging is not exposed. Indeed, engineering work on Britain’s privatised railways has frequently been managed by people who know nothing about railway engineering. In one case a former plumber managed maintenance contracts. In another case, a senior manager was allegedly a former night club bouncer with no engineering skills or qualifications at all. Their job was simply to maximise profit, easily done with governments committed to privatisation and therefore simply prepared to sign the cheques rather than to renationalise. To be fair, former Minister Stephen Byers established Network Rail as a not-for-profit company to take over from Railtrack. Since then Network Rail has made significant improvements, taking maintenance contracts in-house and reducing costs. But Stephen was told very firmly by Downing St that there must be no renationalisation. When the South Eastern Trains franchise was taken in house, costs fell and service quality improved. But government could not allow public enterprise to be seen to be working better than private enterprise, so the franchise is being forced back into the private sector. And what about the rolling-ºstock companies (roscos)? They lease rolling stock to the train operating companies at staggering rates of return, typically 30 per cent. This is for rolling stock which has a useful life of around 20 years. Imagine a speculator building a house at a cost of £160,000, then charging a rent of £1,000 a week as a monopoly supplier with no competition. Small wonder that the three banks that own the roscos have raked in obscene profits. The case for renationalisation is overwhelming. It would save the Treasury billions of pounds and provide a better, cheaper and more efficient service for passengers and freight. The railways have the benefit dedicated staff who love the railway – a precious resource for the country and the economy. The loyalty of rail workers should be used to serve the public interest and not to make profits for the privateers. Kelvin Hopkins MP for Luton North Parliamentary column R MT’s Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual Members’ Advisory Committee have been busy making plans to attend Pride Events this summer. Pride in Brighton & Hove will take place on Saturday, August 6 and the committee will be representing RMT. The Battle Bus will be in Preston Park, Brighton. If anyone is interested in joining other members of the Committee in the march and rally, please contact the Equal Opportunities Officer on 020 7529 8821 or email p.wilkinson@rmt.org.uk The London Pride festival fortnight takes place between June 18 - July 1 2005 and there will be theatre, opera, dance, music, film, visual arts and sport. For those who want more details of events, visit the Pride website at www.pridelondon.org. TAKE PRIDE THE CASE FOR RAIL NATIONALISATION Rise and shine R MT will be participating in the Rise anti-racist Festival. Rise is the new name for Respect, Europe’s largest anti- racist festival for the past five years. This is an excellent opportunity to celebrate the rich diversity of our society whilst combining a stand against racism with first- rate entertainment. This year's festival will take place on Saturday, July 16 in Burgess Park, south London, starting at midday until 8.30 pm. Members of the RMT Black & Ethnic Minority Members’ Committee will be present, along with the RMT Battle Bus. There will be something of interest for everyone, ranging from music (with acts such as Lemar, The Mitchell Brothers and Horace Andy to name but a few), comedy, Big Cuba Fiesta Area, Extreme Sports Zone (with BMX and skateboarding displays, sports training, etc), family area, and much more.