RAILING AGAINST PRIVATISATION

During the 2005 general election campaign RMT conducted its own campaign to make privatisation of the railways an election issue. Central to that campaign was the Rail Against Privatisation (RAP) mobile demonstration. Over a sixteen days twenty three rank and file members along with two RAP organisers marched and demonstrated with local activists in fifteen cities. Platform Films accompanied the mobile demo from start to finish. They have now produced a documentary with commentary by Mark Thomas to be sent as a DVD to all members in the new year. PUTTING THE CASE The remit was to loudly put the case for rail public ownership to a wide public audience, expose the waste and inefficiency of privatisation and show the privateers for the parasites they are. The film shows this was achieved, with over one hundred thousand leaflets given out and an estimated 15 million people reached though the news media. Rousing speeches from Bob Crow and Tommy Sheridan in St Enoch Square Glasgow set the mood. Then with whistles blowing, flags flying and led by the RMT-sponsored twenty six piece Silkwood Colliery Band, the RAP marchers commenced their journey to London. They were joined by an ad-trailer depicting Ricky Thompson voicing his feelings on the matter, “Privatisation my arse”. Then on to Edinburgh , Newcastle, Durham, Darlington, York, Hull, Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Derby, Nottingham, Birmingham, Milton Keynes and London. The demonstrations were high-profile in every way, with specially designed RAP insignia on hi-vi clothing and loudly coloured flags. There were whistles and horns, jazz bands and loud–hailers. The ad-trailer with its loud speakers blared out the explanation as to why RMT was in town to a largely receptive local people. There are light moments on the film to enjoy. There are the two under-aged rail managers with enough time in their busy peak-hour schedule to round up police and security people to see off RAP demonstrators leafleting the station forecourt. They come across like two Tory-boys who’d been on ‘Jim’ll fix it’. A Tory councillor also rallies embarrassed coppers to “protect the people of Birmingham” from reading the word ‘arse’ on the ad-trailer. My particular favourite is the new- labour-speak policeman who describes what we used to call the shops as “an income generating area”. RALLY The final march and rally in London is amongst the most colourful and loud union demos’ ever seen and makes you proud to be an RMT member. As one of the rally speakers veteran campaigner Tony Benn points out, “we did it by ourselves”. If anyone doubts RMT is a campaigning union, watch this film. INSPIRED An inspired move by the union’s Council of Executives was bringing proven campaigner and organiser Larry Cotton out of retirement to co- ordinate the mobile demo. Sadly, on September 3 Larry suffered a very severe stroke, one of our best foot soldiers is down. Before the credits role there is an on-screen dedication to Larry, and rightly so. RAILING AGAINST PRIVATISATION Geoff Revell talks about this year’s Rail Against Privatisation mobile demonstration and a new documentary telling the story of the campaign which will be sent out to members in the new year december 2005 :: RMTnews 21