PRESIDENTS COLUMN

I was proud to chair this year’s annual general meeting in Dublin. Not only because I hail from Donegal, but also because it was my last AGM as president of this great union. We welcomed international delegates from all over the world and there was a common theme that united them all and that was the increasing attacks by employers and governments. Over the past year, we as a union have been defending our members to the best of our ability given the difficult circumstances that still exist. Despite the election of a third Labour government, the lack of workplace justice for working people is a scandal. These anti-union Tory laws are robbing workers of basic democratic rights to defend themselves against greedy bosses. If proof was required, we only need to note that there has been a two-thirds reduction in workers covered by collective bargaining agreements since these laws were enforced. This situation that can no longer be tolerated and a trade union freedom bill to be enshrined these rights into law is imperative. It is unbelievable that workers had more rights one hundred years ago under the Trade Disputes Act than we have today. It is wrong that in this, the 21st century, trade unions are still hampered from protecting their due to draconian anti-trade-union laws. That is why this union initiated the campaign for such a bill, which is now Trade Union Congress policy. It is vital that the whole trade union movement starts fighting for the enactment of this bill as a beginning of the struggle to abolish all of these anti-trade union laws. It is clear that this new Labour government will not defend working people unless it is forced to change policies. That includes stopping the privatisation of our national health service, the education system, our prisons, fire services and, of course, the return of our transport systems to public ownership. Pensions are another area where workers are under attack. The privatisation of our railways and bus industries has meant massive profits for some yet our pension schemes have been fragmented into chaos and deficit. These companies are not prepared to fund decent contribution levels for our members but don’t mind funding massive increases to company directors. A similar situation exists in the seafaring section where members do not have secure pensions and the government’s latest pension legislation is just not good enough. Britain is one of the richest countries in the world so why should workers have to work until they drop? The real answer is the attack on workers’ pensions funds are part of a systematic attack by the European Union on government spending. This is combined with demands to reduce expenditure by privatising transport, health, education and public services under the guise of so-called “liberalisation”. It is clearer by the day that diktats from Brussels are the root cause of many of our problems. President’s column Defending workers’ rights www.rmt.org.uk :: july/august 2006 :: RMTnews 31 TRAIN CRASH IN SPAIN KILLS 41 T he Spanish Valencia underground train involved in a crash that killed 41 was travelling at twice the normal speed when it derailed. It was doing 50mph at the spot where it came off the tracks, data from the train's black box has shown. Officials say evidence from the black box, which was recovered from the wreckage by emergency workers, suggests the train was speeding on a curved part of the track, where the speed is limited to 25mph. Railway Union general secretary Fernando Soto said that the speed of the train was the main cause of the accident. He suggested that something may have happened to the driver - perhaps a heart attack - to explain this unusual and excessive breach of the speed limit. Valencia's authorities have discounted a tunnel collapse or a ruptured wheel as possible factors in the crash. The four-carriage train was travelling on Valencia's Number One underground route, close to a junction with another line. It came off the rails between Plaza de Espana and Jesus stations and smashed into the walls of a tunnel near Jesus station in the eastern Spanish city. The train had passed a safety inspection just one week before the crash. Unions say the train line where the accident happened is the oldest in Valencia's metro network. Last September, three underground trains collided in Valencia on the same line, injuring 29 people. CRASH: The two crashed wagons stored in a subway depot, outside Valencia, Spain following a derailment that killed 41 people in this Spanish coastal city.