PARLIAMENTARY COLUMN

9 www.rmt.org.uk :: june 2006 :: RMTnews RMT’s parliamentary group recently met Rail Minister Tom Harris who agreed that unions should be fully consulted in the development of the forthcoming revised rail strategy and also agreed to be a keynote speaker at an RMT parliamentary rail seminar in the spring. The group, chaired by John McDonnell MP, has been active in opposing rail cuts on Great Western Services, intervening in the recent adjournment debate and laying down early day motion 331. The RMT group is also organising a delegation of MPs from the region to meet both the minister and First Great Western. On London Underground, the government has agreed to setting up a working party made up of the government/RMT/FBU/TUC/Londo n Underground and the Fire Brigade. It will identify the differences between the regulations introduced after the Kings Cross Fire and the government’s Fire Safety Order. ISS plans to sack over 200 London Underground cleaners on the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly Lines has been opposed by the group. PPP consortium Tubelines is cutting the cleaning contract, resulting in ISS ordering the redundancies by the end of April. Discussions have been held with London mayor Ken Livingstone who is opposed to the cuts. Discussions have also taken place with the mayor who insists that the privatisation of the East London line was forced upon him by the government. Nevertheless, the campaign is continuing with EDM 286 and communications with rail minister Tom Harris. On the maritime front, it appears that the union’s campaign against the privatisation of Scottish ferry services may be coming to a successful conclusion as it emerged that the publicly-owned Caledonian MacBrayne is now the only bidder. Discussions are still taking place with the government on the tonnage tax. The Chamber of Shipping have moved their ground slightly and are now proposing that shipping companies should be required to have a mandatory training link for either ratings or cadets. The union is also considering a joint approach with shipping employers to the government. The promised government consultation on the exemption of seafarers from Race Relations Act and the minimum wage has yet to begin. The Shipping Minister has now agreed to be the keynote speaker at the RMT Parliamentary Maritime Seminar on March 13 (see page 14). Following a long campaign and recent adjournment debate on training for Thames Boatmasters, the union narrowly failed to prevent the introduction of the diluted training arrangements. At the recent delegated legislative committee representation from RMT group members and supporters saw the government only narrowly win the vote by nine votes to eight. The government has published its consultation for “Putting Passengers First”, which seeks to allow local authorities to regulate buses. RMT is broadly supportive of the proposals, however, wishes to see a far high priority given to bus workers conditions and we shall shortly commence a national survey of our members. The TUC has now published the final version of the Bill on their website and the second reading of John McDonnell’s Trade Union Freedoms and Rights Bill will take place on March 2. SHAPING TRANSPORT POLICY Parliamentary column N ew research shows that EU rail ‘liberalisation’ would be “bad for commuters” and hinder the development of suburban railways that are “essential to tackle congestion and environmental problems”. With climate change and environmental issues topping the agenda, there are increasing calls for more energy-efficient means of transport, including rail. However, with the adoption of two packages of rail legislation that aims to open up rail transport to competition, the focus of the EU over the past 20 years has been to hand rail over to the private sector. This process is most advanced in the UK, after the privatisation of British Rail in 1996 carried out on the basis of EU rail directive 91/440 introduced on July 29, 1991. New research warned that the third legislative package could severely hinder the development of short-distance operations, according to rail and public transport operators. The new study, conducted by the International Association for Public Transport (UITP), reveals that the application of ill-adapted, overly bureaucratic rules could hinder the development of a transport sector crucial to helping European cities deal with congestion and pollution problems. According to UITP figures, the use of regional and commuter trains helps the EU avoid each year 24 million km of traffic jams, 30 million tonnes of CO2, and 1,312 human deaths and 36,800 injuries. UITP Regional Railway Committee chair Michel Quidort said: "The trend to encompass all railways in the same policies and to request the same inter- operability demands and technical specifications is hindering the development of regional rail". On certification of train crew, the UITP also believes that the single driver licence proposed by the Commission is "in contradiction with the need to have specific knowledge of the line and the rolling stock". EU RAIL PLANS “BAD FOR COMMUTERS”