LETTERS

RMTnews :: march 2007 :: www.rmt.org.uk 26 Dear Editor, I was interested to read in my February 2007 issue of RMT News about the experiences of Ken Slade and Alan Pierson recently when they stood as RMT candidates in Southeastern Trains Drivers Company Council elections. Firstly, congratulations to Ken and Alan for having run such a good campaign that they picked up 218 votes from train drivers on Southeastern looking for trade union representation. Those votes weren’t wasted as Ken and Alan point out. Workplace elections prick the bubble of complacency and arrogance that have characterised some Train Drivers’ Company Councils and remind our fellow drivers that the word ‘represent’ means ‘to act or speak on behalf of somebody’, not ‘to pull the wool over their eyes and feather your own nest’. I’m sure that Ken and Alan’s colleagues won’t forget it was RMT that forced these elections to take place and that must be a good thing. Drivers employed Arriva Trains Wales are currently taking part in Company Council and LDC elections as a result of relentless pressure from RMT to force elections to take place and from drivers themselves - 100 of whom signed a petition demanding the right to elect the people who negotiate terms and conditions on their behalf. It seems incredible in the 21st century that officials of some trade unions behave as if workers had never won the right to vote! Don’t these people know where the labour movement comes from? The RMT South Wales & West Regional Council Drivers Committee and RMT branches will be ensuring that our union’s candidates for the Arriva Trains Wales Drivers Company Council get full backing for their campaign in these elections and we wish Steve Richards (Cardiff Valleys), Stewart Pritchard (Cardiff Mainline) and Angela Langton (Crewe) all the very best as well as RMT candidates standing for LDC elections. We are also buoyed up by the success of RMT Driver candidates recently in LDC elections at First Great Western. Mick Hall topped the poll at Par depot in Cornwall, in January this year Andy Miller came top of the poll at Westbury depot in Wiltshire and Brendan Bailey narrowly missed top spot at Bristol. These excellent candidates won the respect and the votes of their fellow drivers because they are approachable, level-headed and genuinely interested in the welfare of their fellow workers. We look forward with confidence to forthcoming Drivers’ Divisional Council elections at FGW where RMT has consistently spoken for the majority of train drivers in recent years whether over the issue of pay and conditions harmonisation or the much - resented decision by FGW Driver’s Divisional Council to pilot ‘FirstCare’ sickness reporting for train drivers –now withdrawn as a result of RMT representation. Alex Gordon Dear editor, Many RMT members have a motorcycle or a scooter for work or pleasure. The government is thinking of road pricing in which road users pay by the mile for the use of the road. It has not been made clear if bikes or scooters would be affected by this. However, what congestion does a bike or scooter cause? I feel road pricing is nothing more then a stealth tax. It’s about time that this government knew what it was doing. It has failed public transport and now we read in RMT News of the threat of bigger lorries on our roads which will cause a loss of freight from our railways and waterways. Bob Taylerson F ormer RMT shipping officer Tony Santamera received the Merchant Navy Medal recently after the union put him forward for the honour. The Merchant Navy Medal was founded as a charitable initiative in order to recognise the meritorious service and acts of courage by British-registered seafarers of all ranks within the industry. Tony said that he was very proud to be presented with this honour and thanked the union for its support. “I will be eternally grateful for the comradeship and support I have been given over the years. “Whatever I have achieved is due to the members and the union,” he said. Tony also paid tribute to his late wife Carole who passed away last October. “Without Carole’s moral, political and loving support and guidance, nothing would have been possible,” he said. General secretary Bob Crow said that the union had put Tony’s name forward for the award because of his services to the maritime industry. “Tony hails from a family of seafarers and has fought tirelessly to improve the working conditions of his fellow workers,” he said. Recipients of the medal must have been serving as officers, ratings or shore-based personnel within the shipping and shipping related companies, agencies, bodies, authorities or educational establishments Dear editor, Your article Tebay - three years on (February RMT News) mentions that we have threatened Network Rail with enforcement action over runaway road/rail vehicles. Following our investigation into an incident at Copenhagen last October, we served an Improvement Notice in January requiring Network Rail to identify vehicles of the type involved in that incident and apply an engineering solution to the problem of not being continuous. Reliance on people carrying out procedures in difficult working conditions is not acceptable and only an engineering solution will do. The Notice also requires acceptance procedures for new vehicles to be changed so that braking is available at all times. Network Rail has not appealed against the breaches of Health and Safety at Work, etc Act 1974 and the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 upon which the Notice was based. NR is, therefore, legally committed to compliance. I hope this action by HM Railway Inspectorate reassures RMT members. Yours faithfully, Stephen Poole , HM Inspector of Railways LETTERS Rail inspector acts over runaway vehicles No to road-pricing Driving up membership SANTAMERA AWARDED MERCHANT NAVY MEDAL Medal: National officer Steve Todd, Tony Santamera, Admiral Sir Alan West GCB who presented Tony with his medal, Bob Crow and RMT president Tony Donaghey attend the ceremony.