SETTLEMENT AT ONE

www.rmt.org.uk :: october 2007 :: RMTnews 5 F ollowing the threat of further strike action at the ‘one’ rail franchise, management has offered a confidential settlement satisfactory to sacked guard Paul Yarwood, thereby recognising that they were wrong to dismiss him. ‘One’ management has also agreed to re-instate the Assaults Working Group and set up a Security Council to deal with all aspects of staff safety and security and to ensure that this is a priority. Paul Yarwood was sacked in June following an incident with a drunken and aggressive fare- dodger. His dismissal led to an outpouring of anger among staff, two days of local strike action and overwhelmingly support for a company-wide strike which has now been called off following an offer from the company. Paul said that he did not want to pursue re-instatement as he did not want staff to lose money or disrupt the lives of passengers who had been very supportive. “I want the best for you all and hope things are learnt from this and that nobody else goes through what I am going through,” he said in a letter to staff and passengers. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said that it had been a victory for common sense and an object lesson in demonstrating what solidarity could achieve. “It is only by the action of Paul’s colleagues that this outcome has been made possible. “It will also be difficult for management to neglect the safety of staff in the future and take the side of fare dodgers and hooligans that attack our members,” he said. Name: Nadra Craig Job: Resource Co-ordinator Company: NEOS networks (Scottish & Southern Energy) My husband works offshore in the offshore oil industry and he has been heavily involved with the offshore workers union – OILC. He convinced me long ago never to go to work without a union card. When the merger between OILC/RMT was proposed, I was delighted to learn that they hope to form an ‘offshore/energy’ branch of RMT. I work in the energy industry, my husband works in the offshore oil industry, so the proposed marriage of these great unions suits my own marriage. Like OILC, RMT protect their members’ interests at work. I also admire the strong leadership displayed both general secretaries Jake Molloy and Bob Crow. I am also very impressed with the great work which is being done by RMT in support of women and ethnic minorities in the workplace. I fall into both of these categories, so I hope to get more involved in these areas with the union in the future. SETTLEMENT AT ONE WHY I JOINED RMT