NO PRIVATEERS FOR TYNE AND WEAR

RMTnews :: may 2008 :: www.rmt.org.uk 4 R MT has pledged to fight tooth-and-nail fight against plans that could see Tyne and Wear Metro’s infrastructure fragmented and handed over to privateers to milk of public money. Warning against the creation of a Metronet Mark II, the union has committed itself to fight “all the way” if Nexus, Tyne and Wear’s Passenger Transport Executive, tries to hand any part of Metro’s maintenance to the private sector. The government has earmarked £600 million for a welcome upgrade of the Metro network, but has stipulated that maintenance of new ticket machines, trains and infrastructure – all currently done in-house by Metro staff – is competitively tendered for. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said that the corpse of Metronet was barely cold, yet the government is insisting that another highly successful Metro system is subjected to a process that could see its maintenance thrown to the privateers. “They say that history’s tragedies repeat themselves as farce, but this time there is not even any pretence that there will be any private-sector investment. “That means that private shareholders stand to get a fat profit for doing nothing more than overseeing what Metro’s own maintenance staff already do perfectly well,” he said. The plans would fragment the Metro along the same lines that have caused such massive safety problems for the national rail network and London Underground Rail privatisation, on the national network and on London Underground, is generally recognised as a colossal, wasteful and dangerous failure yet the country’s last wholly publicly owned railway is being threatened in the same way. Nexus has proposed a “Metro Reinvigoration” programme comprising of three phases. Phase One, to be in place before 2010, covers the installation of new ticket machines. Phase Two, which is scheduled to begin in 2010, aims to refurbish the Metrocars, stations, track and overhead lines. Phase Three starts in 2008, to build a new generation of Metrocars and signalling systems. It is proposed that the private sector will not make any investment in the Metro, but will simply be paid a fee. Invitations to tender for the ticketing system were sent out on April 21 2008 and contracts to be signed on November 4 2008. NO PRIVATEERS ON TYNE AND WEAR Planned strike action by more than 130 RMT senior conductors at the new East Midlands franchise on the first three Saturdays in May has been suspended. The action was suspended to allow for talks to be held under the auspices of ACAS. The dispute centres on the company’s plan to use managers and other grades to guard trains on Sundays and to impose a new grade of senior conductor with inferior conditions, outside existing negotiated structures. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said that the dispute could be easily resolved if the company had entered into meaningful talks earlier. “However, if no agreement is reached we still have a mandate to take strike action if necessary,” he said. EAST MIDLANDS CONDUCTOR STRIKE SUSPENDED