VOTE FOR STRIKE ACTION AT DB SCHENKER OVER JOBS

RMT members at railfreight company Deutsche Bahn Schenker, formerly English, Welsh and Scottish railways (EWS), are being balloted for strike action after the company failed step back from a major assault on jobs and working conditions and the threat of casualisation. In a postal vote on a breakdown in industrial relations, which opens on February 11 and closes on February 25, RMT members in all grades at the company will be urged to give the union a huge mandate for strike action. The union has sought assurances from DB Schenker that there will be no compulsory redundancies, that it will lift the threat of regrading and stop the introduction casualisation through zero-hours contracts. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said that on all counts the company had failed to give such assurances and has, instead, proposed a pay freeze and possible pay cuts, as well as refusing to honour the existing pay award. “The company has also consistently failed to honour its recognition agreement with RMT for members in all grades and depots, is sidestepping bargaining procedures and evading legal, including denial of the 90-day consultation period on redundancies. “Rather than sit down with us in a constructive way to find a path through current difficulties, the company has gone on the offensive with a fundamental attack on jobs, conditions and the union. “That has angered staff who have given loyal service to EWS, and the union is urging RMT members to let the company know how they feel with a resounding yes for strike action,” Bob Crow said. RMT has called on the government to take action to prevent job losses at DB Schenker that would undermine the government’s own pledge to implement a ‘new environmentally friendly approach’ to Britain’s freight industry. The union said that the proposed cuts would inflict long-term damage to an environmentally and economically crucial industry. VOTE FOR STRIKE ACTION AT DB SCHENKER OVER JOBS AND CASUALISATION RMT members at the rail freight company formerly known as EWS are being balloted for action against job cuts and casualisation RMT helpline 0800 3763706 :: february 2009 :: RMTnews 12