RMT MEMBERS RALLY TO DEMAND A PEOPLE’S RAILWAY

RMT helpline 0800 3763706 :: may 2009 :: RMTnews H undreds of banner-waving union RMT members converged on Parliament on May 5 to demand a publicly owned ‘People’s Railway’ instead of cuts in jobs and services. With Klaxon horns blaring, the activists staged a noisy demonstration before going in to lobby MPs. They carried placards declaring: ‘Rail Jobs are Green Jobs’, ‘Save Rail Services’, ‘Rail Cuts Cost Lives’ and for a ‘People’s Railway.’ As the lobbyers prepared to buttonhole MPs, RMT general secretary Bob Crow spelt out a clear message for the government and the private rail companies. “Our members are not cannon fodder who can be hired and fired at will while the bankers and the City spivs are being bailed out to the tune of billions,” he said. RMT parliamentary group convener Labour MP John McDonnell welcomed the lobbyers to Westminster. Mr McDonnell condemned the “lunacy” of the government stepping in with yet more public money to bail out failed PFI schemes. And he urged lobbyers to present his fellow MPs and government ministers with a “rational” alternative to the failed system of railway privatisation. He demanded that the railways must be taken back into a new form of accountable common ownership, managed by the state alongside representatives of the workers and the passengers. Left Labour MP Kelvin Hopkins argued that a new start with investment in a publicly owned railway would help to dig Britain out of the “awful recession” arising from the “love affair” with global free-market capitalism. Numerous other MPs supported the demands of the rally including RMT parliamentary group members Alan Simpson, David Drew and Jim Dobbin. Stephen Joseph, director of green transport group Campaign for Better Transport, spoke at the rally in support of the campaign to save green rail jobs. The campaign has also been lobbying the government to reinstate the deferred renewals. Coincidentally Stephen met rail minister Lord Adonis the same day. RMT members presented MPs with a well-produced document containing a blueprint for a wholly integrated, publicly owned and accountable people’s railway. It complained that the government was subsidising the rail privateers to the tune of £6 billion a year. The document called for an urgent programme of investment in the railways, which would provide a much- needed “green stimulus” to the economy in the midst of the current crisis. It also demanded a freeze in shareholder dividends, with all profits instead being invested to protect services and jobs. MPs were also urged to sign an early day motion calling for an end to the cuts and for a People’s Railway. As RMT News went to press Rail Minister Andrew Adonis called a meeting of Labour MPs to discuss the concerns raised by RMT members. The campaign continues. If you could not make the lobby then maybe you could make an appointment to see your MP in his or her constituency. RMT MEMBERS RALLY TO DEMAND A PEOPLE’S RAILWAY In the week before the lobby RMT General Secretary Bob Crow met Secretary of State for Transport, Geoff Hoon, to demand a moratorium on job cuts on the railways. The government was told that in the last few months almost 4000 job losses have been announced on the railways and London Underground despite the rail companies receiving big government subsidies and continuing to make huge profits. Bob warned the cuts mean safety is also under threat. Network Rail is cutting back on the frequency of track inspections and has postponed a third of its planned track renewals. Geoff Hoon was told that conditions are being created for a serious derailment. BOB CROW TELLS GEOFF HOON STOP JOB CUTS 8