DEFENDING SUPERVISORY AND CLERICAL JOBS

16 RMT helpline 0800 3763706 :: april 2010 :: RMTnews Over 60 delegates from 22 RMT branches attended this year’s annual supervisory, clerical and other salaried grades conference meeting in Great Yarmouth, the largest number of delegates for many years. Speaking for the union’s executive, EC member Garry Hassell said it was a momentous conference due to the large numbers attending. He paid tribute to retiring secretary John Hemsley for the hard work he had put in building the conference over the years. “This year we are having elections for positions and debates about how we organise ourselves. “This reflects john’s important work and the attacks on jobs and services we are experiencing,” he said. He said the main job of the union was to protect jobs, wages and conditions of RMT members in the face of attacks from private employers seeking to shut ticket offices and curtail services. “Where members have been balloted and decided to stand and fight by taking or threatening to take industrial action we have won in defence of jobs, victimised members and services,” he said. Assistant general secretary Pat Sikorski said that £800 million was being taken out of the rail sector by privateers and the banking crisis had increased the attacks on jobs. “There is an endless process of job cuts and safety cuts which is continuing with 800 jobs threatened on the Tube and 1,500 on Network Rail maintenance,” he said. Chris Smart, Manchester South called on the union to a campaign to defend the jobs covered by the conference. “In the current economic climate our roles will be attacked as employers seek massive cuts in jobs. “Our work is perceived as an easy target but the reality is that the work will still exist but there will be fewer of us employed to do it,” he said. Dave Rutland, Feltham said that there was a worrying trend of the use of part-time workers to cover full-time posts in ticket offices. “South West Trains find it cheaper to use part time workers and what goes on in one train operating company will spread to others,” he said. Delegates agreed that part-time workers were being exploited because TOCs avoid costs by refusing to pay overtime rates for hours worked over and above contracted hours. They also avoid the extra costs, depriving part-time workers of unsocial hour’s premiums, pension rights, holiday pay, redundancy payments, maternity rights and social security benefits, associated with employment. Mark Steel, Waterloo said that gateline assistants were earning just £13,000 a year with little or no benefits. “These workers are on poverty pay and should really be put on RO2 pay. “RMT must fight and negotiate for gate line staff to enjoy all allowances given to non restructured grades,” he said. Conference also opposed the centralisation of support functions by Network Rail to a centre in Milton Keynes. “There is a mass of unemployed young labour in the location that will be fully exploited by the company “It may be a 21st century building but there will be 19th century working conditions,” said Chris Smart. Conference condemned the bullying and intimidation carried out by supervisors based at Hull by forcing staff to carry out training of staff against their will. Pete March, Hull Rail said that members were called in one by one without representation. “Staff exercised their right not to be considered to carry out training and they were threatened with suspension,” he said. Conference called on the union to tell the employer that the carrying out of training of new staff was optional and that the bullying of staff to be made to do so would not be tolerated. SOUTH WEST TRAINS Conference deplored plans to slash ticket office opening hours on South West Trains and called on the union to lobby Parliament, Travel Focus, London Travelwatch and the Department of Transport to stop the proposals. The company has already cut opening hours last year without risk assessments. Now it is seeking to make further cuts in what conference believed was a blatant attempt to cut costs despite the fact that franchise holder Stagecoach revealed an increase in profits. SWT claims that an increase in the use of ticket vending machines and oyster cards justifies the cuts. But RMT has warned that the cost cutting plans being will lead to a massive deterioration in customer service and will seriously increase the risk of assaults at stations at evening and weekends. Last year Stagecoach announced pre-tax profits of £170 million and confirmed that they would be axing jobs and making other DEFENDING SUPERVISORY AND CLERICAL JOBS The supervisory, clerical and other salaried grades conference meeting in Great Yarmouth called for the defence of jobs and against service cuts