PRESIDENTS COLUMN

RMT helpline 0800 3763706 :: november/december 2010 :: RMTnews 25 In 1954 Ealing Studios released 'The Maggie', a comedy named after a 'Clyde Puffer' - a small, coastal freighter - in the Clyde and Inner Hebrides. In the film Captain Mactaggart, 'The Maggie's rascally owner, wrecks his ramshackle ship and risks his crew's safety to fleece American tycoon, Calvin B. Marshall. Fast-forward to 2010 and a Scottish government wants to refloat rust buckets like 'The Maggie', using European Union competition rules to hand over publicly owned, lifeline ferry services to a bunch of latter-day Mactaggarts. The Scottish National Party government's Ferries Review aims to 'unbundle' publicly owned Caledonian MacBrayne and Northlink ferry services, allowing private companies to cherry-pick profitable, freight routes. Communities in the Hebrides, Orkneys and Shetlands face dire consequences for local economies, jobs, training, safety, conditions and pensions as well as investment in new vessels if the SNP's smash and grab plan goes ahead. Millionaire 'Stagecoach' boss, Brian Souter is eyeing up 'CalMac' services. In 2007 Souter switched his funding from Labour to the SNP. By an uncanny coincidence, the SNP rapidly dropped its opposition to ferry privatisation. RMT general secretary Bob Crow spelt out our determination to resist 'CalMac' privatisation at a public meeting in Oban last month. This month Bob and I attended public meetings with RMT officers and activists from Stornaway and the Uists to Barra, across to Arran and Gourock on the Clyde, helping build a trade union and community campaign to defend lifeline ferry services before next May's Scottish elections. Not only Scottish ferries are threatened by EU competition rules on 'free movement' of labour and services - a euphemism for super- exploitation of workers through social dumping. In echoes of the 2005 Irish Ferries dispute and the 2007 European Court of Justice decision on 'Viking Ferries' from Finland, a German ferry operator, Mezeron is bidding against Isle of Man Steam Packet, for Liverpool-Douglas freight contracts, using Estonian- flagged ships and eastern European crew at £3.78/hour for Able Seamen and £2.90/hour for Cooks - for an 84- hour week! Tesco has already switched to the cheap labour operator and RMT will call for a consumer boycott unless Tesco ends support for social dumping. If Tesco can have ethical policies for buying chickens, it can have an ethical policy for workers that transport its products. Bob Crow met the Manx goverment Minister this month, reminding him that decent union jobs provide a safe and efficient ferry service, while RMT members demonstrated against social dumping in Douglas and at Liverpool Pierhead. ITF's 'Fair Ferries Campaign', condemns seafarers' unequal pay and conditions and abuse of multinational crews. Yet the carnage of job losses continued this year with threats to replace Stena Britannica ferry crews between Harwich and Hook of Holland with cheap labour. In France where unions are in dispute over the loss of 600 ferry jobs. Sea France argues it can't compete in a market that is not a level playing field. In Greece, seafarers' unions took strike action in April and May this year against EU rules on 'cabotage' - deregulating coastal shipping. Despite hostile media, political attacks and Greek courts making strike action illegal, Greek unions have fought social dumping, preventing a Maltese- flagged cruise ship, 'Zenith', which employs foreign crews without insurance or union recognition, from docking at Piraeus harbour in Athens. EU rules and court judgments attacking protection from social dumping are leading to a race to the bottom in the ferry industry. RMT is hosting an international conference 'Future Public Transport: Nationalisation not Privatisation' to discuss how seafarers, rail and bus workers can fight back on January 31 2011. Please join us. I would like to wish all RMT members and your families a safe and happy festive season and success in 2011. Unity is Strength! Alex Gordon President’s column STOP EU ATTACKS ON FERRY SERVICES Early Day Motion 849 FUTURE OF THE RAILWAYS That this House notes with concern reports that the Government's review of the railways will lead to a significant increase in what are already the most expensive rail fares in Europe; is appalled that hard-pressed passengers will be hit by these fare hikes at a time when the highest paid directors of the big five transport groups which run most of UK's train operations, Arriva, First, Go Ahead, National Express and Stagecoach, have been paid salaries of between 600,000 and over 1.2 million a year, with one executive enjoying a 35 per cent. annual increase; is further concerned that this executive excess is on the back of billions of pounds of taxpayer subsidy to the privatised train operations; is dismayed that whilst passengers and taxpayers are being asked to tighten their belts these companies have paid out dividends in excess of 2 billion since privatisation; believes that, instead of cutting services and hiking fares, the Government should consider urgentlya freeze in dividends and a windfall tax on the profits of the privatised railway; is further concerned that the same companies who are fleecing the railway are also lobbying for the break-up and sell-off of Network Rail which will create a Railtrack mark 2 which puts profit before safety; and further believes instead that the interests of passengers, taxpayers and rail workers would be best served by an integrated, publicly-owned and accountable railway. Katy Clark MP past two decades. John McDonnell also urged London Underground to return to the negotiating table and to seek a settlement with RMT and TSSA. He said that the dispute is a principled one. “It is not about wages, but about looking after the safety of the travelling public,” he said. Katy Clark pointed out that Tube workers who were hailed as heroes after the London bombings in 2005 are now often vilified in the press as enemies of the state. “I hope that there is a negotiated settlement to the dispute, and I pay tribute to those members of the RMT and the TSSA who are taking a stand on behalf of passengers and rail safety,” she said. Julie Hilling urged the Minister to consider the importance of safety of passengers travelling on the Underground. “Stations can often be very lonely, scary places for all rail users but particularly for women travelling alone. “ The fact that we have staff in ticket offices and on platforms increases both the feeling of safety and the actual safety,” she said. She also warned the government against using the rail review as a precursor to breaking up Network Rail. “Already there is erosion of track inspection and other safety elements and if we fragment the industry further, especially track control, we will certainly make accidents, such as those at Grayrigg, Hatfield more likely,” she said. As a result of the debate the Rail Minister agreed to meet MPs to discuss in detail the government’s review of the railways and the continued plight of ex Jarvis workers. The full text of the debate and RMT’s written policy submissions to government can be found on the RMT website. The RMT Parliamentary Group will be hosting a seminar in the New Year to discuss the government’s review of the railways. Watch this space for more details.