SAVING BOMBARDIER JOBS!

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: july/august 2011 :: RMTnews 8 RMT general secretary Bob Crow demanded that MPs fight to save 1,400 train building jobs after the government handed Siemens of Germany the contract for 1,200 new carriages for Thameslink route instead of Derby-based Bombardier. “It is time MPs were brought to account,” he told over 10,000 protesters in Derby to huge applause. “I have been told it would be ‘protectionist’ to build our own trains in this country, but the job of MPs is to protect our industries and our jobs,” he said. The union has destroyed government claims that they could not influence the outcome of the Thameslink contract and save the Bombardier train building plant in Derby. In a Parliamentary question, Transport Minister Theresa Villiers was forced to admit that her government could have built in the wider economic impact of shifting the work overseas before awarding it to Siemens in the tendering process demanded by European Union rules. The minister also admitted that over £15 million of UK taxpayers money was spent on advisers engaged in the tendering process. “Throughout this carve up the government has claimed that their hands are tied, a claim that has now been exposed by RMT as completely bogus,” Bob Crow said. He said that the loss of Britain's last train making company was the direct result of successive government’s colluding with harsh EU ‘public procurement’, ‘competition’ and ‘liberalisation’ rules. “The logic of all British governments since the Thatcher period has been to comply with EU demands for privatisation and the tendering out of public contracts to the lowest bidder regardless of the consequences,” he said. Meanwhile French and German governments have largely ignored these EU rules and loaded the contracts to take into account the economic and social impact locally. “In the last three years nearly 100 per cent of train building contracts in both countries have gone to their own respective firms like Alstom in France and Siemens in Germany and, as a result, they now dominate the industry in Europe,” Bob told protesters. The union has also raised serious questions with the government about the business practices of Siemens. The anti-union company was found guilty of paying €15 million to the chairman of a “non-traditional” union in Germany and recently lost its appeal to get a fine of €400 million overturned for forming a cartel. The Daily Mirror newspaper joined the ‘battle for Bombardier’ campaign backed by Derby County football club manager Nigel Clough and his players. Bombardier workers and their children carried a huge banner onto the pitch during the first match of the season against Birmingham City and players wore Save Our Rail Industry – Derby United T-shirts. Nigel Clough said: “We support the campaign to make the government think again. “The contract won’t be signed off until the end of the year, so there is still time to make a change”. SAVING BOMBARDIER JOBS! Network Rail has announced that it intends to reduce dramatically the number of signallers it currently employs under its long term operations strategy. Network Rail intends to reduce signallers from the current level of 6,000 to 2,000 over the next 30 years by centralising signalboxes and by use of new technologies. It is also their intention to reduce the ECRO Centres from the current 13 to two and halve the number of ECROs they employ. RMT has made it clear that it will not accept any compulsory redundancies and expects Network Rail to abide by the current Promotion Transfer and Redundancy Arrangements (PTR&R) and in addition we will be seeking a shorter working week, increased annual leave and voluntary retirement at 55. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said that the union would not agree to anything that compromises the job security, safety or standards of living of our members. "We are not opposed to new technology but we are clear that any changes that may arise should be accommodated through a shorter working week, additional annual leave and the right to retire at 55 on full pension entitlement," he said. NETWORK RAIL SIGNALS JOB LOSSES Over 10,000 march in Derby to demand that the government halts demise of train building in Britain