RECOGNITION DEAL FOR TYNE AND WEAR METRO CLEANERS

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: november/december 2011 :: RMTnews 6 C leaners on recently privatised Tyne and Wear Metro have forced sub-contractors Churchill to recognise the union after a concerted campaign. Churchill, which subcontracts to Nexus’s privateer operator DB Regio, agreed to full voluntary recognition after the union’s membership soared in response to the company’s threat to cut paid breaks, reduce hours and impose other worse conditions. Labour MPs and local councillors, including Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Authority members, were alerted to the company’s penny-pinching attacks, and a high-profile media campaign helped concentrate Churchill’s bosses’ minds on the need to talk to RMT. General secretary Bob Crow, who travelled to Newcastle to sign the recognition agreement with Churchill’s operations manager, Simon Wren, said the recognition was “another ringing endorsement of RMT’s strategy for organising vulnerable workers”. “RMT membership has more than quadrupled since July, and we have sent a message to the company that the days of super-exploitation are over. “The company has agreed to talk about all the key issues, and we now look forward to negotiating a living wage, decent conditions, proper health and safety protection and fair procedures,” said Bob. “Our members on Churchill have done a fantastic job and have had magnificent support from the union and the wider community, but now we have to sit down and negotiate,” said regional organiser Craig Johnston. “The company has backed away from cutting breaks and we now have elected workplace and health and safety reps in place, and the company has agreed that they should have paid release for training. “Churchills also allowed paid release for a member to attend the LGBT committee, so clearly progress is being made,” Craig said. He added that the union would now be looking to organise cleaners working for Mitie, which also subcontracts work on the Metro. R ail workers are being told to take German lessons as part of their training course for operating new track equipment. The news comes as German rail giant Deutsche Bahn tightens its grip in Britain through the acquisition of the Grand Central franchise, opening up an opportunity to use EU rules to start running services on the East and West Coast. The row is also continuing over the proposed award of the Thameslink fleet contract to Siemens at the expense of UK train building at Bombardier in Derby. Rail staff on a recent course in Kent were told that they had to learn a series of German phrases relating to instructions on track equipment. RMT has said that it would be simpler and safer to get the equipment re-programmed with a translation into English rather than placing the responsibility to learn German on the workforce, but the union believes it is all about money. The union also has concerns that the language barrier could be used to get rid of staff. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said that from Siemens involvement in the betrayal of Bombardier through to Deutsche Bahn taking over the Grand Central franchise, EU diktat is driving a German corporate takeover of Britain’s railways. “Profits that could be invested in our services are instead spirited out of the country without touching the sides. “It is extraordinary that the German companies can't even be bothered to translate their safety instructions into English and instead UK rail workers have to take responsibility with these crash courses in O level German,” he said. Phrases that form part of the course, and which workers are to be tested on include: Kdo abgew AZGR ANFORD Grund BETRIEBLICH Reset requested but not carried out due to section being clear UARTFEHLER receiver/transmitter fault - corrupted data message VERBINDUNGSAUSFALL Connecting failure RECOGNITION DEAL FOR TYNE AND WEAR METRO CLEANERS RAIL STAFF MUST LEARN GERMAN TO OPERATE TRACK EQUIPMENT RECOGNITION: Bob Crow with Churchill reps after signing the recognition deal