ST PANCRAS CLEANERS CONTINUE PAY FIGHT

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: march 2012 :: RMTnews 3 R MT has suspended strike action by St Pancras cleaners in a pay dispute with Initial on the Eurostar contract in order for further negotiations to take place. Striking cleaners at St Pancras International won fantastic support from the public in the fight against poverty pay last month. Around seventy pickets and supporters launched 48-hour strike action with horns and drums, bringing a carnival atmosphere to the London Eurostar terminal. The workers employed by Initial have not had a pay increase for maintaining the opulent Eurostar terminal in four years and have been offered a pathetic 13p taking them to £ 6.76 an hour, miles short of Boris Johnsons London living wage of £8.30 an hour. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said that it was disgraceful that the cleaners who mopped up in the St Pancras champagne bar suffer poverty pay. "RMT is appalled that Network Rail, a public body still reeling from its own bonus scandal, has not lifted a finger to stop this exploitation by its cleaning contractors in the run up to the Olympics," he said. Bob Crow warned the company that vulnerable workers were be exploited by Initial to break the strike rather than seeking a negotiated settlement T he Independent newspaper printed an apology earlier this month and has paid £5,000 – including a £2,500 donation to the RMT Widows and Orphans fund – after printing a libellous story about RMT last December. The newspaper made offensive and libellous remarks about RMT Tube drivers and the general secretary Bob Crow in reference to a strike that had nothing at all to do with the union. The apology, which appeared on page 2 of its edition on March 17, said: “In our article ‘The high street of the future: huge chains and a few boutiques’ (December 30, 2011), we referred to Bob Crow and his drivers “serving as the belated appearance of the Grinch that stole Christmas”. “In fact the reference to a Tube strike was one called by ASELF and not RMT, which did not call a London Tube strike at that time. “We are happy to set the record straight and to apologise to Mr Crow for the error”. Bob Crow said that it was not the first time that complete untruths about RMT have appeared in the media, large sections of which are openly hostile to trade unionism. “Rest assured that the union will continue to strive for the record to be put straight whenever necessary, and will continue to pursue the truth over illegal telephone hacking and email intrusions,” he said. ST PANCRAS CLEANERS CONTINUE PAY FIGHT THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER APOLOGISES TO UNION F irst has signed an agreement to sell its North Devon bus operations to Stagecoach Group for £2.8 million, pending approval from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). If the sale is approved by the OFT then the transfer of operations would take place during the summer. Included in the sale would be current bus routes, the depot site in Barnstaple and a number of vehicles. All affected staff would be transferred with the services. First spokeswoman Karen Baxter said: “Operating bus services in the UK, and particularly North Devon, has become increasingly challenging”. First staff employed in North Devon will transfer in their existing roles to their new employer under normal Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 – TUPE which will protect specified existing employment rights for staff. The North Devon business comprises of around 100 staff members, a fleet of around 30 vehicles and ten routes, services 1, 2, 3, 5/5C, 8 - operates summer only - 30/30C, 31, 32, X7 and X9 as well as the depot facility in Barnstaple. The North Devon operations will become part of Stagecoach South West, which employs around 900 people and operates more than 320 buses on around 120 routes across Devon and Somerset. FIRST SELLS NORTH DEVON BUS OPERATION