EU DEMANDS RAIL ‘COMPETITION’

EU transport commissioner Siim Kallas last month called for a single European rail network based on the privatised franchising model trialled in Britain over the last 20 years. "There must be a genuine single market," he said. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said that the EU obsession with the open access business model for rail would create chaos across the continent. “As in Britain already, the only winners are the corporate carpet baggers and their shareholders and the losers are the concept of a social railway, passengers and those who work in the industry,” he said. At the opening of Innotrans, one of Europe's largest transport conventions, in Berlin Mr Kallas complained that not enough other EU states had truly opened up their markets to competition, despite previous EU directives, with continuing protection for domestic operators, particularly where train companies still operated the track. In Germany and France state firms Deutsche Bahn and SNCF still dominate and are exploiting EU rail directives to take over networks in other member states. Under various EU directives member states must split infrastructure and operations and introduce market mechanisms as the Tories did when they privatised the rail industry in 1994. However the German transport minister Peter Ramsauer said that he did not believe that Britain's experience had provided a good model for the deregulation of the network. "In Britain, they took it to excess and failed. “We will not make that mistake, we will keep a government role," he said. However he went on to accuse the French of resisting opening up to competition. "If we want to travel by ICE (the German fast train) from Frankfurt to London, we need France to open up and so we absolutely have to do the same in Germany," he said. Deutsche Bahn chairman Rüdiger Grube also welcomed the idea of more competition to allow Germany to continue to expand its growing rail interests abroad. "So we can show how good we are," he said. The huge convention in Berlin includes global exhibitors ranging from Bombardier and Siemens to Network Rail with its new, deregulated private consulting arm designed to win business abroad. RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: october 2012 :: RMTnews 8 Cleaners on Transpennine Express services working for contractor’s Carlisle took a third wave of industrial action earlier this month in a long standing battle for pay and workplace justice. As a result of the total failure of the company to make a reasonable offer, and their refusal to engage in talks through the independent body ACAS, the latest phase of action cleaners took 24-hour strike action with an overtime ban until October 15. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said that it was a scandal that Carlisle continued to refuse to make any kind of reasonable offer to tackle the issue of poverty pay and poor working conditions of this group of key transport workers on Transpennine services run by FirstGroup. “The point-blank refusal to even engage in ACAS talks shows that this company has no interest in making progress with negotiations and it is that pig- headed attitude that has forced this latest phase of industrial action. “RMT is taking the message to both TPE and their service users that Carlisle must be forced to face up to their obligations to the staff who deliver their profits. “RMT remains available for talks and the ball is now firmly in the companies court,” he said. Brussels demands national rail networks open up to private sector TRANSPENNINE EXPRESS CLEANERS’ STRIKE FOR PAY JUSTICE EU DEMANDS RAIL ‘COMPETITION’ LIBERALISATION: EU transport commissioner Siim Kallas demands rail ‘competition’ across the EU