GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES EAST COAST REPRIVATISATION

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: april 2013 :: RMTnews 5 C leaners working for cheapskate contractors ISS on the East Coast Mainline took a further wave of strike action as RMT steps up the fight for justice for staff working on transport cleaning contracts. The cleaners took 48 hours strike action last month to demand a living wage and major improvements in pensions and working conditions. Previous action has forced ISS to make an offer but the latest proposals, do not offer back pay and do nothing to improve sick pay or to meet any other of RMT’s claims in areas such as free travel. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said that the union had launched an unprecedented, co-ordinated national campaign for pay justice for cleaners and security staff and the action on the East Coast ISS contract was a central part of that battle. “This action, brought about by the intransigent and divisive attitude of the company, is part and parcel of building the pressure behind that national fight for justice – pressure that will secure victory for cleaners and security staff. “The rock-solid solidarity shown by RMT cleaners sends out a message that the union is geared up for an all-out fight for pay justice across the transport network. “The train operators and public bodies who give a green light to exploitation by these parasites should be using their clout to force them back to the negotiating table,” he said. T he Tory/Lib Dem government marked the 50th anniversary of the Beeching report that devastated rail by launching the reprivatisation of the East Coast mainline. Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin launched the bidding competition for the East Coast franchise to be put it back into the private sector by February 2015. The government set out a timetable for the re-privatisation of the route, currently run in the public sector after two catastrophic private failures, and extending the raft of franchises suspended due to the shambles on the West Coast mainline. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said that instead of learning the lessons of the privatisation disasters on the East and West Coast mainlines the government was wasting hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers money on the franchising circus. “This rotten government has given the green light to a whole new wave of profiteering that will have the train companies laughing all the way to the bank. “The public need to know that while fares are going up and safety is being compromised the Government’s priority remains the profits of the greedy train operating companies. “No wonder 70 per cent of people now support RMT’s call for full renationalisation. "The proposed reprivatisation of the East Coast, after the public sector rescued the service following two private failures, proves conclusively that the political class have learnt absolutely nothing when it comes to our railways. “This is a politically inspired wrecking move designed to flog off this publicly owned intercity route before the next election regardless of the consequences. “With this news coming just a day before the fiftieth anniversary of the Beeching Report that ripped Britain’s railways to pieces, the ConDem administration is setting up yet another sell-off of state assets in a further act of grotesque rail vandalism,” he said. TUC general secretary and Action for Rail chair Frances O’Grady said that the decision defied all logic. “Since returning to public ownership the East Coast Mainline has flourished with passenger numbers and customer satisfaction increasing and all profits re-invested back into improving the service. “The government, however, is not interested in evidence-based policy and is once again putting the interests of private companies and shareholders before those of commuters and taxpayers,” she said. GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES EAST COAST REPRIVATISATION EAST COAST MAINLINE CLEANERS STRIKE FOR PAY JUSTICE