TRAIN COMPANIES EXPLOIT STORM CHAOS

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: november/december 2013 :: RMTnews 4 R MT renewed its call for an end to the shocking practice of private train companies dumping human sewage on railway tracks after a government minister was forced to admit that the practice was “utterly disgusting”. Transport minister Lady Kramer was prepared to condemn the filthy practice in a Lords debate but refused to commit the government to taking action, instead urging the train companies to act themselves - the same companies who profit out of not financing the cost of installing tanks and employing staff to empty them. When challenged on the issue, Lady Kramer admitted that “customer service had not always been at the centre of railways". RMT has repeatedly pointed out that some sections of the rail infrastructure are like an open sewer and that the human waste doesn’t simply hit the track bed, it sprays out when trains are travelling at speed posing a health risk staff. One notorious spot is Liverpool Street Station where an e-petition was launched by disgusted passengers (see below). RMT general secretary Bob Crow said that it was a shocking indictment that with hundreds of millions of pounds being creamed off in private profits a year, that raw sewage is still being dumped across the tracks. “There is no point the government requesting that the private train companies act, they are the one’s profiting out of this scandal by allowing it to continue in the full knowledge that it is both dangerous and disgusting. "The train companies should be forced by the government to pay the price for upgrading the trains and employing staff to empty the tanks,” he said. Stop raw toilet waste being dumped at Liverpool Street Station http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk /petitions/47763 Greedy private train companies made millions as a result of cancelled services due to the storm disruption in late October exposing the rip-off of rail privatisation. Under ‘Schedule Eight’ payments, train operators can claim huge sums of money back from the publicly-owned Network Rail with the taxpayer left to pick up the bill. The Rail Delivery Group has confirmed that that is exactly what happened after train services were cancelled across southern Britain. Effectively it means that trains companies can make more money for not running services and incentivises them to bring the network to a halt. The companies save a fortune by leaving trains in the shed and are compensated at the same level as if they were running them. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said that passengers will be furious to learn that the private rail companies will pick up taxpayer funded subsidies regardless of whether they run trains or not. “This really is a one way ticket to the bank for the greedy private operators who simply cannot lose "Due to the stupid way that privatisation works it suits the train operators down to the ground not to run services and to lay the blame at the door of Network Rail. “That way their armies of lawyers can claim compensation back from the publicly owned NWR and leave the taxpayer to pick up the tab. “Money that could have been spent tackling the half billion pound backlog of essential rail drainage works that contributed to the shutdown is instead being ripped off by greedy train companies. “While thousands of essential and safety critical rail track jobs have been cut the TOC's are awash with spare cash that is being bled out of exactly the sort of capacity and maintenance works that could have mitigated against the impact of weather. “RMT is in no doubt that the train operators are happy to exploit this chaos as the system allows them to get paid for doing nothing, reinforcing the case for public ownership,” he said. INITIAL PAY UP RMT forced cleaning company Initial to drop plans to dock the pay of cleaners working in Brighton on the First Capital Contact rail contract for arriving late during some of the worst storms for five years. The union pointed out that FCC paid Initial regardless of weather conditions and did not penalise their own workers simply for struggling to get into work under extremely difficult conditions. Following the union’s intervention the company agreed to pay the full wages. DISGUST AT SEWAGE TRAIN COMPANIES EXPLOIT STORM CHAOS Union forces cleaning company to drop plans to dock cleaners’ pay of cleaners for arriving late during worst storms for five years