PARLIAMENTARY COLUMN

9 Parliamentary column RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: january 2014 :: RMTnews One thousand station and ticket office staff being sacked will put passengers at risk, undermine the quality of our tube service and put workers on the dole. The cuts would be wrong at anytime. But when we consider the amount of passengers that are and will be travelling on London Underground they are a dangerous folly. Since 1996 there has been a 60 per cent increase in passenger numbers and Transport for London’s Business plan predicts passenger journeys on London Underground will rise by 13.75 per cent from 1,273 million in 2013/14 to 1,448 million by 2020/21. Whilst the same plan predicts that more than 10 million people will live in London by 2030. These figures alone suggest that the tube will need more staff not less. Yet for all the talk of “more visible staff” the reality is London Underground’s plans mean 17 per cent fewer staff available to help passengers with travel advice. And all the assistance that often goes unnoticed such as helping people with disabilities or finding a lost child to giving directions to local will all be at risk. And as tube staff point out the job of keeping the Underground moving needs enough staff working together at all times. If you cut station staff, the train service will suffer as for example fewer station staff and supervisors will have an impact on service recovery during disruption and spreading supervisors over a number of stations will weaken the response to safety issues and disruption. And it will be more difficult to resolve errors or problems with tickets because there will be no ticket office. We should remember 52 per cent of tube users have found themselves unable to buy tickets from machines in the past due to the machines being broken. Not surprisingly the cuts have been opposed by a broad range of groups including the TUC, Disabled People Against The Cuts, the National Pensioners Convention and the voice of disabled passengers Transport for All who have said “cuts to staff on the Underground will have a direct impact our ability to travel freely, and safely”. The proposals are also opposed by over 70 per cent of tube users with the majority saying the cuts would make them less likely to vote for the Mayor. MPs are supporting a motion tabled by my fellow RMT Parliamentary group member Jeremy Corbyn which states cuts will impact on the service provided to passengers, both regular commuters and tourists …. in particular ticket machines are not able to provide passengers with full advice and assistance which may result in passengers enduring more expensive and difficult journeys; is also concerned that disabled and older people could be disadvantaged when trying to use ticket machines and that there will be an increased threat to the safety and security of vulnerable groups such as women travelling at night; There has also been opposition from the Labour Party to the cuts and indeed at a well-attended parliamentary debate I secured to highlight the concerns of tube workers it was hard to find any MP who supported the Mayor’s plans. The fact is passengers want more staff not less. In outer London many stations are already neglected and not well staffed. Transport for London have told the Greater London Assembly members that on average stations have to be closed on 120 occasions a year due to a shortage of staff. And as we know Underground management do not have a good track record of anticipating passenger need. In 2010 they were forced to recruit 300 station staff after axing 800 jobs the previous year. So with all this evidence why does the Mayor want these cuts? The savings will be peanuts compared to the billions of other cuts he and the government are planning. The fact is these cuts are a highly politically motivated attack on tube workers and their union. The Mayor hopes that if he can defeat the unions on this one, he can get away with even more draconian cuts in the future. Tube workers should be assured that they have huge public support and the RMT Parliamentary group will be doing all we can to help you win this struggle. John McDonnell is MP for Hayes and Harlington and convenor of the RMT Parliamentary group of MPs SUPPORT LONDON UNDERGROUND WORKERS R MT members working for Merseyrail contractors’ Lorne Stewart took strike action earlier this month after talks to avert the industrial action broke down. Lorne Stewart workers carry out essential station cleaning and maintenance that helps keep Merseyrail moving. After eight months of trying to negotiate, low paid Lorne Stewart workers have rejected the profitable company’s derisory below- inflation pay ‘offer’ and are making a stand for a just pay settlement without strings. With a pay anniversary date of April 1 2013 Lorne Stewarts’ offer of two per cent works out at around 0.2 per cent for the year. Even with a “sweetener” of an offer of a £150 lump sum, this is effectively a pay cut for the workers at the company which in the last two years has paid out more than £10 million in dividends to its shareholders. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said that workers whose hard graft made Lorne Stewart’s profits had been offered what amounts to a pay cut — and even that comes with strings attached. “As a result, in our ballot not a single vote was cast against taking action. “Lorne Stewart workers have suffered low pay for too long and it’s time for the company to share the fruits of its success with its staff. “The company says it can’t afford to pay more and hides behind its contract with Merseyrail, yet its latest profit figure is £15 million — that’s £5,000 for every one of its workers. “Rather than using an army of scabs (from Impact Agency) Lorne Stewart should sit down and negotiate an offer our members deserve,” he said. MERSEYRAIL CLEANERS STRIKE