MERSEYRAIL CLEANING AND MAINTENANCE STAFF STRIKE AGAIN

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: march 2014 :: RMTnews 4 R MT members working for Merseyrail contractors’ Lorne Stewart took a second round of strike action early this month after the company refused to engage in serious talks to resolve the dispute. At talks Lorne Stewart had refused to negotiate insisting they were under strict instructions not to improve the offer. Lorne Stewart workers carry out the essential station cleaning and maintenance that helps keep Merseyrail moving. After nearly nine months of trying to negotiate, low paid Lorne Stewart workers have stood firm and rejected the profitable company’s derisory below-inflation pay ‘offer’ and are making a stand for a just pay settlement without strings. No matter how Lorne Stewart have tried to dress the offer up it still represents a cut in the standard of living and the institutionalisation of poverty pay. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said that despite the best efforts of RMT negotiators Lorne Stewart refuse to address the issue of poverty pay on Merseyrail. “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 claims that 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 and it can afford to hire in a scab army in a desperate attempt to break our members action. This company have got the money and it’s about time they started talking seriously about a fair deal and pay justice for the workers who generate the profits doing some of the dirtiest jobs on Britain’s transport network,” he said. R ock solid 48-hour strike action involving RMT Northern Rail maintenance driver members at Heaton (Newcastle) and Neville Hill (Leeds) Traincare Depots took place last month in a dispute over re-grading. The re-grading exercise has failed to recognise the complex and demanding role of this key group of staff and which has ignored the skills and hard work that they bring to the company. Picket lines were out in force at both depots and the workers won support from across the trade union and labour movement in both areas. Grievances include the fact that re-grading has ignored the fact that the staff involved were actually handling a wider and more diverse range of vehicles as a result of changes in the industry which should have been a major factor in any serious evaluation of their work. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said that the action by this group of key Northern Rail staff showed that they were united and determined to win justice over this botched and mismanaged re-grading exercise. “RMT firmly believes that the company has been disingenuous in their approach to this re- grading by failing to recognise the multiple skills and the hard work that this group of maintenance depot drivers bring to the Northern Rail operation. “The union is clear that the job is complex and demanding, and that now is the time for the company to acknowledge that Maintenance Depot Drivers should be re-graded accordingly in recognition of their role and responsibilities. “With this strike, which will be followed by an overtime ban, at both depots Northern Rail management must engage in serious talks aimed at rectifying this gross injustice,” he said. RMT is the only recognised union within the machinery of Northern Rail able to represent Depot Drivers. MERSEYRAIL CLEANING AND MAINTENANCE STAFF STRIKE AGAIN SOLID 48-HOUR STRIKE AT NORTHERN RAIL DEPOTS