RMT WARNS SCOTTISH MPS OVER ZERO HOUR CONTRACTS

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: march 2014 :: RMTnews 11 Z ero hours contracts in the rail industry in Scotland is a threat to safety and employment rights RMT senior assistant general secretary Mick Cash told a cross-party committee of MPs. RMT regional organiser Jake Molloy will also be giving evidence later this month to the same committee on the use of zero hours in the offshore oil and gas industry. In his evidence to the Scottish Affairs Select Committee inquiry, Mick Cash left MPs in no doubt as to the threat to workers’ safety, pay rates and employment rights posed by zero hours, especially in safety critical industries like rail. “Zero hours only help the employer to cut costs – they offer no real benefits to workers, especially in safety critical industries in the transport sector,” he said. RMT is calling for zero hours to be banned and Mick unequivocally stated the union’s position. Information provided by the union’s Scottish regional organiser Gordon Martin helped to highlight Network Rail’s reliance on a number of labour only suppliers in Scotland who employ infrastructure workers, including RMT members. This was crucial in illustrating to MPs the need for a ban on zero hours and other twilight practices such as bogus self- employment. The fact that the Office for Rail Regulation (ORR), the safety regulator, share RMT’s concerns over the negative impact of zero hours on safety in the industry strengthened RMT’s argument and provided MPs with a clear reason for supporting reforms of employment law that stamp out zero hours contracts. ORR safety director, Ian Prosser has stated in a letter responding to RMT’s concerns over zero hours that these hyper-exploitative contracts ‘are not conducive to the development of a safe railway’. As a result, Network Rail recently took action, after consultation with RMT to discourage companies from supplying workers who are on zero hours contracts. MPs were also updated on Network Rail’s revised contracts with labour- only suppliers in Scotland like SW Global Resourcing, McGingley’s and Coyle. Although RMT welcomed that the number of company sponsors of an individual track worker has been capped at three by Network Rail, which ends the farcical position of rail workers being sponsored by multiple companies), the union remain committed to ending the use of zero hours and for all Network Rail contracts to be brought in- house. MPs on the committee questioned whether these multiple sponsors were actually beneficial to workers but RMT rejected this - workers derive no benefit from being sponsored by as many agencies as possible and such arrangements make the tracking of workers through the Sentinel system of safety certification more complicated which is a clear threat to safety. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is also currently consulting on zero hours, although the government is openly seeking minor changes rather than a ban, claiming that the ‘flexibility’ offered by zero hours must be retained. The union will be submitting its views as part of this consultation and a copy of the response will be placed on the RMT website. forces with permanent employees in the RMT to fight for decent, well-paid, permanent jobs, with pensions for all. We are currently campaigning to bring as many agency workers as possible under our protection. An entire generation of young people has grown up knowing only insecure, part-time or agency jobs, with none of the benefits that their parents had known. This is wrong. RMT is committed to changing this and we have union reps in place to represent you at work. RMT WARNS SCOTTISH MPS OVER ZERO HOUR CONTRACTS AN AGENCY WORKER SPEAKS OUT: “I’ve been a temp with TfL for over two and a half years. I started on a three month contract which has been constantly renewed on a three or six month contract from then. “I know that there are at least four vacancies in our department which have been opened since I joined, and so it is frustrating knowing that I’m doing the same job as permanent team members but just won’t be hired. “At first, there were certain roles that temps weren’t supposed to do within the department but I’ve been there so long now I can do them. “When I first joined I was told there was the possibility of being hired but with all the changes TfL have implemented it’s been made clear that this will probably never happen.” Name withheld