MERSEYRAIL CLEANERS PAY VICTORY

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: april/may 2014 :: RMTnews 4 F ollowing a third phase of strike action RMT members working for Merseyrail cleaning contractors’ Lorne Stewart have won an improved pay offer. The union has negotiated a two year pay deal of nearly five per cent and a one off payment of £250 following three waves of rock solid strike action. The union also held two protests– the first at Lorne Stewart head office in Harrow and a second outside Mersey Rail headquarters in Liverpool in protest at the imposition of five pay freezes over the last seven years. After ten months of trying to negotiate, low paid Lorne Stewart workers stood firm and rejected the profitable company’s derisory below-inflation pay ‘offer’ and made a stand for a just pay settlement without strings. RMT acting general secretary Mick Cash said that Lorne Stewart had finally seen sense and settled the long-running dispute and congratulated RMT staff involved including regional organiser Daren Ireland. “The public are well aware that it is the hard graft of these cleaning staff that keeps Merseyrail trains fit for service and which makes Lorne Stewart’s substantial profits. “The company’s latest profit figure is £15 million so it can clearly afford to pay the cleaning staff a decent living wage. “Ultimately RMT wants to see these jobs brought back in-house and we will continue to campaign on this issue” he said. R MT members working across Heathrow Express took 48- hour in response to a package of multi-million pound cuts which amount to an all-out assault on pay, jobs and safety. Following a massive nine to one vote for action covering all grades, RMT took the action at the end of April. RMT members are furious that Heathrow Express plans to re-organise its workforce indicating that, in an attempt to save £6 million over the next five years, some 201 jobs are now placed under threat of redundancy, representing around half of the current workforce. The attack on jobs and working conditions comes as a direct result of the decision of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to cut £600 million from the Heathrow Airport budget over the same period. The £600 million cut equates to almost exactly the same amount that Heathrow is doling out in dividend payments to its wealthy investors. RMT has demolished the case for each of the main areas of proposed cuts proposed on Heathrow Express and Heathrow Connect services including the removal of on-board staff. HEX is also seeking the removal of evacuation competency of Heathrow Express on-board staff and to extend Driver Only Operation (DOO). RMT acting general secretary Mick Cash said that there was no case for handing out savage cuts to Heathrow Express when Heathrow was generating hand- outs to shareholders of over £600 million and when the company has the spare cash to sponsor the USA bid to host the football world cup. “Our members have sent the clearest possible message that they are prepared to stand up and fight the cuts and the threat to pay, working conditions, safety and jobs. “The removal of on board staff, and the driving forwards of Driver Only Operation, would render services inherently unsafe and make evacuation in the wake of an emergency incident or terrorist alert an absolute nightmare,” he said. MERSEYRAIL CLEANERS PAY VICTORY HEX STRIKE FOR JOBS AND PAY