RMT CABBIES FIGHT UBER

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: june 2014 :: RMTnews 6 Cleaners working for contractors Initial at St Pancras International are being balloted for industrial action over an all-out attack on jobs, pay and conditions. The union has been in discussions with Initial Facilities over proposals that would not only lead to redundancies but a major deterioration in terms and conditions. The plans include a reduction in staff by 30 per cent, a reduction in grades with no protection of earnings and changes to working hours. RMT acting general secretary Mick Cash said that it was shameful that cleaning staff at the prestigious St Pancras International station were facing a brutal package of cuts. “This is nothing short of an attempt by Initial to reduce the number of staff solely in the interests of maximising profits “We have no intention of letting them get away with it,” he said. T ransport for London staff took a further 24 hours of joint strike action earlier this month in a dispute over an all- out attack on pay and pensions that would condemn to staff to a life of poverty in retirement. The RMT, TSSA and Unite action is in protest at TFL’s plans to impose their “Pay for Performance” proposals which amount to a performance- related pay freeze and savage cuts to pension rights. The cash-led cuts will become worse over the forthcoming years as there are further reductions in TfL’s grant and the expectation that further assaults on jobs, pay and pensions are being lined up for the future. RMT acting general secretary Mick Cash said that the current proposals were nothing less than a concerted attack on terms and conditions and would have a major effect on the future of the entire TfL Pension Fund. “TfL should be in no doubt of about our determination to defend pay and pensions after the rock solid support for action and they should withdraw the plans and talk seriously about protecting and enhancing the living standards of TfL staff members,” he said. L ondon RMT taxi members joined global protests earlier this month against plans to allow the big-business-backed Uber app to operate in the capital. The mobile app – backed by multi-million pound companies like Google and Goldman Sachs –breaks the law by acting as a meter, which only black cabs are legally entitled to use in the capital. Thousands of taxis blocked traffic around Trafalgar Square against the decision by London mayor Boris Johnson to allow Uber to operate despite the fact that it breaks the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act. Police moved in immediately and threatened over 4,000 drivers involved in the protest with arrest. RMT acting general secretary Mick Cash said that it was shocking that taxi drivers protesting in defence of their trade should be threatened with blanket arrest. “This protest is about the ripping up of established metering and hire regulations in the name of greed and private profit,” he said. However pro-big business EU commissioner Neelie Kroes attacked the protests which began in San Francisco and have spread around the world. “The disruptive force of technology is a good thing overall, it eliminates some jobs and it changes others," she claimed. TRANSPORT FOR LONDON PAY AND PENSIONS FIGHT INITIAL CLEANERS BALLOTED FOR STRIKE ACTION RMT CABBIES FIGHT UBER