RMT TO FIGHT LONDON MIDLAND JOB CUTS

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: june 2014 :: RMTnews 7 F urther strike action is planned across Heathrow Express against a package of multi-million pound cuts which amount to an all-out assault on pay, jobs and safety. RMT members are furious that HEX plans to remove over 200 jobs, representing around half of the current workforce, in an attempt to save £6 million over the next five years. 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 union has warned that the cuts would leave vital Heathrow services vulnerable to terrorist attack with staff thrown onto the scrapheap to protect company profits. RMT acting general secretary Mick Cash said that previous phases of strike action were solidly supported by staff and the HEX service was reduced down to a skeleton operated by scab managers, with limited training, while Heathrow Connect was closed entirely. “These services are dealing with growing demand as the airport expands and the idea that safety and service is going to be sacrificed should shame London and leave these high- profile services extremely vulnerable. “The CAA has warned that staffing cuts are a false economy which will hit revenues as service quality drops through the floor. “The removal of on-board staff and the imposing DOO would render services inherently unsafe and make evacuation in an emergency incident or terrorist alert an absolute nightmare. “Staff have stood up and been counted and it is down to company to halt the cuts plans and start talking seriously about a safe and secure future for this vital London transport link,” he said. R MT has launched a campaign to halt savage job cuts at London Midland which would axe 150 key posts and decimate gateline staff. RMT has exposed the false economy of job cuts with the companies own figures suggesting one in five people in the region were travelling without a ticket with many more expected to dodge their fares if ticket inspectors were wiped out. One inspector on the Cannock line collected more than £200,000 in one year in fines – money that would pay for the post many times over and money that would be lost if London Midland’s plans are implemented. The union has concluded that the cuts are solely about implementation of the government’s McNulty Rail Review, including hacking back staff, quality of service and safety in the interests of private profit. London Midland is expecting the government and the tax payer to bail them out and plug any gaps caused by the loss of revenue. However any further taxpayer bailouts would come on top of nearly £1 billion in corporate welfare sucked in by London Midland in the past six years – over £450 million in subsidies on its operations and a further £550 million in track access grants in the past four years alone, while paying a pittance in corporation tax. RMT acting general secretary Mick Cash said that the sheer stupidity of the cuts was borne out by the fact that one London Midland ticket inspector alone saved nearly a quarter of a million pounds in lost revenue by being there and doing the job. “This is the most ludicrous false economy as these workers pay for themselves many times over. “We can only assume that London Midland want to save the cash, boost their profits and then expect the taxpayer to plug the revenue gaps yet again while they already have the best part of a billion pounds in corporate welfare sloshing around the boardroom,” he said. HEX STRIKE ON RMT TO FIGHT LONDON MIDLAND JOB CUTS T he union’s first delegate- based education conference took place at the Doncaster Trades Club recently. Over thirty delegates from around the country attended the event organised by the education officer Andy Gilchrist. Delegates elected a liaison committee and Ivor Riddell was voted into the chair. A number of motions were discussed on some lively debates and some were sent forward to the annual general meeting. Delegate Mike Sargent said that it had been a worthwhile conference that had laid to rest a number of misconceptions around education and learning. Conference was followed by an RMT Learning ULR development day involving over fifty learning representatives. A number of workshops took place aimed at giving reps new skills, ideas and practical help in assisting our members back into learning and aiding their personal development. “It was the first time ULRs from Scotland attended and it was good to see them at the education conference as well. “It was good to see so many new faces as many ULRs have gone on to take up other positions within our union. “ It has taken many attempts and two AGMs to see the education conference come into being which just proves that the machinery of our organisation is robust but fair,” Mike Sargent said. INAUGURAL EDUCATION CONFERENCE