SAVE OUR RAIL IN THE NORTH

Parliamentary column RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: sept 2014 :: RMTnews 9 RMT has organised a demonstration outside parliament from 12:30pm in Old Palace Yard, followed by a rally in Committee Room 11 from 2pm and a lobby of MPs from 3.30pm onwards. Participation is a legitimate use of branch expenditure. Members attending are encouraged to lobby their MP. The union will also provide a briefing document to assist members when lobbying. The best way of doing this is to write to them in advance and you can use the link to assist: www.rmt.org.uk/letter/ northern-and-tpe-franchise- email-your-mp/ If you cannot attend but still wish to lobby your MP you are encouraged to make an appointment to meet them in the constituency which can be just as effective. Members are also encouraged to continue to use the facility where you can still write to your MP directly asking them to sign the Early Day Motion. Please visit bit.ly/1pdd0jy to request that your MP supports RMT demands. Even if your MP has already signed the EDM please use this tool to show the strength of feeling about the proposals. I was proud to be a sponsor of the parliamentary motion to support the campaign to save rail services in the North. Early Day Motion 174 rightly expresses dismay at the consultation document for the Northern Rail and TransPennine Express rail franchises which if enacted will result in fare rises, service and timetable cuts and the loss of thousands of much needed, decent, skilled jobs in the north. The motion also draws attention to the fact that passenger service and safety will be worsened by the introduction of driver-only operation, the sacking of train guards and conductors, station de-staffing and ticket office closures. It is very concerning that the proposals would leave only the driver in operational charge of the train. It essential for the conductor to be there to protect the operational safety of the train, so it seems to be absolute madness to introduce a way of working which would leave the train completely unprotected in the unfortunate event that the driver became incapacitated for any reason. On top of this, cuts to staff on stations, trains and in ticket offices will mean a worsening service that will disproportionately impact on disabled, older and women passengers. Having already endured four years of the coalition government, this latest assault on our public services comes as little surprise but what is of particular concern is that the proposals have been jointly put forward by "Rail North”, a conglomerate of 30 local transport authorities in the North of England. It appears that Rail North’s consultation with local authorities before producing its proposals has been totally inadequate and it is still unclear to what extent councillors on these local authorities supported Rail North’s plan and whether they endorsed enforcing massive service cuts and job losses - I suspect they didn’t. I am all in favour of devolving some powers over rail - so long as these powers are alongside a unified and integrated structure - but this is rail degradation, not rail devolution. I hope the strength of opposition will bring Rail North to its senses and they will realise that devolution at any price is not a price worth paying. Opposition to these changes is gathering momentum. RMT and the Campaign for Better Transport have been fantastic in pushing the issue in parliament. After convening and circulating a parliamentary briefing on the issue almost 50 MPs signed the EDM opposing the proposals, a number of questions have been asked in Parliament and colleagues and I are urgently seeking to get a parliamentary debate on the issue. I have to congratulate RMT members on their great work. Thanks to their campaigning over 10,000 passengers have taken the trouble to write and send postcards to the government during the consultation period. I recently handed out campaign postcards in my constituency along with fellow Labour Party members and councillors and we had a wonderful response from passengers. This shows us that commuters are dead against the proposals, which is why I believe we can win this campaign. It’s still all left to play for. We now need to keep up the momentum between now and when the Invitation to Tenders are issued in December. And that includes a major mobilisation for the RMT demonstration and lobby of Parliament on November 4. MPs do responds to pressure and we need a big turnout if we want to make sure our demands are heeded. I hope to see you there. Grahame Morris is the Labour MP for Easington and a member of the RMT Parliamentary Group SAVE OUR RAIL IN THE NORTH LOBBY PARLIAMENT NOVEMBER 4! Union lobby and rally in Parliament to protect services and jobs on Northern and Transpennine Express franchises