BUSWORKERS’ HANDBOOK LAUNCHED

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: november/december 2014 :: RMTnews 14 R MT has launched a new busworkers’ handbook drawn up by the union’s advisory committee dealing with the industry. The easy-to-read A5 pamphlet deals with drivers hours and rest breaks, Highway Code vehicle safety, tachographs, driver licensing and training, enforcement and fines as well as RMT services and benefits. RMT general secretary Mick Cash said that every working day RMT bus members had to contend with government regulation, rules and guidance, as well as directives from the employer in delivering what remains the most used form of public transport. “In 2013-14, there were over 4.7 billion passenger journeys on buses in England but not one of them would have taken place without a licensed, professional bus driver behind the wheel or a skilled maintenance team back at the depot. “That is why RMT bus members asked their union to produce a handbook to provide a comprehensive guide to the rules, regulations and guidance that govern their work in the bus industry. “It is also important to remember that different employers have different procedures for complying with the law and you should be sure to obtain any internal documents your employer produces for bus workers. “As well as informing you of your basic rights, entitlements and responsibilities, this handbook underlines the importance of belonging to a dynamic trade union, fighting for the rights of bus members working in a privatised network and the instability that this brings to the industry,” he said. Busworker members will be receiving the booklet in the near future and copies are available at head office. T yne and Wear is pressing ahead with taking back bus services under public control for the first time outside London since privatisation. After more than a year of debate with bus operators, which are fiercely opposed to the moves, the regional authority will counter the deregulation brought in by the Thatcher government in the 1980s, and franchise services while setting routes, timetables and fares. The local subsidy for buses in Newcastle has reached £55.2 million this year while the operators – mainly Stagecoach, Arriva and Go-Ahead – have been making large profits. The local authority hopes the new provisions, called quality contract schemes, can help balance the books, while also keeping fares down. The local passenger transport executive Nexus pays operators to run certain routes but it is not permitted to compete on the big, profitable routes. Nexus argues that 80 per cent of the bus companies’ profits leave the region as payments to shareholders, rather than being reinvested in the local network. It believes the move will money and provide better services, which Nexus claims could provide a £272 million economic boost to Tyne and Wear. Stagecoach, which operates about 40 per cent of buses around Tyne and Wear, made profits in 2014 at a margin of 14.6 per cent on its £1 billion bus revenues outside London. On the regulated services in the capital it generated a lower 9.8 per cent margin. The decision will be contested by the big transport firms. Stagecoach has threatened legal action and its chairman, Brian Souter, said that he would “drink poison” rather than accept a quality contract. The bus contracts proposal needs the approval of an independent board chaired by a traffic commissioner, which will rule if the plans pass five key public interest tests. Bus operators said they will be petitioning the board to argue that the plans fail on legal and economic grounds. Labour legislated back in 2000 to allow cities to restore bus operations to public control, but with enough hoops to deter most authorities from going ahead - until recent broader cuts to local budgets made Tyne and Wear consider how to manage its transport bills and reverse declining bus usage. Fares have risen each year since 1995 by an average of three per cent above RPI inflation, while the statutory obligation to fund senior citizens’ bus passes costs the region £36 million a year. BUSWORKERS’ HANDBOOK LAUNCHED TYNE AND WEAR TO TAKE BACK BUSES