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RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: november/december 2014 :: RMTnews 16 RMT has launched a campaign to defend members’ jobs on new Intercity Express Programme (IEP) trains on East Coast Mainline and First Great Western franchises. The union is developing a strategy to fight the attacks that all grades will be facing with the implementation of the new IEP trains. The IEP plans currently includes no buffet car facilities, no guards’ accommodation, Driver Only Operation as well as the outsourcing of maintenance work to Hitachi. There are also no arrangements to facilitate the transfer of engineering grades and no protection of jobs. RMT recently exposed secret plans recently that would lead to the axing of buffet cars on First Great Western and East Coast Intercity services. Union negotiators uncovered this shock move buried in the detail of the plans for the new fleet of Intercity rolling stock for both FGW and the East Coast. Under the proposals for the new trains there will be no buffet car available to standard class, with the service replaced by a trolley operation. FGW has already removed the Traveling Chef services this year, clearly in preparation for the plan to reduce services to passengers even further with the new IEP trains. The new Pullman food service that has just been introduced from Swansea to Paddington is also threatened as a result. RMT will be campaigning to defend the buffet car service on First Great Western and on the East Coast Mainline and the jobs that go with the current catering operations. The campaign will target service users and politicians the length of FGW and East Coast’s Intercity service. The union believes that we are seeing an attempt to smuggle in the axing of the buffet cars under the cloak of the new Intercity fleet replacement programme. From the outset RMT has warned that both catering staff and guards would be in the firing line from the introduction of these new trains and those fears have unfortunately proven to be well founded. Passengers, paying massive fares, will be disgusted at this attack on the standard of service and the union will be taking our campaign out to those customers and to the politicians along the length of the lines affected. This move is solely about profits, profits for First Group on Great Western and profits for whoever picks up the new, private, East Coast franchise. The key issues we are fighting for on IEP are: • To keep a safety competent guard on every train • To keep buffet car facilities • To keep safety critical station dispatch staff • No job losses The failure of TOCs and Union launches fight to defend jobs on new Intercity Express trains