BUS COMPANIES PROFITEERING FROM OIL PRICE FALL

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: april 2015 :: RMTnews 4 R MT members on First Great Western took a second phase of strike action over Easter in a victimisation dispute. The dispute was sparked when a member of train crew was fitted up and victimised by the company and a ballot delivered an overwhelming mandate for action sparking a first phase of rock-solid strike action. RMT called on FGW Conductor (Guard), Train Driver HSS, Train Driver West and Train Manager (Guard) members at Penzance to take the strike action and an overtime ban. RMT general secretary Mick Cash congratulated members for taking action to put pressure on the company. “It is clear from the current dispute that there is a culture of bullying and intimidation of staff rife within the money- spinning racket which is the First Great Western operation. “RMT will not allow this culture to go unchallenged and the union will defend our individual members and the principle of workplace justice. “The union remains available for talks in this dispute,” he said. R MT and MPs are demanding a public inquiry into bus companies profiting by refusing to pass oil price cuts on to passengers. Those accused include Britain’s five largest operators — Arriva, First Group, Govia, National Express and Stagecoach. Over the past year oil prices dropped by up to 50 per cent but, rather than falling, fares actually increased by an average 4.8 per cent last year. RMT is concerned that operators were “using the fall in oil prices to maximise their profits at the expense of passengers”. Labour MP Ian Lavery, who has put down Early day motion 907 on the issue, raised questions on the scandal in the House of Commons forcing the government to admit: “The Chief Secretary to the Treasury recently wrote to the five largest UK bus operators seeking their assurance that they are doing all they can to ensure passengers benefit from the fall in oil prices”. RMT general secretary Mick Cash said that the case for proper scrutiny of bus firms’ reaction to oil prices was overwhelming. “There has to be an open and transparent inquiry into our clear concerns that bus companies may be profiteering from the fall in oil prices while at the same time they continue to threaten the jobs, pay and working conditions of their staff,” he said. “If our bus services came under public ownership, rather than the current fragmented system driven purely by profit, it would be easier for the windfall bonus from lower oil prices to be immediately reinvested in services and lower fares,” he said. BUS COMPANIES PROFITEERING FROM OIL PRICE FALL VICTIMISATION FIGHT ON FIRST GREAT WESTERN