DEFENDING THE BUS INDUSTRY

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: may 2015 :: RMTnews 10 Mount a co-ordinated campaign to fight cuts in the bus industry, demanded delegates at the annual bus workers conference meeting in Ryde, Isle of Wight. Jim Udale, Poole and District said that a sustained campaign was required. “We have seen various attempts to fight cuts to bus funding including the buses matter booklet, but we need to go further with a sustained campaign to give the issues the widest possible coverage,” he said. RMT general secretary Mick Cash outlined how bus companies were putting on the squeeze in the name of profit and the pitfalls of operating in a privatised industry. He said that the recent collapse of the western Greyhound bus company was a prime example of the unstable nature of the industry. “RMT is running a number of campaigns in the rail industry and we need to use the same methods to defend the bus industry, putting pressure on MPs and councillors to join in,” he said. He said that the union had joined with MPs in calling for an inquiry into concerns that the five largest bus companies were using the fall in oil prices to maximise their profits at the expense of passengers. He said that Labour MP Ian Lavery of RMT’s parliamentary group had noted in Early Day Motion 907 (see below) that while the price of oil had dropped 50 per cent bus fares had increased by an average of 4.8 per cent. “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. “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,” said Mick. Dave Letcher, Camborne Bus called for a “pro-active” campaign to equalise the differentials between Domestic and European Union driving hours for PCV Drivers. “We need an end to the ruling that drivers on domestic work are allowed to take breaks between successive duties of as little as eight and an half hours on up to three occasions in a working week. “It is no longer morally acceptable for a driver to be at the controls of a bus for periods of up to five and an half hours before being legally entitled to take a break,” he said. Dave Gilbey, South Devon Bus also called on the union to fight proposed further attacks on trade union rights which would make it even more difficult for bus workers to take industrial action. “The Tories are trying to stop us using the tools of our trade to fight the privateers. “They want to criminalise strike action and our ability to fight back,” he said. RMT president Peter Pinkney warned that the Tories were seeking to ban strike action unless there was a voting turn- out of over 50 per cent. “This is a bit of a cheek when you consider that Boris Johnson was elected London Mayor on only a 17 per cent turn-out,” he said. Dave Gilbey made a call for the election of a national bus workers officer to represent the grade within the union. “We need a person that has a good knowledge of the bus industry to give us a voice,” he said. Backing the motion, Peter Simmonds, South Devon Bus said that the profile of bus workers needed to be raised within RMT, an all-grades transport union. “We are presently under- DEFENDING THE Well-attended bus workers’ conference vows to organise workers and fight attacks on the industry