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RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: march 2017 :: RMTnews
7
R
MT is demanding that
Neath Port Talbot council
listen to the concerns of local
taxi drivers and urgently
provides safe and viable taxi
ranks while town centre
redevelopment takes place.
Currently, taxi drivers are
required to park in permanent
ranks in Neath and elsewhere,
but the Neath town centre
redevelopment has meant that
when work begins, taxi drivers
will lose their current ranks on
Wind Street.
RMT taxi driver members
are opposed to Neath Port
Talbot Councils interim plans
which they believe do not
provide a safe and
commercially viable rank in the
town centre.
RMT general secretary Mick
Cash said that members
rejected a suggestion from
Neath Port Talbot to use
Orchard Street as drivers
believe it is unsafe, something
which the council also accepted
after a petition.
“RMT urges the council,
particularly the cabinet, to
listen to the concerns of drivers
and the public and work with
the drivers to find a suitable
location and consider carefully
their preferred suggestions
when the issues are next
considered by cabinet.
“A solution must be found
quickly before taxis lose their
base and the public are
confused over taxi services in
Neath,” he said.
GUARD: Network Rail workers at the scene in Edge Hill in Liverpool, after a wall
collapsed, they repaired the damage 24 hours earlier than estimated.
T
he safe evacuation of
hundreds of passengers
trapped for hours on trains in
tunnels outside Liverpool Lime
Street station last month
underlines the importance of a
safety-trained guard on every
train, RMT has warned.
RMT paid tribute to the
“magnificent” response of
railway staff and emergency
services – and warned of the
potentially lethal consequences
if the trains involved had not
had qualified guards aboard.
At least one train was
seconds away from colliding
with the collapse and the
damage caused to the four lines
affected was so severe that they
could be out of action for a
month.
Both Arriva Rail North (ARN)
services caught up in the
collapse had conductors aboard,
trained in dealing with
emergencies and evacuations,
leaving their drivers free to deal
with communications with
control.
RMT general secretary Mick
Cash said that it was clear that
the response of railway staff and
emergency services was
magnificent and that we are
very lucky indeed that this was
not a major disaster.
“If ARN’s plans to extend
driver-only operation had
already been in place, the two
Northern services involved
would not have had guards
aboard, with potentially
disastrous consequences.
“Without guards to keep
passengers calm and lead safe
evacuations we would have had
the potentially lethal prospect of
passengers de-training
themselves in cold, dark tunnels
and stumbling towards tons of
debris and damaged 25,000-volt
overhead power lines.
“This is yet another graphic
illustration of why attempts to
impose or extend driver-only
operation amount to a
fundamental attack on safety for
passengers and rail workers
alike, and why RMT will use
every means available to us to
resist them,” he said.
LIME STREET COLLAPSE
UNDERLINES CRUCIAL
GUARD ROLE
RMT DEMANDS SAFE TAXI
RANKS IN NEATH