NORTHERN RAIL STRIKE ‘SOLID AS A ROCK’

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: may 2017 :: RMTnews 5 A 24-hour strike on Northern rail services went ahead last month after talks broke down in the dispute over the role of guards. RMT general secretary Mick Cash said that the responsibility for the inevitable disruption lay wholly with the company as it was trying to "bulldoze through" plans for driver-only- operated trains. "The action is solid as a rock from coast to coast and right the way across the Arriva Rail North franchise as our members continue the fight to put public safety before private profit. "If the German state-owned Arriva get away with their plans we will end up with a toxic combination of de-staffed trains and stations where safety and access are compromised while fat profits are shipped across the Channel to subsidise rail operations in Germany. “That is a national scandal and the government should be hanging their heads in shame. "The public support for our fight for safe trains for all has been fantastic and the company should take note of what their own customers and staff are saying about their plans and sit down with the union to negotiate a sustainable solution to this dispute," he said. RMT also condemned the news that, just over a year into the franchise, German state- owned Northern Rail announced substantial fare increases this month. The increase follows a previous hike less than nine months ago in September 2016 as Arriva seek to milk the franchise for every penny they can get. Despite the pretence of 'rail devolution' it is clear that value for money for passengers travelling in the North of England had been shunted into a siding to ensure that profits continue to flow out of the country to subsidise the publicly owned and operated railway in Germany. NORTHERN RAIL STRIKE “SOLID AS A ROCK” Carlisle Liverpool Newcastle Barrow