BIG UP TRANSPORT!

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: may 2017 :: RMTnews 22 Hastings Trade Union Council joined a transport industry representatives, campaign groups, local political groups and heroes from the Southern GTR dispute to promote a fully funded, publicly owned and integrated transport network last month. Celebrating the workers who provide the transport we all use and remembering those who have died in providing that service, the protest called for real change to bring our transport network back under public control. Keynote speaker RMT assistant general secretary Steve Hedley asked: "How can it be OK for 75 per cent of the rail network to be run by state railways from other countries? “Yet we are told that we cannot run our own state rail network, where any profit or benefit is ploughed back into the service or economy of our own country. Hastings Trade Union Council led the march through the town centre to a rally at the train station before a meeting at the Central Hall where many speakers, members of the public and activists gathered to debate the future of transport. On the way they called by at Cornwallis Gardens to dedicate a plaque to the memory of those who went to work and never returned home because they lost their lives, just as a result of trying to earn a living. RMT SERC education officer Ivor Riddell said that it was a fantastic event “This was made possible by the hard work and commitment of ordinary working people who are prepared to stand up and fight for what is right and defend those benefits delivered through the struggle of working class people who went before us,” he said. O ver 50 delegates from all regions attended RMT’s retired members’ annual conference in Doncaster last month. Issues discussed included how the imposition of Driver- Only Operation on trains affected pensioners and people with disabilities and the government's total disregard for the 2010 Equality Act. The future of social care was a major issue which needed to be integrated with our NHS and paid for through general taxation. Conference was pleased from the address by Mathew Morris from RMT young members under the banner Uniting the Generations which led to discussion. Delegates agreed that that our movement must not be trapped into the "generation blame game" but rather build unity between the generations as the way forward. BIG UP TRANSPORT! Workers in Hastings celebrate transport and call for a fully-integrated public network RETIRED MEMBERS MEET