SOLID ARRIVA CROSS COUNTRY STRIKE ACTION

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: january 2018 :: RMTnews 4 R MT members on Merseyrail took further 24 hour strike action last month in the dispute over guards and rail safety. The union once more pointed out that the dispute could be easily resolved if senior Merseyside Labour politicians followed national Labour Party policy and supported their safety-critical rail staff, instead of acting as human shields for profiteering private rail companies. RMT has attacked political stunts from the Mayors in the regional media designed to deflect from the massive criticism they are getting from both inside and outside the Labour Party. Those political actions by the Mayors have let the rail company off the hook and have been a major factor in the reason that there has been no invitation to attend any meaningful talks with ACAS, the company or anyone else because normal industrial relations have been effectively suspended. RMT general secretary Mick Cash said that members were angry that senior Labour figures had chosen to ignore party policy on Driver-Only Operation to side with the private company rather than our safety-critical guards. “If those politicians had taken a positive and pro-active stance, like their colleagues in Wales and Scotland, we could move towards a solution to this dispute which puts safety first. “The fact that we have been unable to make any progress whatsoever with the company means we have no option but to put this action on and the blame lies with Merseyrail and their political supporters. “The City and Regional Labour leaders need to step back immediately from the terms of the resolution to remove all the guards that they voted for a year ago this week, which lit the fuse in this dispute. “Those senior Labour politicians have chosen the wrong side and they need to stand with the many – the passengers, the workers and the people of Merseyside, and not the few – Tory ministers and bosses of the private operator Merseyrail,” he said. R MT train manager and senior conductor members on Arriva Cross Country took 48-hour strike action last month in a dispute over abuse of rostering and Sunday working after management again wrecked talks aimed at reaching a solution. The action impacted on services from Penzance to Aberdeen and points in between on Britain’s most wide-ranging rail operation. RMT general secretary Mick Cash said that it was disgraceful that Arriva management had effectively sabotaged talks that were making progress towards a settlement to this dispute. “It is the company’s ineptitude and arrogance that has forced us to take a further round of action. “Our members are standing up for the principles of a decent work life balance and against the abuse of rostering and Sunday working by a management that is out of control. “The action is rock solid across the franchise from Penzance to Aberdeen and the disruption to services is solely down to Arriva management's intransigence,” he said. MERSEYRAIL SAFETY STRIKE SOLID ARRIVA CROSS COUNTRY STRIKE ACTION