CLAIM TOWARDS YOUR EVERYDAY HEALTHCARE COSTS

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: july/august 2018 :: RMTnews 28 As an RMT member, you have the opportunity to join the BHSF health cash plan. By joining, you and your family can claim cash towards your everyday healthcare costs, including dental, optical and therapy treatments, plus much more. The health cash plan available to you has changed; your brand new Health4All health cash plan has enhanced benefits to help you better manage your healthcare costs. One of the key changes is that you can now claim every year for optical, hearing aids and health screening. Cover starts from as little as £5.78 per month and premiums are payable through convenient payroll deduction. *For example, a policyholder with personal Gold cover could claim: • Up to £150 towards dental bills • Up to £150 towards optical costs • Up to £250 towards diagnostic consultations • Up to £500 towards therapy treatments such as physiotherapy, osteopathy and chiropractic treatment Policies also include access to a GP consultation service, connecting you 24/7 to a fully-qualified GP, via a helpline for advice and diagnosis on health matters. Also included is a telephone helpline available 24/7, providing a telephone counselling service on stress, family relationships, substance abuse and debt, along with legal advice and information on financial and health matters. Any RMT member aged 16 or over, who normally resides in the UK can apply; no medical is required and 90% of eligible claims are paid within two working days of receipt. You can claim from the start date of your policy with the exception of maternity benefit which is subject to a 10 month qualifying period; and if you have an existing medical condition, you will have to wait two years before you are covered for hospital claims for the same or a related condition. Telephone helplines can be accessed from the start date of your policy. For more information about the BHSF Health4All health cash plan, or to apply, call 0121 629 1089. *based on the personal Gold cover at £18.50 per month. Dear editor, I would like to recognise the solidarity shown by SWR guards in the on-going dispute over guaranteeing a second safety critical staff member on every passenger train, and especially to Bournemouth and Weymouth Guards who are involved in an additional dispute regarding the dismissal of two of their colleagues. While spin doctors may use the terms 'plan', 'normally' and 'guarantee to roster' in their public press releases, front line train crew know that only by 'guaranteeing that every train in passenger service' has a second safety critical member of staff will all passengers know there is someone to help them in an emergency situation. It is only with that guarantee will passengers know there will be someone to turn to with enquiries during disruption, that vulnerable passengers will know for sure there is someone to turn to for help when they are being harassed and that less mobile passengers will know for sure that they will be able to travel when they want to rather than booking days in advance or worrying if there will be help to get on and off the train at their chosen stop. It is during these difficult and testing times that the solidarity of Guards, standing shoulder to shoulder on the picket line has come to the fore. It is also a recognition that, for decades, railwaymen and women have stood together and fought to defend jobs, attain favourable pay settlements, rosters and terms and conditions. Guards and drivers today directly benefit from the solidarity of those in whose shoes we now walk, and it is not only right to stand up for passengers, but it is also right to defend good jobs rather than allow a spiralling descent into a culture of split- shifts, reduced sick pay, zero hour contracts and low pay with few, if any, terms and conditions. It is with a unity of purpose that guards have had to resort to taking industrial action. It is with solidarity and conviction that they defend overall passenger safety while also defending good jobs for their children, grandchildren and future working generations. Guards should be proud of the stand they have taken and I, and many other drivers, support them. Julian Morison, Train Driver SWR Bournemouth DRIVER SUPPORT FOR GUARDS LETTERS CLAIM TOWARDS YOUR EVERYDAY HEALTHCARE COSTS