GWR MUST #BRINGBACKTHEBUFFET

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: may 2019 :: RMTnews 15 R MT held events across the country this month in support of the union campaign to Bring Back the Buffet on Great Western Railway (GWR)services. Members handed out postcards urging the public to write to their MPs asking them to sign up to Early Day Motion 2361 in the House of Commons in support of the Bring Back the Buffet campaign. The events linked up workers along the GWR routes at Swansea, Plymouth and London Paddington who are demanding that the buffet car be reinstated and that the staff who work in the catering grades are properly valued and respected. Great Western Railway removed the buffet car from all of its new Intercity Express Trains, which serve routes from London to Wales and the South West – a move which RMT always argued was a retrograde step. Their removal has impacted on the passenger experience by removing the option of a proper catering service. The buffet car also acts as a point of safety and contact. A recent survey of GWR staff found that the buffet car must be reinstated in all GWR Intercity trains without delay. The replacement trolley service was also having significant impact on the health and safety of on-train catering staff. Key survey findings included: • A massive 95 per cent of RMT GWR members think the buffet should be reinstated; • Similarly, 95 per cent think the removal of the buffet has had a negative impact on the passenger experience • 77 per cent think it has had an impact on safety, with 62 per cent saying it’s had an impact on both passenger and staff safety RMT will be rolling out the #BringBackTheBuffet campaign on a national basis with GWR the starting point for a national drive that will put rail catering, and rail catering staff, centre stage. RMT general secretary Mick Cash said that the axing of the buffet car on Great Western Railway was a cash-led move that was all about maximising profits at the expense of the traveller and RMT’s campaign has set out to right that wrong. "RMT catering members are an integral part of the rail team and they deserve respect and support. "For too long catering services on the railway have been seen as a soft touch for cuts but no longer, RMT's #BringBackTheBuffet campaign will put catering on the railway centre stage, where it belongs,” he said. buffet service. Although focussing on GWR, the same issues raised by the branch resonate around the country. RMT assistant general secretary Steve Hedley told RMT News that the motion set out the groundwork for a union- wide campaign that can unite members in defence of the catering grades and take forward a national fight for the buffet service that will attract widespread support from the travelling public who spend a fortune for seats on trains where a key part of the passengers experience has been hacked back to the bare bones. GWR MUST #BRINGBACKTHEBUFFET Plymouth