ORGANISING INFRASTRUCTURE IN SCOTLAND

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: september 2019 :: RMTnews 10 I recently visited a blockade at Mossend West along with RMT regional organiser Gordon Martin, Donald Graham from the organising unit and Dennis Fallen and Mike McCaig, who are currently helping out with the rail infrastructure campaign in Scotland. It really was an eye-opener and an education as to how a formerly well-organised section of our union has become unorganised and largely disconnected from the union structures, but also how in Scotland the campaign team with support from Regional Council and branches are attempting to rebuild the membership and reorganise this vitally important sector of the RMT. The Rail Infrastructure Campaign has been up and running for a while in Scotland now and, following my visit with the campaign team, I now fully understand the desperate situation our union faces within the Infrastructure Renewals and Enhancement sector. With a myriad of contractors, self-employed and bogus self- employed workers on these sites, organising the industry back to pre-privatisation levels is going to take a lot of hard work and resources over a long period of time. Regional Organiser Gordon Martin has written to all general grades branches in Scotland, seeking support for the campaign whenever they are within the branch sphere of influence. With sites already visited right across the central belt of Scotland, as well as Aberdeen and elsewhere in the northeast of the country, and with further site visits planned in the southwest and south east of Scotland in the coming months, I hope officials and activists from the respective branches are able to attend and help out. Recently there has been a series of very serious near-misses that have taken place during track work activities. This series of near-misses, coupled with the tragic fatalities at Port Talbot in July 2019 and Stoat’s Nest in November 2018, is alarming for everyone in the sector. Your union’s top priority is the health and safety of members and, given the escalating numbers of incidents, RMT is now issuing advice to all members working in track maintenance and on the national railway infrastructure as follows: “All members working on or near the line on Network Rail Infrastructure governed by the 019 Standard (NR/L2/OHS/019 – Safety of people at work on or near the line), should ensure that they are in full compliance with, and are fully applying the safe systems of work and protection methods given to them in the Safe Work Packs (SWP) planned for the task in which they are engaged. Where members cannot comply fully and apply the methods set out in the Safe Work Pack, they should not implement any other systems or ad-hoc arrangements, and should request that a revised Safe Work Pack is issued. Any members that feel that they do not have a safe system of work or one that cannot be properly applied and are pressured in to working unsafely should invoke the Work Safe Procedure (NR/L2/OHS/00112 – Work safe Procedure).” Members are advised that RMT has previously reached agreement with the company that any member of staff invoking the Work Safe Procedure will not be subject to the company’s disciplinary procedure, this agreement remains in place. RMT will continue to engage with Network Rail as a matter of priority on all aspects of track worker safety with the intention of eliminating fatalities and serious injuries. That may mean a change in the culture and practices of track working with an emphasis on the safest systems being designed and fully implemented. ORGANISING INFRASTRUCTURE WORKERS IN SCOTLAND Wishaw and Motherwell branch secretary David Hainey explains the latest campaign to recruit rail infrastructure workers RMT STATEMENT ON TRACK WORK Full application of safe systems of work for people working on or about the line