PRESIDENT’S COLUMN

Now the general secretary election is over I’m asking every member to look at their work place issues with the same militant trade unionism. We must unite and fight to address the imbalances in our work places and use the same determination to put right the bad conditions and low pay we must renew our focus on contractors and when possible gain in house roles. We must turn our energy into making gains on work place rights. Democracy is a right we all fight for as lots of bosses attack our conditions by stealth now we fight back with the same passion and actions they will understand, militancy and direct action when not listened too, is our power. I am at a loss, after over three years of driver-only operations being peddled to raise more profit with little or no regards for the travelling public, we as a union through our members watch the increase in crime across the rail network, where front line staff still exist they would have been abused in some way whilst carrying out their duties. We have to unite, no matter your company or grade, and we have to fight together to stop the cuts on our railways, we need to organise and start fighting to free our union from the anti- trade union laws imposed by past governments. We have all taken part or seen the renewed fight for climate change that’s the fight we must see in trade unions together we can make changes, direct action together. We must also be ready to see more destruction to our communities by the outrageous behaviour of this rotten out-of-control Tory government whose aim is to destroy our country so only the rich have a say and take us back to slum housing. They already have us fighting amongst ourselves over Brexit while they deliver more misery to our services such as hospitals, schools and local council cuts making services near impossible to operate. More and more working families visit food banks so they can pay basic bills such as gas and electric. No matter what side of Brexit you’re on remember if we lose our rights to be heard by those in parliamentary power we all lose. It was a real pleasure to attend Wimbledon branch to share 40 years membership with members, something that will become less and less with the attacks we face as an industry, time to stand together and make our trade union the one bosses fear! President’s column TIME TO UNITE RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: september 2019 :: RMTnews 23 REMEMBERING FRANK EDWARDS Dear editor, An article appeared in the June edition of RMT News on 30th anniversary of the saving of the Settle Carlisle railway, a very good article I might add. However, Leeds City members who remember it well have noted that there was no mention in the article of the fact that it was one of our own members that was one of the major players in securing that success. Brother Frank Edwards MBE was instrumental in getting the then NUR and Jimmy Knapp involved along with all the sponsored MPs and MPs along the route to spearhead the fight to save the line. Frank was branch secretary of the now defunct Leeds no 13 branch and also President of the Leeds Joint branches, and later an officer of the current Leeds City branch. Whilst accepting that there were many great contributions to this momentous battle, not all of which could be mentioned, we at Leeds city do believe bearing in mind the article was in our own publication Frank should have been worthy of a mention. Thank you John Stewart Branch Secretary, Leeds City WHAT ABOUT TAXI DRIVERS? Dear editor, Having read the AGM report in the last issue of RMT News, in particular the perilous conditions being faced by bus workers and the union’s resolve to launch a national campaign for a " bill of rights " for bus drivers. This is highly commendable. Now turning to the plight of Hackney Carriage drivers in Solihull I wonder what steps if any are being taken by RMT to safeguard the livelihood of us taxi drivers after the influx of unlimited drivers with Wolverhampton taxi plates and badges, resulting in our earnings dwindling to almost below poverty levels. Surely there is a limited amount of work in terms of number of passengers needing taxis. At present it seems there are much more taxis than passengers needing them. As an RMT member and Solihull Hackney Carriage Driver I would request your organisation to pay some attention to our plight and earn blessings of our families. Regards, M. Saleem Letters