SAVE THE TYNE AND WEAR METRO

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: february 2021 :: RMTnews 9 R MT has called on Transport Secretary Grant Shapps to step in and approve funds that will provide long-term stability to the struggling Tyne and Wear Metro. The Metro, which carried 36 million passenger trips in 2018/19 and serves 60 stations in the North East, is forecast to lose around 75 per cent of its revenue this year as a result of the Coronavirus. Although the Metro has had emergency funds worth £39 million to keep it afloat, it doesn’t benefit from the kind of long- term bailouts given to train formerly franchised operating companies. Nexus, which runs the Metro in public ownership on behalf of the North East Passenger Transport Executive, has submitted a financial recovery plan to the government, seeking funding that will ensure the survival and expansion of the Metro as part of the North-East’s plans for recovery from the coronavirus. The letter points out that The Metro was a regional success story whose continued health will be vitally important in supporting the government’s objectives of promoting economic recovery, ‘levelling up’ in the region and enabling greater mode-shift from private cars to help achieve net zero carbon emissions.  RMT general secretary Mick Cash said that the union had welcomed the funds granted to keep the Metro going so far, but now it was time for a longer term solution. “This government has been falling over itself to throw money at its big business friends among the train operating companies. “Now Nexus has put together a recovery plan for the Metro based on maintaining and expanding their service to support decarbonisation and economic recovery. “If the government are serious about levelling up they’ll back this plan rather than defaulting to some tired and failed austerity nonsense about the need for cuts and that’s why I’ve asked Grant Shapps to back this plan,” he said. The establishment of a ground breaking new collective agreement for thousands of engineering and maintenance workers in the North Sea has gained the support of industry. A widespread report of 13 major contractors from the offshore energy sector supply chain have confirmed they will sign up to the deal with the three unions involved, Unite, GMB and RMT. Additionally, and for the first time in the sector, the agreement is being supported by the majority of operators across the sector. In a joint statement the trade unions said: “The news that 13 major employers have signed up to work with the unions and establish a framework for collective bargaining in the offshore energy sector is extremely welcome. “We will now consult with our members around the details and recommend that they support the agreement. The collaborative working of the trade unions and industry is an illustration of what is required to deliver a just and green recovery for workers and the UK energy supply chain. What we want to see now is government support for this exemplar in collaboration. “The new “Energy Services Agreement” is ground breaking; a first of it’s kind for the UK offshore energy sector. We hope the deal will go some way towards avoiding the boom and bust cycles which have caused extreme difficulties for workers and employers alike over the last decade. “The agreement will also have the flexibility to bring in more companies going forward. Stability, sustainability and security of employment for the sector are critical and this deal will help deliver that,” the statement said. SAVE THE TYNE AND WEAR METRO New collective bargaining structure for North Sea gains support from unions and operators OFFSHORE ENERGY COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT