STATION GRADES MEET

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: may 2022 :: RMTnews 10 “We have got a fight coming and it’s going to be against us specifically I’m afraid,” RMT conference president Keith Miller said as he opened the two-day gathering in Blackpool. The conference was held amid preparations for strike ballots at all TOCs controlled by the Department for Transport - as well as Network Rail - over cuts to jobs, pay and conditions. RMT general secretary Mick Lynch warned that the DfT and operators “wish to shut every ticket office in Britain” and called for a massive mobilisation of members ahead of the ballot. “Our people had to go out, put themselves in a place of danger, keep the system going, and they were at risk. “And your reward for that is that your job is at risk. So that’s number one, we must secure our jobs, no compulsory redundancies. “If you’re lucky enough to survive the job cuts they’ve got in mind with us, and I think it’s 15,000 jobs, they’re not targeting drivers, they’re targeting all the other grades. If you survive the cull, all of your working practices will be up in the air. All of your terms and conditions will be ripped up,” he said. Mr Lynch also warned: “All the stuff that we’ve agreed, they’re saying that they’re out of fashion, they’re old, we’ve got to modernise. They want to get rid of everything you work to. “One of the most shocking things they’ve got in their document is the very notion of pay bargaining. If you don’t have pay bargaining you have pay begging,” he said. Delegates voted to re-affirm their support for RMT's Staff Our Stations campaign. Stephen Findlay, Leeds City said: “There are lots of stations in my area which are no-go zones after darkness falls”. Mandie Walton, North Clyde reported on the early successes of RMT's campaign against booking office closures in Scotland - where planned cuts have been scaled back, but the union is still fighting for every station under threat. Calling for maximum engagement with passengers, she said: “We did have quite a lot of success with the local people”. The conference also passed a resolution warning that “the Covid pandemic has been used as a reason not to fill vacancies” across TOCs, calling for a return to pre- Covid staffing levels. Chris Cuomo, Orpington said: “Very STATION GRADES MEET The annual stations and associated grades organising conference discuss the fight for jobs, wages and conditions Mick Lynch addresses conference