ORGANISING LOGISTICS WORKERS

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: may 2023 :: RMTnews 24 RMT’s national freight and logistics industrial organising conference meeting in Peterborough took place as the union is developing a national rail freight campaign. The campaign aims to influence government policy to radically increase investment in rail freight and rail infrastructure to decarbonise transport by creating a shift from road to rail. Conference secretary Andrew Hill opened the event with a call for delegates to concentrate on recruitment and retention. He called on attendees to get their branches to record the companies and locations the conference covers. Derek Goodliffe, Leicester and Rutland outlined the recruitment and retention work being carried out at DB Cargo which was beginning to see results. There was also discussion about the ongoing attempts and difficulties faced by Southampton and Eastleigh Workshops branch in its recruitment work at Pentalver Transport at Southampton Terminal where it is building for union recognition at the site. The work has been hampered by repeated refusals by the company to allow union access to the site. RMT assistant general secretary John Leach told delegates that the union was fully committed to stepping up its work in the sector. He praised the work of regional organiser Daren Ireland, referring to the comprehensive report that he had submitted to the conference which outlined pay deals and recruitment and recognition work at key companies in the sector. “This is a very vibrant industry and there is a determination within RMT to push things forward. “The sector is in front of the rest of the union when it comes to pay deals,” John added. Andrew Hill explained why he believed that relatively strong non strings pay deals of over seven per cent were bucking the trend in the rest of the transport industry. “The better pay deals are partly driven by driver shortage and the fact that the companies want to retain drivers,” he said. National executive committee member Jas Breyal reported on work carried out on the previous year’s resolutions. She told delegates that there was a need for a national organising committee to cover the sector and that this was being looked at by the union. Delegates discussed how to build the conference in the future and make it a more effective tool for the sector. It was agreed that next year there would be a push to get reps to the event so that the emphasis could be on organising.   ORGANISING LOGISTICS WORKERS Freight and logistics members focus on recruitment and retention