RECRUITING APPRENTICES

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: november/december 2023 :: RMTnews 8 R MT made a big impact at Labour Party conference this year where RMT general secretary Mick Lynch used numerous media interviews to set out RMT’s expectations of a Labour government. He also spoke at a number of fringe meetings including RMT’s own packed out fringe meeting entitled “How can Labour Transform public transport” organised by RMT Liverpool branches and the Trade Union Coordinating group fringe on workers’ rights. The meeting was also attended by Shadow Employment Minister Justin Madders. At both these events the union’s arguments for better public transport and workers’ rights particularly in light of the P&O scandal were well received. The union also engaged in a number of policy discussions and it was also encouraging that Shadow Secretary of State for Transport Louise Haigh used her conference speech to support municipal ownership of bus services alongside a commitment to bring the railway back into public ownership and “in place of the fractured, fragmented chaos we see today we will deliver a unified rail network with passengers at the heart”. This year’s induction for maintenance apprentices Network Rail acted on feedback and moved away from delivering impersonal PowerPoint presentations and instead went for an informal approach encouraging newcomers to visit stalls of various rail industry representatives. Apprentices were asked to engage in a quiz, each stall holder contributed five difficult to google questions to encourage apprentices to engage with the stall holders to find the answers. East Coast RMT rep Jack Rawcliffe designed some great questions to stimulate conversation about the importance of the union’s place within Network Rail. Plenty of new maintenance recruits now know you are twice as likely to die at work in a non-unionised workplace, how much profit the TOCs take away from the industry and how much of that goes abroad. They also got a briefing on how RMT negotiates pay, provide legal cover and workplace representation. RMT’s stall was hosted by Jack Rawcliffe, Mick Flynn, route rep at Peterborough, Gerry Hitchen from the organising unit and York branch Chair Nathan Reynolds. RMT lead health rep Tony Bowers extolled the importance of safety at work and Derby branch secretary and lead Union Learning rep John Holmes delivered PTS briefings. In total we had a large and noticeable RMT presence with an opportunity to build on our success for next year’s induction. Each induction sees 180 new apprentices, the vast majority at school leaving age, and the union has been fostering the working relationships with Network Rail’s training department. RECRUITING APPRENTICES RMT national operations representative at Network Rail Mark Bellenie reports on a successful day bringing apprentices into the union RMT AT LABOUR CONFERENCE Standing room only RMT public transport fringe. APPRENTICES: Mark Bellerie with new members