AWARDS / LETTERS

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: march/april 2024 :: RMTnews 28 T he annual general meeting of the RMT South East Regional Council Rainham in Kent attended by delegates from 17 branches included the presentation of a 40-year badge to the regional secretary and Network Rail area rep Adrian (AJ) Yates by national president Alex Gordon. RMT regional president Ivor Riddell said that AJ had given stalwart service and served the union with integrity, honour and courage. “Always on hand to offer advice and the benefit of his experience, he is held in great esteem across the region and nationally amongst the signalling fraternity,” he said. E dinburgh No1 and Portobello District branch paid tribute to three long serving members including retiring branch secretary Graham Buchanan, who completed 34 years in the role, Alan Pottage who has recently retired from the organising unit and branch chair Alex Hogg. The branch welcomed new officials Joanne Dutton and Mark Nothard to the roles of chair and secretary. R etired RMT activist David Whittaker recently dropped into RMT regional office in Newton Abbot. David was the last Dartmouth branch secretary until the Branch sadly closed in 2023 after Stagecoach Bus closed the depot. RMT regional organiser Barry West said that he was a hard-working and dedicated branch official who had made a huge contribution to the union. S tockport branch hosted a special celebration for Tommy Mather who has been an NUR/RMT member for 55 years and a stalwart of the union in the Manchester area on the rail maintenance side He was the main area council rep for Network Rail maintenance grades and worked on the S&T. Tommy had represented thousands of members from British Rail, BRIS, Jarvis, First Engineering and NWR. Tommy had previously been presented a 50-year membership badge by Mick Cash at the Manchester AGM in 2019. “We all wish Tommy all the best for a long and happy retirement,” said RMT general secretary Mick Lynch. SOUTH EAST AWARDS EDINBURGH FAREWELLS DARTMOUTH STALWART PRESENTATION: from left to right Manchester South branch Michelle Rodgers, Tommy, Stockport branch secretary Bob Cross and Mick Lynch. STOCKPORT AWARD 29 RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: march/april 2024 :: RMTnews MSK IS A SERIOUS ISSUE FOR BUS DRIVERS Dear editor, After reading the article in January/February edition RMT News (Most bus drivers suffer MSK problems page 8) I felt I should respond as someone that has worked as a bus driver for over 44 years and suffers with MSK and use a support cushion on my seat to take some of the vibration. The article is correct that every driver suffers in some way with MSK to some degree and bus designers do not seem to have an idea of what is needed in the cab and how long some of us are sat in it. Engineering firm Chapman Seating did make a seat that was better than others with a lumber support that could be adjusted but when seats were refurbished they were taken out as they were worn away! Seats are placed on a solid pillar that sends every bump and vibration up through it to the seat and, with the appalling state of our roads, that means you feel every pot-hole and speed hump and you can be going over the same ones many times a day. Moreover, some buses feel as though they have no suspension at all. The layout of cabs can be different on different vehicles. Cash trays can be placed on the cab door meaning continual turning when checking for blind spots and some seats used to have a handle that could be used to ‘swivel’ the seat but they seem to have gone now. We may only have two-foot pedals for accelerator and brake but they can be at different positions so that you can be stretching for one of them or they are under the steering column that has a large "block" under the steering wheel that your knee knocks against or once more gets the constant vibration. Lorry drivers and coach drivers seem to have better made seats and when I put this to the companies I get told that lorry drivers have their own vehicle but surely the seat has not been made to measure? I am glad that the union has finally mentioned the problem as bus workers have been raising this issue at conferences for years. Regards Phil Coakley, Poole and District branch F ootballing legend and TV presenter Chris Kamara presented long service awards to Leeds City branch members recently. Chris has travelled on the east coach mainline from Wakefield to London for the last 25 years and is a big friend of the branch.  He handed out 12 25-year badges to Shaun Wilkinson, Mick, Williams, Henry Stratford, Maria Brown, Michael Nichols, Andy Gregory, Mohammed Khan, David Philips, Nimu Jiwanji, Paul Doyle, Joanne Wainwright, David Townend, James Emmott, Neil Fox and two 40-year badges to Timothy Garforth and Lyndon Harker.  K ent artist Voyder has created a giant mural painted of National Union of Railwaymen (NUR) Asquith Xavier railway worker who successfully defeated British Rail’s unofficial colour bar nearly 60 years ago with the help of his union. The colour bar at Euston station was finally defeated on August 15, 1966 when the West Indian guard was finally allowed to start work after initially being refused a job. This relatively small victory led to changes in the law including a ban on discrimination in the workplace in the new Race Relations Act. The artwork of Asquith Xavier has been created in Luton Arches close to his former home in Chatham, Kent. Camealia Xavier-Chihota, his granddaughter, said that it was “heart-warming to see this mural just a stones throw from where I grew up". Ms Xavier-Chihota said: "Voyder has perfectly captured his bravery, dignity and strength of character, incorporating key landmarks in his life including the hills of Dominica, Euston Station and Luton Arches. "My grandfather's contribution to our society has undoubtedly shaped the way we live today and I'm proud to see it being celebrated and immortalised so that his achievements are not forgotten or lost in time." Asquith came to Britain from Dominica as part of the Windrush generation. He had started work for British Railways in 1956 as a porter, working his way up to rail guard at Marylebone station. However, following the closure of the Marylebone main line as part of the Beeching rail cuts, guards were no longer required and were being transferred to stations like Euston. However, Mr Xavier, an experienced guard, received a letter telling him that he had been rejected for a job at Euston. Mr Xavier showed the letter to local NUR branch secretary Jimmy Prendergast. Jimmy was a life-long anti- fascist who had fought in Spain with the International Brigades and had served in the RAF during World War Two. Jimmy knew that fellow NUR member Tony Donaghey – who was to become RMT president many years later – had been offered a guard position at Euston. When Tony was informed by Jimmy about this blatant racism and the treatment of his friend Asquith, he withdrew his application in protest and took up a guard’s position at St Pancras. Jimmy led a local delegation to union headquarters and then NUR general secretary Sid Greene contacted the British Rail Board about the racist policies being practised in their name which had been a longstanding problem. The Asquith Xavier mural was commissioned by Arches Local, a community group aimed at improving the local neighbourhood in Chatham. LETTERS LEEDS AWARDS MURAL FOR ASQUITH