ORGANISING ON NORTHERN TRAINS

29 RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: sept/oct 2025 :: RMTnews A team of RMT representatives from the Northern Trains Fleet and Engineering grades visited Neville Hill Train Care Centre near Leeds to organise workers there. A variety of fleets are maintained, serviced and cleaned at this location including Northern Trains new and legacy fleets. LNER trains are also worked on by Ex EMR engineering staff and cleaners who subject to TUPE transferred into Northern Trains back in 2021. The council secretary for Fleet and Engineering, Neil Sharples from Wigan branch was joined by service driver council rep Dave McGough and cleaner rep Steve Huddlestone to the Neville Hill depot to engage with current members and recruiting new ones. “The visit was both successful and productive with a total of ten new members signing up from the cohort of ex EMR cleaners working on the LNER fleet for Northern Trains,” said Neil Sharples. There is a current wider recruitment campaign being undertaken within Northern Trains with reps and activists are keen to promote RMT within company. One victory has been the signing of a core work agreement that secures and protects the roles and responsibilities of directly employed staff as opposed to the use of third-party contractors. A guarantee has also been gained from the company that the 450 new trains that are currently subject to a procurement process will be serviced and maintained by in- house Northern Trains workers. If you are an RMT member employed by Northern Trains and would like to be involved in recruitment and retention activities, please contact: Neil.sharples@outlook.com. Dear editor, The AGM report item entitled ‘Fight for peace’ in last month’s issue of RMT News is misleading. It reads as if there were multiple motions but there was a single motion, which linked important policies such as demanding Britain ends arms exports to Israel with a call to campaign for the withdrawal of all aid to Ukraine — not just military aid, but “financial aid” too. Several delegates, including myself, opposed the motion primarily on this basis. Whilst there were many elements of the motion delegates supported, the AGM can only vote for or against a motion. Many of us were not prepared to commit our union to campaigning for the withdrawal of all aid to Ukraine. Readers wouldn’t know it from the report, the motion was not “narrowly backed” by delegates; the vote was tied 27-27, with several abstentions. The motion was carried only because of the president’s casting vote. The report quotes a speech by a delegate in support of the motion which gave a false narrative of events in Ukraine since 2014. Rather than attempting to counter that in limited space here, I will simply urge fellow RMT members to seek out the views of the independent labour movement and left in Ukraine. Members interested to survey the actual debate can consult the verbatim minutes, and can reach their own conclusions. In the fortnight following the AGM, at least 139 Ukrainian civilians were killed, and 791 were injured by Russian attacks, according to UN figures. RMT now has a policy which, whilst nominally opposing those attacks, is focused on demanding the Ukrainian people be deprived of the means to defend themselves from them. Despite the AGM outcome, I and many other RMT members will continue to organise, in personal capacities, to provide solidarity with our Ukrainian brothers and sisters, against both their own ruling class and Russian imperialist conquest. Daniel Randall 2025 AGM delegate, Bakerloo line branch R MT’s Bletchley and Northampton branch said farewell to former branch secretary Steve Craddock after 50 years railway service. Former RMT general secretary Mick Cash made the presentation and thanked Steve for his service to the union. ORGANISING ON NORTHERN TRAINS Service Driver employee council representative from Leeds City branch and Neil Sharples from Wigan branch with new RMT members based at Neville Hill Train Care Centre FIGHT FOR PEACE? LETTERS BLETCHLEY RETIREMENT