NRB ‘NAME AND SHAME’ CAMPAIGN BEGINS TO BITE

RMT helpline 0800 3763706 :: september 2008 :: RMTnews 8 F our days of strike action by some 12,000 Network Rail maintenance workers has been suspended after Network Rail agreed to further talks. The union, which has already mounted two weekend strikes, was due to escalate its action after a breakthrough made in earlier talks was vetoed by Network Rail at director level. The company has tabled its latest proposals on harmonisation which represent its wish list and these have not been agreed with the union. Assistant general secretary Mick Cash said that whilst the proposals from management could form the basis of future negotiations, the document as it stood was unacceptable, particularly regional pay rates and overlapping skills. “It is unacceptable that they value our Scottish members less than elsewhere or that a member in Liverpool is paid differently to a member in Preston. “Our objectives remain the same, Network Rail should pay the same pay for the same job no matter where you work,” he said. He said that ultimately RMT members would be given the final say and more industrial action has not been rule out. Mick raised concerns that Network Rail had another agenda, to make 22 per cent savings in its budget on maintenance and renewals over the next five years and it had made commitments to reduce costs to the Rail Regulator and government. “If they cannot get them through harmonisation then they will try to do it a bit at time dividing worker from worker to achieve their goal. You either trust Network Rail or you trust your representatives on that,” he said. RMT general secretary Bob Crow also said that the ball was now firmly in Network Rail’s court and the union expected the company to negotiate in good faith. “Our members have already shown where they stand and Network Rail should be under no illusion that they remain determined to win a harmonisation package that delivers fairness and justice,” he said. R MT’s ‘name and shame campaign’ to combat the continued use of NRB (Not Required Back) in the offshore oil and gas industry may be forcing employers to act. Oil and Gas UK (OGUK) announced fresh efforts to stamp out offshore workers being banned from any installation in the North Sea without being given a reason. OGUK health and safety director Chris Allen claimed that the practice of people being NRB’d was not as widespread as rumoured, with only a handful of cases annually. However, there is not one rig offshore where the NRB criteria has not been used, creating fear about raising issues particularly around safety. RMT’s offshore branch, the former OILC union, has had to deal with a number of cases recently. At Hess a man with 10 years service was NRB’d for ‘not being a team player’. Another man with 10 years service – five as a safety rep – was NRB’d by BG Group for being ‘argumentative’. Two men, one a safety rep for three years and another with 20 years on the Forties, were NRB’d by Apache. Two more were NRB’d by Exxon because ‘a manager didn’t like his appearance’ and no reason was given for the other. RMT has written to the HSE and OGUK concerning these cases and offshore organiser Jake Molloy will be meeting both organisations. “For over 30 years contract workers have lived and worked in fear of this practice and we want this fear removed and specifically where the action is related to raising or questioning health and safety issues,” he said. Jake Molloy said that, while supporting stringent safety standards, NRB was the arbitrary, unaccountable and unjust. However, he said that the union’s campaign may be showing signs of delivering an outcome. John Methven, Petrofac’s health and safety director, has also admitted that the shadow of NRB hanging over offshore workers must go. RAIL MAINTENANCE WORKERS’ STRIKE ACTION SUSPENDED FOR FRESH TALKS NRB ‘NAME AND SHAME’ CAMPAIGN BEGINS TO BITE