LETTERS

RMT helpline 0800 3763706 :: september 2008 :: RMTnews 35 LETTERS Branch secretary Graham Flear (far left) presented three members with 25-year badges at a recent branch meeting. Recipients are on the front row (sitting) left to right Dave Hardy, Robert Smith, John Hill. DEPTFORD BRANCH nominates JEFF SLEE for Council of Executives (South East Region) and asks members to support MANCHESTER VICTORIA BRANCH Supports CRAIG JOHNSTON for Council of Executives (Manchester and North West England) A proven record. Putting members first BLACKPOOL & FYLDE COAST BRANCH Supports CRAIG JOHNSTON for Council of Executives (Manchester and North West England) Working hard for all grades WORKINGTON BRANCH Supports CRAIG JOHNSTON for Council of Executives (Manchester and North West England) Disliked by the bosses, dedicated to the members CARLISLE BRANCH Supports CRAIG JOHNSTON for Council of Executives (Manchester and North West England) Fighting for your interests SKIPTON BRANCH Supports CRAIG JOHNSTON for Council of Executives (Manchester and North West England) Putting members first BRIGHTON AND HOVE CITY BRANCH NOMINATES GARRY HASSELL FOR THE COUNCIL OF EXECUTIVES AREA 9 And seeks supporting Nominations ACCIDENTS WITH DIESEL SPILLS Dear editor, Readers may be interested in a recent piece of advice from Andrew Campbell in Motorcycle News concerning vehicle accidents involving diesel spills and how to claim damages. He outlines the following time limits: Get an incident report in writing from the police within five days of the accident or as soon after as is reasonably practical. This should be relied upon in cases where the claim includes property or property- related damage. If the claim is for injuries get the incident number within 14 days or as soon is reasonably practicable. Submit your claim to the Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB) within nine months if it includes property damage. If the claim is for injuries only, submit within three years. The best advice is to gather the required documentation and submit as soon as possible. For cases other than minor injuries seek legal advice. Yours sincerely, Bob Taylorson Dear Sir, The comment in your article on the staff of the Ffestiniog Railway (July/August 2008) claiming that staff pay is low due to volunteers is somewhat misleading. I would suggest the pay issue is more down to a couple of things: Poor knowledge of skill sets, and poor knowledge of market worth. The railway probably wouldn’t be in existence without the volunteer labour that is provided at great expense to the individual year in, year out. Therefore it is a little harsh to claim that they cause the poor wage scale. I have volunteered on the railway for over 10 years, but I have also worked on the railway as a part-time paid member of staff. I was employed in the summer of 2005 for my professional ability, to assist with an engineering project. Despite this, the initial offer of pay was, to say the least, insulting, being the hourly minimum wage. I am aware that the railway can at times be short of cash, but that is not an excuse not to pay market worth for the skill sets required. A pay deal was eventually struck, but not before I had been forced by the then management to prove why I should be paid more than the minimum wage. In an email which I happened to see, the question regarding my skills was put as “…what are his qualifications for the job?”. This incident, along with discussions with some members of staff leads me to the conclusions I have stated above as to why the pay scales are not what they could be. Secondly, the statement suggesting volunteers being the cause of poor pay is, if I may say so, self damaging. Many volunteers, myself included, are members of the RMT, having joined firstly to provide ourselves with a support network in case of incident when operating on the railway, but secondly to give support to those of our members who are paid staff on the railway. To accuse us, the volunteers, of causing problems with staff pay is insulting. Yours faithfully, Chris Hoskin GRANTHAM DOES THE HONOURS CARLISLE BRANCH LAUNCHES WEBSITE Carlisle branch has launched its own website to keep members informed of developments and the activities of the union. www.carlislecityrmt.org DON’T KNOCK VOLUNTEERS