ISSUE NUMBER 7, VOLUME 6
SEPTEMBER 2005
Essential reading for today’s transport worker INSIDE THIS ISSUE...
ASSAULTS ON THE RISE
MARITIME UNIONS UNITE AGAINST ‘SOCIAL DUMPING’ PAGE 8
UNION WINS RE-INSTATEMENT FOR MEMBERS PAGE 7
RMT demands action
RAILING AGAINST THE BRUSSELS AGENDA PAGE 22
www.rmt.org.uk
RMT Credit Union Open Day Surgeries If you want to find out more information about your Credit Union or want to join up come along between 10am and 4pm at these locations YOUR CREDIT UNION MANAGER WILL BE ON HAND TO ANSWER ALL YOUR QUESTIONS AND VERIFY YOUR DOCUMENTATION NEWCASTLE
22 SEPTEMBER 2005
Thompsons Solicitors, The St Nicholas Building, St Nicholas Street, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE1 1TH
YORK
23 SEPTEMBER 2005
RMT York Regional Office, 2nd Floor, Prudential House, 28-40 Blossom Street, York, YO24 1GJ
BIRMINGHAM
29 SEPTEMBER 2005
Central Trains Senior Conductors LDC room, New Street Station (Back of the Staff canteen), Birmingham.
LIVERPOOL
6 OCTOBER 2005
Barrier Building, Lime Street Station, Liverpool L1 1JF
MANCHESTER
7 OCTOBER 2005
General Manager's Office, Manchester Victoria Station, Manchester M3 1PB
GLASGOW
13 OCTOBER 2005
Central station LLC room between 8.00 and 12.30 Queen Street station LLC room 13.00 and 17.00
EDINBURGH
14 OCTOBER 2005
LLC, North Block, Edinburgh, Waverly
BRISTOL
20 OCTOBER 2005
Training Room in Victoria House
CARDIFF
21 OCTOBER 2005
Network Rail, St Davids House, Wood Street
WHY MAKE THE BIG BANKS RICHER? YOUR RMT CREDIT UNION IS RUN BY RMT MEMBERS FOR RMT MEMBERS. PLEASE SEE PAGE 30 FOR YOUR DOCUMENTATION YOU WILL NEED TO BRING WITH YOU FOR VERIFICATION
If you can’t make it, phone: 0207 529 8835, Fax: 020 7387 4123 or e-mail [email protected] and address any your queries to the Credit Union manager
september 2005 ::
contents Page 4 REPORT SAYS PPP “NOT GOOD ENOUGH”
Page 5 EUROSTAR SECURITY GUARDS TAKE STRIKE ACTION
Page 6 SOUTH EASTERN TRAINS BALLOT TO DEFEND JOBS AND CONDITIONS
Page 7 UNION WINS RE-INSTATEMENT FOR FIVE REVENUE PROTECTION OFFICERS
Page 8 MARITIME UNIONS UNITE AGAINST ‘SOCIAL DUMPING’
Page 9 MEET YOUR RMT PARLIAMENTARY GROUP
Page 10 ASSAULTS ON STAFF
Page 12 SHIPPING RACE RELATIONS UPDATE
Page 13-17 RMT AGM 2005 REPORT (PART 2)
Page 18 TRADE UNIONS AND COMMUNITY RAIL
Pages 20 WORLD RECORD BREAKER SAYS RENATIONALISE RAIL
Page 22 RAILING AGAINST THE BRUSSELS PRIVATISATION AGENDA
Page 24 THE G8 AND THE REAL END OF POVERTY
Page 25 PRESIDENTS COLUMN NO FIGHT, NO SAFETY
Page 26 MAKING VICTIMS APOLOGISE
Page 27 FINANCIAL STATEMENT
Page 29 CLASSIFIED/CROSSWORD
Page 30 HOW TO JOIN THE CREDIT UNION RMT News is compiled and originated by National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers, Unity House, 39 Chalton Street, London NW1 1JD. Tel: 020 7387 4771. Fax: 020 7529 8808. email [email protected] The information contained in this publication is believed to be correct but cannot be guaranteed. All rights reserved. RMT News is designed by Bighand Creative and printed by Leycol Printers. General editor: Bob Crow. Managing editor: Brian Denny. No part of this document may be reproduced without prior written approval of RMT. No liability is accepted for any errors or omissions. Copyright RMT 2005
RMTnews
EDITORIAL
TACKLING ASSAULTS I t will come as no surprise that assaults in the transport industry are on the rise. It is deeply disturbing that members have to bear the brunt of aggressive, drunken behaviour, particularly at night and particularly when working alone. Therefore, RMT has renewed its call for the return of guards to all trains and for more uniformed staff on stations. Members of the public, particularly women travelling alone, should not have to run the gauntlet on deserted stations or worry about being attacked in a train carriage. The massive response by passengers objecting to South Eastern TrainsÕ pl ans to cut ticket-office staff underlines the fact that passengers and transport workers alike want to see more staff on stations and trains, not fewer. This is just one of the many reasons why RMT opposes the reprivatisation of South Eastern Trains. There is no reason why the government should hand over these vital services to a rail privateer after staff have spent the last two years getting them back on track following the mess that Connex made of them. This union will use all possible avenues to defend the jobs and conditions of all grades of SET staff and the services that millions of people rely on. The endless rounds of service cuts and the introduction of buses instead of trains must be resisted everywhere. That means we will also be launching a campaign to keep sleeper services to Cornwall. This campaigning also means engaging with players in the industry including the Association of Community Rail Partnerships to ensure our policies are heard and understood. That is why we have invited ACoRP to put its views in this journal and I look forward to your responses. It is a pity that Chubb are refusing to enter into dialogue to settle the despite involving security guards employed at Eurostar’s Ashford and Waterloo terminals and its North Pole depot in London and agree an acceptable pay offer. It should concern everyone that the company is prepared to compromise safety and security standards by using unvetted and untrained staff in at a time of heightened concerns over terrorist attacks. Maritime unions in Britain, Ireland, France, the Netherlands and Belgium have also joined forces to demand an end to appallingly low pay, unacceptable working conditions and denial of basic trade-union rights aboard ferries operating between European countries.
We have made a united call for minimum standards of pay and conditions and for UN conventions on human rights to be imposed on ferry operators to prevent them exploiting overseas crews. The debacle of the Hatfield trial verdict, which cleared Railtrack directors of all blame over the lethal train crash, underlines the need for an effective corporate manslaughter law and an end to private-sector involvement in the railways. How can it be that safety rules were broken yet no-one was responsible? When there’s money to be made there’s no shortage of executives ready and willing to pocket fat bonuses, but when there’s some responsibility to be taken for something going horribly wrong there’s a deafening chorus of ‘not me, guv’. We need an effective corporate manslaughter law to ensure that bosses responsible for avoidable deaths are held to account. The law as it stands makes that next to impossible. It is also increasingly clear to millions of people that privatisation and the fragmentation of the railways effectively dismantled British Rail’s safety culture, blurred lines of responsibility and communication and created the conditions that led to Hatfield. The safety of our industry has been subordinated to privateers’ greed for too long and it’s time the whole lot was brought back in-house. This sort of money-first attitude is clear for all to see in the tragic aftermath of the hurricane that hit New Orleans recently. It is indeed shocking that the poor could not even afford to flee the city before the hurricane hit and public transport capacity was not provided. The devastating storm – which is more evidence of global warming and worsening weather patterns – also highlighted the callous nature of US imperialism. While it spends billions on invading Iraq and destroying its infrastructure it cannot find the money to save the lives of its citizens in distress. We must not let such callous disregard for human life to continue and campaign for decent public services and peace for all. Best wishes
Cover picture ©Andrew Waird (posed by models)
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REPORT SAYS PPP “NOT GOOD ENOUGH” RANSPORT for London’s second annual report into the performance of the PPP on London Underground has concluded that “performance is not good enough and is less than what was promised”. The Infracos and their shareholders are earning significant sums through the PPP, but the volume of real work out on the railway is not consistent with the payments being made,” it said. The report highlights that in the second year of PPP engineering overruns are up 35 per cent and now average more than one a week. Poor planning and execution are primary causes for the overruns. In addition, the track renewals programme is 31per cent lower than that promised in the Infraco bids. The report also points to the organisational changes which the Infracos have undergone since the sell-off. Two of the original members of the Tubelines consortia, Amey and Jarvis, have had their interests transferred to the Spanish firm Ferrovial Tubelines has siphoned off £57 million in profits in the past year, which adds up to over £1million a week, and shareholders received a total of £27.5 million. Metronet is also on its third chief executive in two years and
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concern has been expressed that Metronet consortium member Bombardier has had its credit rating downgraded to ‘junk-bond’. However, Balfour Beatty, which has a 20 per cent stake in Metronet, announced profits of £20 million despite losing mainline rail contracts and admitting to breaches of health and safety following the Hatfield train crash. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said it was “astonishing” that a firm that had been thrown off rail maintenance contracts should still be allowed to operate on the Tube. “It will come as no comfort to those RMT members currently employed by Metronet who will be transferred to Bombardier in the forthcoming months that the report argues that the rating has not yet directly affected the PPP,” he said. RMT London regional organiser Bobby Law said that it was now abundantly clear that the PPP is an expensive and flawed scheme. “The only winners are the Infraco shareholders who set to pocket huge profits, almost £100 million in the first year alone,” he said. He said that it was time to scrap the PPP and use the profits to pay for more staff, guards and enhanced safety and communications systems.
LONDON CALLING RMT is the first union in Britain to introduce its own ‘inhouse’ campaigning call centre which has been created to improve communications with members. The Call Centre will provide the union with a professional service and RMT phone operators have received first class training from Michael Banks, who runs the massive phone campaign for Amnesty International. The project, set up jointly by the organising unit and membership department, started on the September 6 and the results are already looking positive. Alan Pottage of the organising unit said that the facility was yet another weapon in the RMT’s impressive armoury. “The ‘London Calling’ campaign will allow us to improve our ability to communicate directly with our members over important issues. Campaigning for yes votes in ballots is one important benefit. “I am glad to say that we will also be phoning every single member who leaves the RMT within a month and we expect to persuade a number to think again and to re-join,” he said. Operators have made an impressive start and have already gathered important information that RMT can follow up. Pete Waters of the membership department said that the union will continue to write to lapsed members and send branches a list of leavers. “The campaign gets across all the powerful reasons why transport workers should stay in RMT,” he said.
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EUROSTAR SECURITY GUARDS TAKE STRIKE ACTION trike action by more than 130 RMT security guards employed by Chubb at Eurostar’s Ashford International and Waterloo International stations and North Pole depot is being stepped up following the company’s failure to table an acceptable pay offer.
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“The action has been 100-per cent solid and reflects their desire to win a just pay settlement,” RMT general secretary Bob Crow said. “But rather than sit down with us and negotiate, Chubb have chosen to waste huge sums of money on futile attempts to
undermine our strike action,” he said. The union understands that the company have recruited scab security guards in Hungary, flown them into Britain and put them up in a hostel in Neasden before putting them to work on the Eurostar contract with
limited training. “That makes a nonsense of their claim that our action is having no effect, but it also raises serious further concerns about their cavalier attitude to the professional security services they are supposed to be providing. “It smacks of desperation that a company should go to such extraordinary and expensive lengths to avoid negotiating a settlement with its own workforce, and it is astonishing that Eurostar should go along with it,” Bob Crow said. Chubb have agreed a framework for negotiation, but the problem is that so far they have simply failed to negotiate with RMT over pay. The depth of members’ anger was made clear when every single vote cast in the recent ballot was in favour of strike action.
‘BUSTITUTION’ OF WOLVERHAMPTON-WALSALL TRAINS CONDEMNED R MT condemned the Strategic Rail Authority’s “Beechingstyle” decision to replace Wolverhampton-Walsall local rail services with a ‘fast coach service’ from next April. The move, the first ‘bustitution’ under new powers created by the 2005 Railways Act, was confirmed in the SRA’s
Route Utilisation Strategy for the West Midlands, which also takes a further step towards permanent closure of Wedgwood, Barlaston and Norton Bridge stations on the Stoke on Trent-Stafford line. “This is the thin end of the wedge we warned about when the Railways Act was debated in
parliament, and it marks a sad day for Britain’s railways, passengers and the environment,” RMT general secretary Bob Crow said. The original Beeching cuts started by replacing trains with buses, and when the bus replacements were run down whole rural communities found
themselves with no public transport links at all. “Rather than cutting rail services, spending billions on new roads and pouring huge sums into private operators’ pockets we should be encouraging people out of their cars and investing in more and better railways,” Bob Crow said.
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:: september 2005
SOUTH EASTERN TRAINS BALLOT TO DEFEND JOBS AND CONDITIONS RMT members at South Eastern Trains are being balloted for strike action after the company failed to provide assurances that jobs, pensions and conditions will not be adversely affected by reprivatisation. Preparations to re-privatise the Integrated Kent Franchise have continued despite the huge improvements made since it was brought back into public ownership and overwhelming support for it to remain in public hands. The union asked SET to insert clauses into staff contracts ensuring that there would be no compulsory redundancies or worsening of pensions or conditions, and that existing promotion and transfer
arrangements would remain in place. RMT made it quite clear to SET that failure to agree to do so by the end of August would result in a dispute and the RMT executive has now set in motion a ballot for strike action among our more than 1,350 members. There is also growing concerns among the travelling public over SET plans to cut over 100 ticket office staff and close some ticket outlets altogether ahead of the implementation of the controversial re-privatisation plans. The last time the franchise was handed to the private sector staffing levels were pared to the bone, conditions came under attack and staff morale hit rock bottom, while services
deteriorated and public confidence evaporated. After Connex was thrown off the franchise and it came back to the public sector, much progress was made in restoring staffing levels, improving services and punctuality, boosting staff morale and stopping the massive haemorrhage of public money. But in the run-up to reprivatisation the company is already trying to throw the whole process back into reverse by reducing station-staff numbers. General secretary Bob Crow said that members’ fears were founded on a bellyful of experience of privateers seeking to maximise profits by cutting staff, undermining decent pension schemes and squeezing
pay and conditions while pocketing massive subsidies. “Like most rail users, we would far rather SET remained in the public sector, but if the government insists on going ahead with this ideologically driven re-privatisation we have every right to demand that our members’ jobs, pensions and working conditions are protected,” Bob said. * Early Day Motion 395, tabled in the House of Commons by Clive Efford and signed by 32 MPs, expresses deep concern that the government intends to reprivatise SET and calls on the government to allow the company to make a public-sector bid to run the franchise.
In partnership with the Edwards Duthie Solicitors has a special affinity with trade unions, their members and officials. We have advised union members and their families for some 22 years, to the point where we now serve some 40,000 members across 230 branches nationwide. We have a dedicated team which serves RMT members, their families and friends. Unlike our competitors, we offer a full range of legal services, many of which are free or heavily discounted for union members : ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
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Union wins re-instatement for five revenue protection officers
REINSTATED: (From left to right) Company Council reps Brian Woods and Rickey Goodman with RPA’s Simon Gillman and Pete Rackman shaking hands with AGS Pat Sikorski, and witness Mike Horne. The other reinstated RMT members not in picture are Dave Monger, Barry Behan and Jonty Churchill
ive Guildford-based revenue protection assistants have won their jobs back on South West Trains after appeals found that the dismissals were too harsh and did not take custom and practice into account. Problems began when a manager decided to take action against staff that were simply carrying out practices that had been established for decades. Staff left their place of work ten minutes or so early to catch trains home on the understanding that they were in uniform and still on duty. Staff then informed the guard in charge of their train of their presence in order to assist if required. However, the five RMT members were suddenly accused of falsifying time sheets and sacked. Company Council reps Brian Woods and Rickey Goodman
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who represented all five of the men said that management went at the situation “like a bull in a china shop”. “These are dedicated staff who just want to do their jobs, one member involved Peter Rachman was voted employee of the month before being sacked,” they said. Following union representation by Brian and Rickey two members were reinstated straight away and the remaining three were re-instated at their appeals. Assistant general secretary Pat Sikorski said that it was a classic case highlighting exactly why workers should be in a union. “Being in a union is an insurance policy to insure your job is safe and RMT can give you the best back-up around just when you need it,” he said.
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RMTnews
:: september 2005
MARITIME UNIONS UNITE AGAINST ‘SOCIAL DUMPING’ aritime unions in Britain, Ireland, France, the Netherlands and Belgium have joined forces to demand an end to appallingly low pay, unacceptable working conditions and denial of basic trade-union rights aboard ferries operating between European countries. Union leaders and activists from the five countries gathered in Swansea to call for minimum standards of pay and conditions and for UN conventions on human rights to be imposed on ferry operators to prevent them exploiting overseas crews. The campaign revealed evidence that the MV Superferry, operated by Swansea-Cork Ferries, employs eastern European crew on pay
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rates and working conditions that fall well short of decency levels. “Recruiting crews overseas, paying shockingly low wages, expecting them to work unacceptably long hours and sacking workers who dare even to contact a trade union adds up to a policy known as social dumping,” RMT shipping secretary Steve Todd said. “We believe it is morally indefensible for employers to take advantage of workers like this, and I am delighted that trade unionists from so many countries are united in calling for minimum standards that apply to shore-base workers to be imposed on ferry operators,” he said. International Transport
Workers’ Federation inspector Norrie McVicar said that evidence gathered contradicted Swansea-Cork Ferries’ claims that everything is “hunky-dory” on the MV Superferry. “If they have nothing to hide, why not allow the ITF aboard to make a full inspection and test
out their claims?” he said. The campaign to end social dumping involves RMT, TGWU and Numast in the UK, Siptu in Ireland, CGT and CFDT in France, FWZ in the Netherlands and AVC Transcom and BTB in Belgium.
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september 2005 ::
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MEET YOUR RMT PARLIAMENTARY GROUP John McDonnell Hayes and Harlington Chair
MT’s Parliamentary group has a growing reputation as a highly effective trade union group. Since the General Election more MPs have agreed to join and as RMT News goes to press the group is 21 strong. MPs have provided an invaluable link between Parliament and the union and have supported a number of RMT campaigns through parliamentary interventions.
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For information about the work of the parliamentary group please contact James Croy at head office e-mail: [email protected] Tel: 020 7529 8822.
Diane Abbott Hackney North & Stoke Newington
John Austin Erith and Thamesmead
Jeremy Corbyn Islington North
Bob Marshall-Andrews Medway
Ann Cryer Keighley
Peter Law Blaenau, Gwent
David Drew Stroud
Alan Simpson Nottingham South
Bill Etherington Sunderland North
Michael Clapham Barnsley West and Penistone
Kelvin Hopkins Luton North
Katy Clark North Ayrshire and Arran
Stephen Pound Ealing North
Jim McGovern Dundee West
Gwyn Prosser Dover and Deal
Jim Cousins Newcastle Upon Tyne Central
Jon Trickett Hemsworth
Rudi Vis Finchley and Golders Green
Robert Warering Liverpool West Derby
Marsha Singh Bradford West
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RMTnews
:: september 2005
ASSAULTS ON STAFF
a major, growing threat
A
ccording to the latest rail industry figures, the threat of violence to staff is growing. Unfortunately, no corresponding figures are available for other sectors of the passenger transport industry, such as buses and ferries, but from the continued levels of concern expressed by members employed in these sectors, there is no reason to believe they suffer any less. On the mainline railway, figures from the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) show that during 2004, the number of physical assaults reported by staff rose from 2,256 to an all time high of 2,319. Reported cases of threats and verbal abuse also rose from 1,384 to 1,528.
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TUBE On London Underground the picture is also disappointing. While the number of physical assaults for the period 2004/05 showed a slight decrease over the previous year from 605 to 557, it was still the second highest ever recorded despite a massive uplift in dedicated police numbers during this same period. The decrease in physical assaults was also overshadowed by another major increase in cases of threats or verbal abuse, up from 999 to 1,320. Employers often try to suggest that any increase in workplace violence is due entirely to better reporting of incidents, but while that may be partially right in some instances, it isn’t a credible argument year in year out. Neither is it supported by Health and Safety Executive figures, which indicate a 17 per cent jump last year in serious injuries to rail staff as a result of assaults. Of course, it is acknowledged that raw figures alone do not always tell a complete story. While some companies may appear to have a poor record in terms of pure numbers, taken over a period of years they may in fact have an improving trend. Similarly, if normalised against the number of front-line staff employed, they could have a better record than many of the other companies. NO ANALYSIS However, RMT is continually denied the opportunity to make such an analysis. As previously stated, figures for some parts of the passenger transport industry are hard to obtain. Also, when the union applied to RSSB for a breakdown of their statistics on a company by company basis, they turned it down. Therefore, all you can do is judge the industry on statistics, and that suggests a problem which is still not being controlled. Is it any wonder that every year resolution after resolution
is carried by union conferences calling for something to be done about the growing problem of workplace violence? Each of those resolutions often focuses upon a particular aspect of the issue, such as lone working. However, experience has shown there is no single answer, as each situation generally has its own unique features that require a combination of controls. SYSTEMATIC APPROACH A haphazard approach to workplace violence often merely shifts the problem around. What it requires is a systematic approach driven from the very top levels of each company. It needs the right policy, organisation and procedures that will help identify and drive the necessary measures to minimise the risks to staff and to help those who are unfortunate enough to become victims. The policy should stipulate that it covers all incidents of physical assault, threats and verbal abuse, and provide a clear commitment to the introduction of measures that will help prevent and reduce the risk of such incidents. It should also contain a commitment to support any member of staff who suffers an assault. DUTY OF CARE However, words on their own no matter how noble they may be - achieve nothing. For the policy to be effective employers must also have in place the supporting organisation and procedures to make it all happen. They need to allocate to specific managers the responsibility for carrying out those procedures, and to periodically check that what is needed actually gets done. At the heart of those procedures must be the requirement for every workplace to be assessed to determine the nature and extent of the risk of violence. This includes both
fixed workplaces and those that move such as trains and buses. In the larger workplaces it may be necessary for a number of individual risk assessments to be carried out in order to cover every type of foreseeable situation. It is important that relevant staff and health and safety representatives are involved in this process so their experiences can be recorded. That experience can also help identify what measures may be needed to reduce the risk. Similarly, there may be a need to liaise with the police, local authorities or other relevant bodies whose assistance can be equally useful with some of the more direct causes of violence. This should not of course just be a one-off process and then forgotten. The level of continued risk and the effectiveness of the agreed control measures will always need to be monitored. In addition, after any incident of workplace violence or any changes in circumstances that could affect the problem, the original risk assessment should be reviewed and revised if necessary. REPORT INCIDENTS If an employee is attacked, it is essential they are actively encouraged to report the incident by making the process as simple as possible. They should certainly not be made to feel in any way to blame or made to suffer any form of detriment, and each employer’s policy should make this clear. Where required, victims should be offered confidential counselling, and receive full pay if incapacitated. In such circumstances, the procedures should provide for a managed return to work that takes into consideration what support the person may require. This should include whether a gradual return to full working hours,
RMTnews
reduced workload or the possibility of a job change is necessary. Liaison with the police can also help in gaining their understanding as to the seriousness of the issue and the affect it has on the victims. However, where a decision is taken by the relevant authorities not to pursue criminal proceedings against the assailant, the union believes the employer should consider taking out a private prosecution or seek a banning order. EXAMPLE That is what happened in a particular case involving one of our members employed by First North Western (now Northern Rail). He was attacked and knocked unconscious by a passenger who was subsequently let off with a police caution. With legal support from his employer, the member brought a private prosecution, which in the first instance the Magistrate refused to allow. However, the matter went to the High Court which recently ruled that the Magistrate was wrong. It was not unlawful for an individual to bring a private prosecution against someone who had already received a police caution, as it was not a criminal conviction. The matter has, therefore, now been referred back to the Magistrate’s Court for the prosecution to proceed. This case highlights the fact that it is not just the employers who need to up their game, but at the same time it shows they are the ones who need to take the lead. If every employer adopted a positive attitude to do everything they could to control the problem through the introduction of appropriate prevention and support measures, the number of assaults should start to fall and help create a safer workplace.
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:: september 2005
SHIPPING
RACE RELATIONS UPDATE The campaign against the exemption from the 1976 Race Relations Act, for nondomicile seafarers recruited abroad is continuing.
The union has been seeking legal advice regarding possible complaints to International institutions. RMT has now formally submitted complaints under the following legislation and institutions: • • • •
International Labour Organisation International Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights EU Social Chapter
The publicity and campaigning value of
complaints to these bodies will undoubtedly assist efforts to end this unacceptable discrimination. In addition, the UK government has now conceded that the 1976 Race Relations Act will have to be reviewed. This statement has opened up the whole issue and forced the government to respond. The European Union Transport Commissioner stated that EU seafarers will have to be paid according to the home flag of the vessel they are serving on if this is an EU flag vessel.
The Department of Transport have indicated that if a close enough link can be established between an EU seafarer and the UK flag then discrimination in pay will not be permitted in future once the revised legislation is in place. The union is determined that the government implements a full and effective reform of the Race Relations Act, as the above reference to close enough link has not yet been defined. Accordingly, RMT has taken legal advice on the chances of winning a successful claim and
Bridge McFarland S O L I C I T O R S
has been advised that a claim against the 1976 Act for being in breach of EU free movement of labour legislation is likely to be successful and the union is now in the process of writing to the European Commission. In addition, the union is also now investigating the legal position of non EU nationals on EU flag vessels, and also the rights of EU seafarers who work for companies based in the UK or the EU, but where the vessel is registered in a non-EU state. A further update will be provided in the near future.
Have you got a problem you need legal help with?
As well as offering expertise in a wide range of subjects we have specialists in employment law, personal injury, accidents at sea, diver’s claims and clinical negligence claims Home visits and telephone appointments can be arranged where appropriate 19 South St. Mary's Gate Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire DN31 1JE
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Tel. 01472 311711 www.bridgemcfarland.co.uk e-mail [email protected]
september 2005 ::
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AGM 2005
FIGHTING ANTI-UNION LAWS Delegates at this year’s AGM in Exeter called on the TUC to lead a high profile campaign to abolish Thatcherite anti-union laws. Conference unanimously backed calls for a multi-union campaign to publicise Britain’s “shameful” lack of workers’ protection and New Labour’s refusal to do away with Toryera legislation. It welcomed the TUC position on the need for repeal of the anti-union laws and their replacement with a Charter of Workers’ Rights, but stressed that this must be linked to active campaigning. Camden No3 delegate Paul Schindler said that current legislation still hamstrung a unions’ ability to take effective industrial action, yet a recent review by the Department of Trade and Industry had concluded that there was “little evidence” that any change was required.
Paul welcomed TUC condemnation of this review, noting that the DTI had been unduly influenced by heavy lobbying from big business. But general secretary Bob Crow said that not only had the TUC failed to gain repeal of the anti-union laws, it was also witnessing the steady erosion of the right to collective bargaining. “We are now eight years into a Labour government and even after the Warwick agreement the government is still not any closer to repealing the laws,” he said. Bob demanded the right for unions to organise their own affairs without interference, the right for workers to take solidarity action and for workers to have full employment rights
from day one. Presently, rights are only granted after a year’s service, but he asked why “after 364 days an employer can abuse you and you can’t do anything about it, yet a day later you can take them to court?” Backing calls for a vigorous campaign, he insisted that “it’s about time the TUC told the government that if it doesn’t stand up for workers’ rights it will no longer support them.” Delegates also unanimously backed calls for an end to “gagging clauses” in employment contracts which threaten workers with disciplinary action - or even the sack - for speaking freely on industrial issues. Carlisle delegate Craig Johnston said that freedom of speech was a myth as long as workers were banned from speaking the truth because of bosses’ claims that “it might damage the industry.”
No more privatisations Delegates called on the Labour government to restore industries privatised under the Tories to public ownership and an end to the ongoing privatisations being carried out by New Labour. London Underground delegate Lewis Peacock said that everyone knew that rail and Tube privatisation had been a “disaster“, yet his workplace was still being subjected to endless sell-offs, cost-cutting and sackings under the guise of “streamlining” the workforce. Delegates agreed, condemning new Labour ministers for arrogantly ignoring their own party’s policy on rail renationalisation. They unanimously backed calls for the extension of public ownership throughout the rail
and bus industry, rejecting claims that this was unaffordable. Conference pointed out that as had occurred in the past - the government could issue government stocks to corporate and individual shareholders based on the sale price at the time of privatisation. Such a move would also ensure the long-term viability of company pension funds as a stable financial return could be guaranteed for pension funds. RMT general secretary Bob Crow agreed, but said that
manufacturing concerns and financial institutions should also be handed over for the public good. London Underground delegate Bill O’Dowd led calls for an end to the economic madness of Private Finance Initiative schemes to fund public works. PFI was merely a means for “the Jarvises and Balfour Beattys” to “siphon off money making the rich richer and the poor poorer,” he said. “The attacks on us are being made continuously - under Thatcher it was slash and burn, under Blair it is singe and trim.” Mr O’Dowd called for a TUCled campaign against PFI, insisting that “they’ve bled us dry, now its time to turn the tide”.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING
Delegates condemned the creeping practice of “random” drugs and alcohol testing throughout the transport sector amid warnings that it was far from random and was being used to target union activists. Conference unanimously called on the executive to investigate Network Rail’s policy on drug testing, following revelations that workers were being detained out of hours for such tests on pain of the sack - and subjected to invasive and undignified procedures with little justification. Fort William delegate Stephen Wallace agreed
that nobody wants people operating the rail network under the influence, but said that current procedures frequently amounted to nothing more than false imprisonment. Waterloo delegate Greg Tucker said that one of his colleagues was held and tested for drugs following a malicious call from a disgruntled passenger. “It is clearly another way of harassing our members and we need to do something about it,” he insisted. RMT general secretary Bob Crow agreed that the matter was a serious one, questioning the “random” nature of the tests. “Some managers want some people selectively picked out,” he said. “They are creating a climate of fear - they want to control our lives in the workplace and out of it as well,” - he added, warning that the union would have to “take industrial action on this at some stage.” 13
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:: september 2005
AGM 2005 Mary Dwyer
ABUSES OF PT&R
PRIVATISATION OF ABSENCE MANAGEMENT Delegate Mary Dwyer warned that her employer was proposing to hand over responsibility for sickness management to privateer health contractor, Active Health Partners. Whatever the reason for absence, staff are expected to ring an “adviser”, who could dispense medical advice and recommend over the counter medication - although they would have no knowledge of the employee’s medical record. Details of every call are passed on to the company and after three days they will call on you at home to check up on your “progress”, revealed Mary adding that all of this
information is kept on file for ten years. Mary said that as the RMT safety rep, C2C had promised to “consult” her over the plans. Instead she found herself mysteriously made redundant the policy was implemented the next day. “We have to put a stop to this,” she insisted, warning that other TOCs were watching C2C with interest to see how the scheme worked out.
Women’s Toilet Facilities anchester South delegate Michelle Rogers led calls for decent toilet facilities for women workers pointing out that women are routinely neglected on the issue of basic facilities. “Its about time male members realised what women have to deal with on a daily basis. We’re not asking for much, just a decent toilet with some proper facilities in every depot,” she said. Greg Elliot pointed out that
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it was not just about depots, noting that many bus drivers were out on the road for up to five hours at a stretch. Bob Crow said that he would write to the companies urging them to ensure that there are sufficient toilet facilities, particularly bearing in mind the increase in female staff. “They talk about the RMT being dinosaurs but they are the ones forcing women to work in prehistoric conditions,” he said.
Bristol Rail delegate Robin White warned that the aim of such schemes was not just to cut costs, but to make workers too scared to legitimately report in sick. Pat Sikorski said that RMT was not just prepared to monitor this development, it was already taking action, most notable in the case of Mary Dwyer, where the union‘s members at C2C were currently being balloted for industrial action.
Delegates called for a union investigation into abuses of the PT&R arrangements, especially concerning grade transfers to Trackman. The AGM heard that workers were being denied transfers or promotions, or being offered new posts huge distances from where they lived. Stephen Wallace said that his members had suffered from such abuses, as had himself. Many people were spending half their wages just to get to work. Preston No1 delegate Trevor Jordan said that there was an
unofficial national “blacklist” in operation amongst rail companies, East Midland Central delegate Danny McNichol explained how he
had been told he was “unsuitable” for four nearby vacancies. Mick Cash said that such treatment was “unacceptable” and revealed that he would be raising the matter with NR bosses after AGM. “As a union we will use every tool at our disposal to deal with this problem - including legal and industrial action,” he said. Michelle Rogers
september 2005 ::
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AGM 2005
FLEXIBLE WORKING AND CHILDCARE ARRANGEMENTS GM agreed that it was vital for the union to push for strong childcare policies and workplace nursery provision, particularly in the face of government inaction over giving workers the statutory right to flexible working. Birmingham Rail delegate Julie Cooney said that it was very difficult to get ordinary nursery places when you worked in the rail industry due to factors such as long hours and difficult shifts. She said there was no guarantee
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that these nurseries would even be open at the right times - there was not even any guarantee that private childminders would be available. Bob said that that the issue of childcare would be a key part of the RMT Women’s Charter, but agreed that a fullscale campaign was needed. He pledged to raise the matter at the TUC, stressing that “its not just about facilities at work, it’s about rest time after work”.
RIGHTS FOR THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE he AGM declared its full support for the right to selfdetermination for the Palestinian people and deplored their treatment under the illegal Israeli occupation. Delegates called for the “immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Israeli troops from all the territories” and urged the British government to put the maximum “diplomatic, political and economic” pressure on Israel to ensure that a viable, independent Palestinian state could be possible. Central Line West delegate Jon Abdullah argued: “If we are a truly socialist union we must recognise this and oppose the Israeli government’s goals”. EPS delegate Mick Lynch said that images of violence in Palestine had been a staple of news reports for anyone growing up in the 1960s, 1970s or 1980s. Such a long-term problem had made many people
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Julie Cooney
numb to the ongoing suffering, he said, arguing that it “almost becomes wallpaper for most people”. Such weariness belied the truth of the matter, he said, with thousands dead, the Palestinian economy in ruins and disease and malnutrition rife amongst its children. Mick noted that on top of this, Palestinians now faced the “disgusting edifice” of the separating wall, carving up homes and communities. Bob Crow said that during visits to Israel he had seen rich neighbourhoods where Arabs and Jews appeared to live side by side with no friction whatsoever , leading him to believe that the conflict was “about power and bigotry”, rather than religion. “The ruling class has no problem living next to each other and that ought to be the case with working people too,” he said.
Mick Lynch
ANTI-TERROR LAWS The AGM strongly rejected the government’s misnamed “anti-terror laws” and pledged to campaign against this “unprecedented attack on our civil liberties.” Senior assistant general secretary Mick Cash said that internment without trial, the limiting of lawful protest and the treatment of the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay was unacceptable in a civilised society. Stratford No 1 delegate Bill O’Dowd said the Prevention of Terrorism Bill was a misnomer, designed to “scare people into fighting terrorism when it should be called the ‘Destroy Civil Liberties Bill’.” He warned: “Be in no doubt that these powers will be used against trade unionists in dispute, as have past laws.” Robin White noted that the Bill came up for renewal annually and urged RMT to mount a vigorous campaign each time that this occurred. 15
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:: september 2005
AGM 2005
NO TO RACISM GM condemned the “disgusting media witch hunt” against refugees and immigrants and reaffirmed the union’s commitment to fighting racism and fascism in all its forms. Piccadilly & District West delegate Ollie New said that the only reason for such hysteria in the right wing press was racism condemning the Blair government for pandering to such hysteria with increasingly repressive legislation. Ollie said that the Harmondsworth detention centre for asylum seekers- in RMT MP John McDonnell’s own constituency had recently been doubled in capacity. “There always seems to be public money for war and for locking up foreigners,” he noted, warning that such harsh policies simply “opened the door” for the fascist BNP.
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Ollie New
Greg Tucker said that racism found easy expression in a divided society, when workers denied decent pay or jobs started casting about for a scapegoat. “The likes of the Daily Mail are happy to help this, letting bosses off the hook,” he said. General secretary Bob Crow agreed, stressing that the only way to truly defeat racism and fascism was to heal society’s divisions, which were the real causes of joblessness, poverty and crime. Carlisle City delegate Craig Johnston warned that many people - even union members - still held unacceptably racist, sexist or homophobic views. “This is one of the biggest challenges that our movement faces,” he stressed.
GREETINGS FROM NEW YORK ransport Workers Union local president Roger Toussaint brought fraternal greetings from his home city of New York, where his union was founded by Irish militants fleeing the consequences of the Easter Rising in 1916. He hailed Britain’s rail
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workers as being on the “frontline of resistance” to the scourge of privatisation and globalisation, revealing that “we have followed your Rail Against Privatisation campaign with interest”. Roger said that “privatisation strikes against
common sense, jeopardising the safety of passengers and workers alike - to add insult to injury, subsidies are three times what they were before”. He said that in the US the rail network is still nominally publicly-owned, but it is treated as a “cash cow” for
greedy subcontractors. As public subsidies shrink, passengers are forced to pay the difference in higher fares. “We need a worldwide fight back”, argued Roger, looking forward to the day when union campaigners would join forces across all countries to become “a single torrent against the neo-liberal onslaught”.
Australian workers under attack ustralian Bus, Rail and Tram Union president Bob Haydon told AGM of the attacks that the right-wing Australian government was launching on its working people, through a set of harsh new labour and anti-union laws. Although recent years had seen his transport sector privatised - 80 per cent of the freight sector and 70 per cent of the passenger sector so far, Bob said that this “paled into insignificance” compared to the laws which were poised to come into effect. “Howard’s Tory government is going to take control of both houses of parliament, giving his government unlimited power for
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three years,” he said. He said that the new laws would force all workers on to so-called “independent” contracts - effectively abolishing the right to collective bargaining and making all workers responsible for such things as their own pensions arrangements. All companies would be required to offer every worker an “individual contract” whether they want to or not. Bob also revealed that the laws banned union reps from entering sites more than twice a year, and placing severe restrictions on them during those visits. It would also become easier for third parties
to sue trade unions over legal industrial action. He said that all protection for sacked workers in small firms was due to be abolished and legal limits on terms and conditions were to be “cut to the bone” - with no trade union rights, overtime rates and no more than four weeks leave guaranteed. “Under these laws big unions will suffer and small unions will die,” warned Bob, but said that the Australian labour movement was fighting back. A national week of action had begun during the RMT AGM and a week of industrial action took place a week after that.
Bob Haydon
Bob said that he was inspired by RMT’s non-sectarian approach and said that all transport grades belonged in same union for the betterment of all.
september 2005 ::
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AGM 2005
TUC LEADER APPLAUDS RMT UC general secretary Brendan Barber congratulated RMT for the “genuine progress” the union had made over the past year. He said that RMT had “focused on what you do best – winning for members”. “You achieved a remarkable victory with the Network Rail pension scheme. “You showed real tenacity with the campaign to keep Caledonian MacBrayne and South Eastern Trains public. “You secured an overwhelming “yes” vote in the political fund ballot, with the second highest turnout in any union, and your membership broke the 70,000 threshold,” he said. Brendan reiterated the TUC’s commitment to working for justice for seafarers and an end to discrimination on board UKflagged ships “The government now realises that it botched its amendment to section nine of
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the Race Relations Act in 2003. “It has perpetuated discrimination on pay rates against non-UK national and even the government’s own advisers have said that section nine has to be reviewed. “For the TUC, equality should apply whatever the nationality of the seafarer concerned. Indian, Filipino or other nonEU nationals working on UK ships deserve the same rates of pay as UK workers or other EU nationals,” he said. On the Tonnage Tax, there needs to be a binding employment and training link to the scheme. Brendan said that the union faced many challenges elsewhere in the transport sector. “Take public-private partnerships on the London Underground which, as RMT rightly says, has been a disaster for both the public and the public purse. “It creates an expensive,
inefficient system where contractors rake in 20 per cent returns,” he said. He said that the TUC supported the campaign for a publicly-owned, publicly accountable railway. “It’s clear that rail privatisation has been a disaster, with early £4 billion of annual subsidy from the taxpayer which dwarves anything given to British Rail. “Opinion polls show the public want rail renationalisation and two thirds of Labour delegates backed your position at last year’s conference. “There is a clear financial argument for public ownership, as the recent study by Catalyst made clear,” he said. He said that the new Railways Act was a missed opportunity to legislate for a publicly owned railway. “The transfer of safety from the HSE to the Office of the Rail Regulator is a particular cause
for concern. “Financial and safety regulation do not mix – nor should we separate worker and passenger safety. “Overall, it’s clear our transport system desperately needs a rail renaissance. This must include more freight on rail, which has much lower carbon dioxide emissions than road transport,” he said. He said that if we are to win these campaigns the movement must be stronger. “If the rest of the movement had matched your performance we would have an extra million members,” he said.
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RMTnews
:: september 2005
TRADE UNIONS AND Paul Salveson of the Association of Community Rail Partnerships gives a personal view of ACoRP’s Community Rail Development Strategy What effect will the Community Rail Development Strategy have on railway workers? Over the last few months concern has been expressed by some trade unionists about its impact. RMT has expressed particular concern - an issue of RMT News carried reports from activists objecting to rural lines being ‘handed over to groups of railway enthusiasts’. What is the situation? Is ‘Community Rail’ about cutting services and taking away work from paid staff and replacing them with volunteers? Or even closing lines down altogether? The answer is an emphatic ‘no’. If there was even a whiff of ‘closure by stealth’ or handing safety critical work over to volunteers, we at ACoRP would
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be as concerned as our friends in RMT. This isn’t what the strategy is about. So what is it trying to do, and where do railway staff fit in? THE STRATEGY HAS THREE MAIN OBJECTIVES: • To reduce the costs of operating local railways • To increase revenue on local lines • To encourage community involvement on local railways Let’s take each in turn. Talk of ‘cost reduction’ always sends shudders down railway workers’ spines. But the scope for conventional cost-cutting, through de-staffing stations and the like, is long gone.
Pretty well all of these lines are run on a minimal basis already. Short of going for driver-only operation there is no scope for further cuts. And if the strategy is serious about increasing revenue, removing the conductor isn’t a great idea. Infrastructure maintenance, renewal and enhancement is where there may be scope for cost reduction. Not by reducing safety or speeds, but by applying sensible standards which are fit for purpose. A classic example is the humble barrow crossing. These make perfect sense on lowspeed, low frequency lines – but not on busy high-speed routes. Yet increasingly we’re finding that these crossings are being removed on rural lines that
carry only a handful of trains a day on the basis that they no longer meet current ‘standards’. As a result, new DDAcompliant footbridges costing over a million pounds are being installed where they really aren’t needed. Getting sensible standards – or derogations – will save a lot of money which could be used for cost-effective improvements such as better station waiting facilities and disabled access. INCREASING REVENUE ON LOCAL LINES Increasing revenue involves getting more people using the existing services, which will strengthen the argument for more services and better facilities. It also means ensuring that every fare is collected. This is in the interests of railway staff as much as anyone – they get commission and the viability of the line is protected. We also want to see more
september 2005 ::
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D COMMUNITY RAIL stations staffed, possibly through station shops which also function as convenience stores. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT ‘Community involvement’ is perhaps the phrase which causes most concern to trades unionists – but it shouldn’t. It isn’t about the local vicar taking his turn to drive a train or operate a signalbox alongside the Women’s Institute. It’s about the local community adding value and support to what is there, and working with local railway staff to improve the appearance of stations: gardens, hanging baskets, community noticeboards, artwork supplied by local school children. These are some of the things which local communities are already bringing to their local railway. We want to see more of it. Community rail partnerships have helped to promote local railways and some routes have
seen remarkable growth – over 300 per cent on Chester – Shrewsbury over the last six years, for example. They are not about taking over the running of local lines – they are a way of bringing everyone together to promote and develop the lines, and that must include railway staff and their trades unions. THE MICROFRANCHISING BOGEY Particular concern has been expressed over proposals for ‘microfranchising’ of rural lines. It’s true that the Strategy does suggest this may be a way forward for a small number of lines and consultants are currently looking at the benefits this might bring – as well as the costs. Many local lines in other parts of Europe are operated by small local companies which offer good wages and conditions – and a quality working environment – to their staff, who are members of the
appropriate railway union. Microfranchising is one way of bringing a local focus to ‘community railways – but only one way. Getting the existing train operator to bring in local management with dedicated staff for a particular route or group of routes could bring the same results at lower costs. But whatever happens, the unions must be consulted about any development. I would recommend trade unionists talk to their European colleagues and get their views on how local railways have affected their members. Even better, go and see some of these lines in operation and talk to the staff – most of them like being part of a small outfit where they are more than just a number.
that there are real opportunities for the unions arising from the Community Rail Development Strategy. More community rail partnerships should involve rail union branches. Railway staff bring generations of expertise and knowledge to the work of a community rail partnership. Railway staff are very much a part of the local railway community. The Penistone Line Partnership, on the Huddersfield – Sheffield line, is chaired by a member of Aslef. I’d like to see more trade unionists getting involved across the country. Equally, I hope unions will develop a dialogue with ACoRP – you’ll find you are amongst friends, even though we may not agree with each other on every dot and comma.
UNIONS ARE PART OF THE RAILWAY COMMUNITY
*Association of Community Rail Partnerships – ACoRP – is a federation of over 50 community rail partnerships and rail promotion groups.
As a trade unionist for all my working life – and a former officer of the NUR – I believe
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WORLD RECORD BREAKER SAYS RENATIONALISE RAIL Community and Youth Workers’ Union president, Paul Boskett, explains how he broke the world record for route miles in one day on British Rail and why renationalisation should happen sooner rather than later
september 2005 ::
n April 28 1987, I was successful in breaking the world record for the number of miles it was possible to travel by scheduled services on British Rail in one day. The previous record stood at 1648 held by two rail staff members yet I achieved 1716 route miles thanks to the cooperation of area managers and rail unions in three regions of the national British Rail network. My entry into the 1988 Guinness Book of records stands there for all to see as a tribute to a nationalised rail system. No, it wasn’t perfect as a national institution, but at least there was a joined up approach to problem solving and providing a vital public service, even when directly under threat of privatisation and fragmentation by the Thatcher government.
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DRACULA Imagine the scene at Crewe Station. The Mayor, area manager for British Rail, plus station supervisor and other key staff from the railways, 20-30 youth workers and some young people and local press all gathered to wave me off on the start of a world record attempt. I was dressed as Dracula at the beginning to add some ironic humour to the fact that I was putting the national rail network to the test at a time when subsidies were being withdrawn recklessly by a Tory Government intent on fragmenting the network by privatisation, and at a time when public investment in the rail industry was at an all time low. Some six months of planning and scouring timetables for the fastest journeys across a given 24-hour period finally paid off. The 24-hour period was to start at 01.00 in the morning at Carlisle and to finish, hopefully, at 00.58 the following morning at Rugby. I was made welcome by the Area Manager at Crewe when I turned up at various times to have my proposed journeys checked against timetable changes and engineering work. This was achieved by the helpful cooperation of union members at Crewe rail HQ. Two attempts failed after I missed a connection early on in the schedule, but on the third and final throw of the dice, I went from Carlisle to Rugby via London Euston Paddington and Kings Cross, achieving return journeys to Harrow & Wealdstone, Durham, Didcot and Peterborough, often
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with only a couple of minutes to get a verification stamp and change trains. Every journey involved me obtaining proof of travel on the scheduled trains from the guard, who, after I had explained why I was doing this in the first place, often gave me a mention over the train public address system to inform the passengers that the Dracula on board was a harmless trade unionist raising funds for a Cheshire Hospital Baby Unit whilst attempting a world record for the 1988 edition of the Guinness Book. RENATIONALISE British Rail supported me by providing a Rail Rover ticket valid for seven days, together with £50 of meal/refreshment vouchers valid on any train with a buffet or restaurant car. Those were the days of joined up catering provided by permanent full time staff [NUR members], employed by the railway on key routes. I met the station managers from Euston, Kings Cross and Paddington (complete with Top and Bowler hats!). Can you imagine the various private train operating companies agreeing to sponsor such an event in 2005? I say “re-nationalise the railways, now”. FRAGMENTATION The whole thing would be a logistical nightmare and impossible to achieve with the fragmented railway network of today. My letter of authority from one area manager was valid and respected on every train and by staff at stations in all regions. In this general election year, not many parties actually put forward a policy of renationalising the railways and investing in railway infrastructure to provide a safe, energy efficient and affordable public service, allowing everyone the dignity of independent travel, at the expense of our hopelessly overcrowded roads. We have to make the Labour Party re-think its transport policy in favour of moving more people and freight by rail. National rail and integrated transport networks in France, Germany, Holland, Italy and Spain, are just a few examples of what is possible with government investment and support. We must work together to oppose all moves to fragment such national treasures, whilst at the same time, raise the UK public case for a re-nationalised rail network, owned and accountable to all of us living in these densely populated islands.
RENATIONALISE: French rail workers joined the recent Rail Against Privatisation march through London
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RMTnews
:: september 2005
Railing against the Brussels agenda
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French rail workers are currently fighting a battle to prevent the wholesale break-up and privatisation of their industry
STRUGGLE: French rail workers protest in front of the first French private freight train, owned rail operator Connex, as it waits to depart Dugny-sur-Meuse. EU rules demand the ‘liberalisation’ of the rail freight sector across the bloc.
september 2005 :: n June, workers attempted to stop the first French private freight train, carrying lime destined for the German steel industry, from departing from a depot in Dugny-sur-Meuse. French riot police attacked hundreds of protesters occupying the tracks with baton charges and teargas to enable CFTA Cargo, a subsidiary of Connex, to run the train across the border. Later that month, the French Transport Minister held discussions with the trades unions without mentioning that on the previous day he had also secretly authorised a private licence for passenger transport for Connex. On the Brenner Pass between Italy and Austria, an Italian private operator, Rail Traction Company, has taken over 35 per
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cent of the rail freight market. Trenitalia, the Italian stateowned rail operator, complains that it is losing contracts due to union agreements on staffing levels and safety. A senior executive of Belgium’s state-owned train operator (SNCB), Marcel Verslype, told a dinner in Brussels last year that if his company had not faced competition from DLC, the first private train operator in Belgium, it would have had to invent it as its presence had forced Belgian trade unions to accept worse conditions. French unions also point out that the train drivers employed by private operator CFTA Cargo receive just six weeks’ training, compared to a minimum six months’ for public operator, SNCF. All these developments are due to the implementation of various EU rules, which are enshrined in three so-called EU rail ‘packages’, that demand the ‘liberalisation’ of rail freight and passenger sectors. DIRECTIVES RMT members have already seen what chaos privatisation has unleashed on Britain’s railways. Yet today, the privatisation of publicly owned railways is being carried out across the EU through EU directives. In the UK, the first of these EU directives – directive 91/440 adopted on July 29 1991formed the basis of the Railways Act 1993. This Tory Act included measures that privatised Britain’s railways, introduced open access and separated ownership and control of infrastructure from train operations. A “second package” for deregulating EU rail networks proposed by the European Commission was imposed in January 2003, and a “third package” was adopted in March 2004. These include demands for rail freight liberalisation by 2007 and open competition and track access in passenger traffic by 2008. At no time was there any meaningful public debate about these far-reaching neo-
liberal measures. Yet, as a result, state-owned French railways SNCF has lost its freight and passenger monopoly and companies like Connex – which made such a mess of Kent’s rail network – are actively seeking to penetrate the French rail network. Last month, the British government carried out a consultation on plans to implement EU rail directives. The first package has largely been implemented in the UK thanks to ten years of rail privatisation, which led to the near collapse of Britain's rail network and the Ladbroke Grove and Hatfield rail crashes. In its submission, RMT maintained that the neo-liberal model advanced by these directives is fundamentally undemocratic, undermining member states ‘democratic rights’ to pursue transport policies that meet local needs. “The three rail packages set out measures to integrate European rail networks by driving forward the wholly unnecessary privatisation, marketisation and fragmentation of national rail systems at the expense of both service quality as well as passenger and worker safety,” it says. PRIVATE INTERESTS Rail freight operator EWS has welcomed the EU’s role in promoting rail privatisation in a written response to a House of Commons Transport Committee inquiry: "EWS believes that the Commission's work is essential if international freight train operations are to be competitive. Just as with the liberalisation of domestic rail freight, this process would not be taking place today without the active intervention of the Commission," it said. EWS also says that "EU enlargement reinforces the attractiveness of the market given the market share enjoyed by rail freight in the accession states". In other words, along with DeutchBahn Freight and others, they are eyeing up the rich pickings in the east. EWS is supported in this by
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the British government which has confirmed that EWS will not have to pay £40 million usage charges to Channel Tunnel owner Eurotunnel, which will be funded by British taxpayers, with the agreement of the European Commission. EWS also wants to take advantage of low-waged labour from eastern Europe and is looking forward to undercutting wages, known as ‘social dumping’, due to the introduction of an EU-wide train driving licence. The company complains that: "It is difficult for drivers to move their employment from one administration to another without the need for lengthy and expensive retraining”. Secretary of State for Transport Alistair Darling told the House of Commons in a written statement in July: "We will continue to work with the EC to liberalise access to the wider European rail freight market and increase competition, including through the Channel Tunnel". However, French unions have made clear that they will resist this enforced ‘competition’ through the implementation of EU directives. French rail union SUD-Rail says: "We reject the models of the British or Japanese railways, which were privatised to guarantee profits for a minority and are allowed to operate in dangerous conditions both for passengers and railway workers. “The operation of a private train on the French national rail network, which is the first such instance since the nationalisation of the private rail companies in 1937, must not be allowed to take place without a response from us,” it says. Brussels is now clearly preparing to privatise by ‘technical’ and ‘bureaucratic’ methods, what they were unable to persuade a majority of French or Dutch citizens to vote for in the discredited EU constitution. It remains to be seen whether trade unionists in France and other countries will let them get away with it.
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:: september 2005
The G8 and the real end of poverty War on Want’s Nick Dearden outlines the need for action against global poverty In July, over 200,000 people marched to Make Poverty History, with more than half a million signing up to tell the G8 meeting in Gleneagles to change the policies they force on the Third World. But as 2005 proceeds, what has been achieved? For 30 years the G8 has been the exclusive club that has informally coordinated the global policies of the richest countries in the world. It is here, over expensive food, surrounded by million-dollar security, that the world’s leaders discuss agendas for war and peace, trade and debt, oil and gold; for how they continue to control the world. Many poor countries still pay much more in debt repayments to the rich countries than rich countries give them in aid. G8 countries use what aid and debt relief they do give to force Third World countries to implement a whole host of economic policies which actually benefit the G8 rather than the poor. These ‘conditionalities’ include policies such as water privatisation, which the UK is particularly fond of, as Western water companies can make huge profits from these deals, while the poor can end up without water because they can’t afford to pay. So it’s little surprise that, despite protests, the G8 governments turned their backs on the world’s poor in July. Aid to the poorest countries has increased by only $15 billion in new money – only 20 per cent of the money that they
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promised as long ago as 1970 (when they agreed to give 0.7 per cent of their income in development). On debt relief, they gave only ten per cent of the money needed to cancel the poorest countries onerous debts that cause such suffering. On trade it’s even worse. The G8, and especially the UK, continue to support ripping open Third World markets so that Western corporations can enter their economies, often destroying local industries that are unable to compete, all in the name of profit. When you compare all this to the dramatic rise in the G8’s military expenditure last year – world military spending now topping $1 trillion – it all looks pretty paltry. What did we expect from these emperors of the 21st century, who after all represent only 14 per cent of the world’s population but who dictate policies to the rest of the world, ultimately at the point of an F16 missile (as we saw in Iraq)? The fight against global poverty, like the struggle for trade-union rights, is a long one, and there are more battles on the horizon. In December, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) meets in Hong Kong. Anyone worried about the phenomenal power which global corporations now possess, should take notice. The agenda of liberalised trade has empowered the global corporation, and the erosion of democracy and workers' rights that accompany it. The last WTO summit saw a
historic step - Third World countries realised, as a result of the global protest movement, the power of collective strength and they told the West: “we've had enough of handing over more of our economy to you, while you promise the same thing every year, and then fail to deliver.” So the Summit broke down, and the West was unable to get its way. The West is still forcing open ever-new areas of life to corporate rule, so we need to protest again, and to ensure that major changes are made in the world trade system. It's also important for us to look at the other side of the coin. The fact that G8 countries are able to dictate to the other 85 per cent of the world is ultimately down to brute force. In some areas of the world, the
role of physical force in upholding the 'global apartheid' is very obvious. That’s why campaigning against the illegal occupations of Palestine and Iraq remain high on the agenda. An enormous amount remains to be done before we consign poverty to history. But a quarter of a million on the streets on this global issue is a good foundation. Trade unions have a proud tradition of standing at the front of such struggles. As millions of workers throughout the world struggle in poverty strikingly similar to that found in the mill towns of the industrial revolution, collective action, this time on a global scale, has never been more necessary. To get involved visit www.waronwant.org or contact Nick Dearden on 020 7620 1111 or at [email protected].
september 2005 ::
RMTnews
President’s column
NO FIGHT, NO SAFETY RMT executive committee member Dave Collinson and I have just returned from Japan following an invitation from Japanese trade unionists who are keen to learn from our Rail Against Privatisation campaign. It was a privilege to meet trade unionists on the other side of the world who were deeply interested to hear about our campaigning methods and who universally described RMT as a “fighting union”. Everywhere we went on our busy schedule, trade unionists wanted to know about our democratic structures and about our highprofile public campaigning work against privatisation and job cuts. We addressed huge rallies demanding the renationalisation of Japanese railways, the right to organise and for the reinstatement of sacked rail workers. This highly developed campaign included women’s groups and co-operatives set up to look after sacked workers. Japan’s rail network was sold off in 1987 and the six new companies sacked over a thousand trade unionists who were blacklisted and have not worked since. These injustices contravened international law yet the government backed the employers and continues to do so. Hundreds of tribunals have found in favour of sacked workers yet the companies have simply ignored these legal finding s in the safe knowledge that the Tokoyo government will back them up. Rail companies clearly put profit first and one outfit, JR West, has cut nearly 20,000 jobs, almost halving the workforce. It is not surprising that JR West was the train operator in charge of the line at Amagasaki, which saw the worst rail crash in Japanese history. The tragedy in April killed
over 100 people and left many more injured. Dave and I laid flowers at the site of the crash where I heard how time tables had been tightened up and excessive speeds had been introduced in the name of enforced competition. Both JR West and another private operator Hankyu Rail operate the lines between Takaradsuka and Osaka. JR West boasts that its line runs seven minutes faster than Hankyu in order to win more passengers. Therefore, on what was previously just a local line, drivers were forced to run 120km/h on the straight line and slow to 70km/h on the curve where the lethal accident happened. Japanese rail union Doro-Chiba is determined to struggle against this privatised chaos with the simple slogan “No Fight, No Safety!” and they are clearly winning a lot of support from across the political spectrum. In fact, right-wing Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi has called a snap election this month following a widespread revolt against his plans to privatise the country’s postal system. Leftwing Japanese MPs even exposed a report from US officials showing that the blue-print for postal privatisation had been modified to meet US business interests. So, as you can see, it is clear that we face exactly the same problems in Britain as our Japanese brothers and sisters. After a week of rallies, evening marches through Tokyo, meetings and press conferences with the national media, we left with lasting impressions of a popular movement united in their struggle for progressive change and a peaceful future. Tony Donaghey
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RMTnews
:: september 2005
MAKING VICTIMS APOLOGISE y grandpa Fox fought in World War Two. He was captured in Singapore and forced at gunpoint to labour on the infamous Burma railway. He was, like all his comrades, treated abysmally. When he died 20 years later in the steelworks of Motherwell the post mortem revealed that his body had never recovered from the emaciation he endured in the 1940’s. My dad resents the Japanese to this day and struggles to come to terms with it all still. Japanese Premier Koisumi was last month forced to apologise [for the sixth time] for the actions of his countrymen in World War two. Some might think my family is entitled to an apology for the barbarity Tommy Fox undoubtedly suffered. He certainly is, but I am uneasy with an approach which sees only the vanquished apologise
M
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and suggests that the barbarity of war was one-sided. It wasn’t. Koisumi’s statement came, as anyone conscious of timing would notice, only days after the 60th anniversary of the nuclear annihilation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. More than 700,000 people died! Where you might ask was the United States apology to the Japanese people for that? Those who died so horribly in Hiroshima and Nagasaki were no more guilty than those who died in London during the blitz, or in Belsen, or Stalingrad or later on in Hanoi where more US bombs were dropped than in all of the world war. They were innocent civilians. Another people with reason enough to seek an apology from Japan, are the Koreans who suffered the complete occupation of their country. Recently, seeking to understand this nation described
as one of the ‘axis of evil’, I picked up a [disgraceful] book about North Korea called ‘Rogue Regime’ published by Oxford University Press. The American author Jasper Becker pushes the Republican Party line that the North Korean’s must stop threatening the people of USA with nuclear weapons. Yet after the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of Koreans in their own land by US forces, the book seems never to think how much more likely and realistic is the threat the Koreans feel from attack and invasion by Bush! Now perhaps I am more sensitive to this juxtapositioning of logic because I have been charged with ‘contempt of democracy’ with three other SSP Members of the Scottish Parliament after we demanded that the Scottish Executive respect the democratic
right to protest and to march against the G8 at Gleneagles in July. The four of us are now banned from the Parliament for 30 days [NewLabour wanted it to be a year] and fined £30,000 for taking part in a peaceful, largely silent, short protest where we held up pieces of paper reading ‘defend democracy’ in the debating chamber. Our penalty is as nothing next to the hellish suffering of the Japanese and Korean people’s of course, but it seems to me that this doublespeak, this corruption of logic and language, and the demand that victims apologise to aggressors illustrates how the themes predicted by Orwell in ‘1984’ are more and more recognisable in the modern world. Colin Fox, MSP Scottish Socialist Party convenor
september 2005 ::
RMTnews
Financial statement to members as required under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (consolidation) Act 1992 (amended)
SUMMARY FINANCIAL INFORMATION EXTRACTED FROM THE FULL ACCOUNTS
SUMMARY OF SALARIES AND BENEFITS PROVIDED
Summary income and expenditure accounts for the year ended 31 December 2004:
GENERAL FUND AND ORPHAN FUND 2004 £'000 Subscription income 7,926 Operating expenditure (8,083) Operating deficit before investment operations (157) Income from investment operations and donations 1,237 Operating surplus after investment operations 1,080 Other non-operating income/(expenditure) 9 Surplus for the year 1,089
2003 £'000 6,786 (7,609) (823) 3,666 2,843 (1,179) 1,664
POLITICAL FUND Subscription income Investment income Other income Total income Total expenditure (Deficit)/surplus for the year
2004 £'000 191 1 192 (225) (33)
2003 £'000 209 16 225 (151) 74
Name R Crow
Position General Secretary
T Donaghey President
Details Amount Salary and expenses £75,975 Pension contributions £18,205 Attendance and lodging allowances
£32,403
The members of the Council of Executives do not receive any benefits but do receive attendance and lodging allowances which are set out below. The General Secretary, the President and the members of the Council of Executives are reimbursed for any expenditure incurred by them in the performance of their duties on behalf of the Union.
SUMMARY OF ATTENDANCE AND LODGING ALLOWANCES PAID TO THE COUNCIL OF EXECUTIVES General Grades Name P Pinkney D Collinson Joe Gray A Lister Jim Gray
Amount £38,720 £37,866 £35,440 £34,158 £35,277
Name P Cox R Knight W Devlin A Grundy M Facey
Amount £31,462 £32,011 £31,519 £32,377 £39,271
Name P Hall S Hyslop
Amount £8,078 £9,007
Shipping Grades Name M Carden M Dunning
Amount £9,547 £11,086
REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS Set out below is the report of the independent auditors to the members as contained in the accounts of the Union for the year ended 31 December 2004:
We have audited the accounts of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers for the year ended 31 December 2004, set out on pages 10 to 31. These have been prepared under the historical cost convention, as modified by the revaluation of certain fixed assets, and the accounting policies set out on page 16. This report is made solely to the Union’s members, as a body. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the Union’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the Union and the Union’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed. Respective responsibilities of directors and auditors
As described on page 8, the Union’s Council of executives is responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards. Our responsibility is to audit the accounts in accordance with relevant legal and regulatory requirements and United Kingdom Auditing Standards. We report to you our opinion as to whether the
accounts give a true and fair view. We also report to you if, in our opinion, the Union has not kept proper accounting records, or if we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit. We read other information contained in the Annual Report and consider whether it is consistent with the audited accounts. This other information comprises only the Honorary Treasurers’ Report. We consider the implications for our report if we become aware of any apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies with the accounts. Our responsibilities do not extend to any other information. Basis of audit opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with Auditing Standards issued by the Auditing Practices Board. An audit includes examination, on a test basis, of evidence relevant to the amounts and disclosures in the accounts. It also includes an assessment of the significant estimates and judgements made in the preparation of the accounts, and of whether the accounting policies are appropriate to the Union’s circumstances, consistently applied and adequately disclosed. We planned and performed our audit so as to obtain all the information and explanations which we
We are required by the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (amended) to include the following declaration in this statement to all members. The wording is as prescribed by the Act.
"A member who is concerned that some irregularity may be occurring, or have occurred, in the conduct of the financial affairs of the union may take steps with a view to investigating further, obtaining clarification and, if necessary, securing regularisation of that conduct.
considered necessary in order to provide us with sufficient evidence to give reasonable assurance that the accounts are free from material misstatement, whether caused by fraud or other irregularity or error. In forming our opinion, we also evaluated the overall adequacy of the presentation of the information in the accounts. Fundamental Uncertainty
In forming our opinion, we have considered the adequacy of the disclosures made in note 17 to the accounts concerning the possible existence of assets held by Branches and Regional Councils, which have not been notified to the head office of the Union and have therefore not been included within the accounts of the Union. Our audit opinion is not qualified in this respect. Opinion
In our opinion the accounts give a true and fair view of the state of the Union as at 31 December 2004 and of its transactions for the year then ended. H W FISHER & COMPANY COMPANY Chartered Accountants, Registered Auditor Acre House, 11 – 15 William Road London NW1 3ER, United Kingdom Dated: 9 May 2005
The member may raise any such concerns with such one or more of the following as it seems appropriate to raise it with: the officials of the union, the trustees of the property of the union, the auditor or auditors of the union, the Certification Officer (who is an independent officer appointed by the Secretary of State) and the police. Where a member believes that the financial affairs of the union have been or are being conducted in breach of the law or in breach of rules of the union and contemplates bringing civil proceedings against the union or responsible officials or trustees, he should consider obtaining independent legal advice.”
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RMTnews
28
:: september 2005
september 2005 ::
RMTnews
Booked your next holiday yet? The RMT Holiday Club has thousands of holiday deals with savings of up to 40%!! So don’t delay call today on 0870 017 1203 or log on to www.apollotravel.com (Terms and conditions apply) SAVE UP TO 40% DISCOUNT ON WINTER 05/06 & SUMMER 06 HOLIDAYS • • • • •
Free child places Nil flight supplements 2 weeks for the price of 1 No single supplements Group deals – 1 in 5 go free
CLASSIFIED ADS FLORIDA Villas 10% discount on rates for RMT members. Beautiful 3 bedroom 2 bathroom villa in Florida5 minutes drive from Disney. Exceptionally central location. Own pool with screen porch and overlooking a lake. Will sleep 8 and cot facilities are available. Tel. 01202 427854 www.indianwellskissimmeevillas.co.uk INDIAN WELLS KISSIMMEE
• • • • •
1 parent family deals Free Nights Free selected Domestic Flights Free room upgrades Free board upgrades
RMT £25 prize crossword No. 18. Set by Elk
Last month’s solution...
AIRPORT AIRPORT CAR PARKING. 5%
additional discount for RMT members www.flypark.co.uk/discount 0870 733 0545. Get a quote and see savings Winner of prize crossword 16 is Graham Ziya from Great Oakley, Essex.
NEW FOREST plus s/c lodge, sleeps 4, also B&B. Set in farmland overlooking forest. Direct access to trailway. Small heated pool. Pets welcome. Ideal for walking, riding and cycling. Close to New Forest. For brochure call 01425 472115 VICTORIAN FARMHOUSE B&B
Send entries to Prize Crossword, RMT, Unity House, 39 Chalton Street, London NWI IJD by September 20 with your name and address. Winner and solution in next issue.
TENERIFE TENERIFE, LAS AMERICAS.
Apartment in 3 star hotel on seafront. Quiet area. From £75pppw. Tel: 01803 526168
SPANISH HOLIDAYS Costa Blanca House sleeps 6. Costa del Sol Apartment, sleeps 4. £120-£320pw. Lovely locations. Beautiful beaches. Pools. Golf. Wonderful weather. Brochure available (01344)425247
TRAVEL TRAVEL BENEFITS DIRECTORY. AIS Family annual worldwide travel insurance. £77.56. Single trip from £3.42. Tel: 0870 4607806 Super savings on holidays, mortgages, loans and much more, visit our new directory www.benefits.co.uk Save up to 60% Airport Parking and hotels, holidayextras. Tel: 0870 8442766
ACROSS
DOWN
7 Used by riot police? (4-3) 8 West African nation (7)
1 Underground rooms, for keeping wine or beer in good condition (7)
10 Get off (6)
2 Host of this year’s TUC congress (8)
11 French region, scene of D-Day landings (8)
3 Prickly pear, for example (6)
12 Worry - about ridge on guitar fingerboard, perhaps? (4)
4 Card game (3,5) 5 One who pays rent (6)
13 Not necessarily wicked! (10)
6 (Folk?) violinist (7)
14 Dying, or just leaving? (2,3,3,3)
9 Not fit for voyage (11)
19 Under the weather (3,2,5)
15 Where you might end up if 19 (8)
22 With 2, makes up Britain’s newest city (4)
16 Not injured (8)
23 The original convenience snack (8)
17 Tidy up, or send to prison (3,4)
24 The paintings on the walls! (6)
18 Changed gradually (7)
25 Chief city, or book by Marx and Engels (7)
20 London theatre (3,3)
26 Arbitrator of rules at sporting contest (7)
21 Boil gently (6)
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HOW TO JOIN THE CREDIT UNION To join the RMT Credit Union you need to fill in an application form and supply us with proof of your identity and address. Being an existing RMT member, you may wonder why we need proof of who you are and where you live. It is because the Financial Services Authority, in an
attempt to combat Money Laundering, has imposed strict identification rules on anyone wishing to open a Bank or Building Society account. Unfortunately, it has applied the same rules and regulations to Credit Unions.
There are two methods of supplying us with the documentation:METHOD 1 Send or take your original documents, 1 from List A & 1 from List B, direct to RMT Credit, Unity House, FREEPOST, 39 Chalton Street, London NW1 1JD. If sending valuable documents such as your passport or current full UK Driving Licence we strongly advise sending them by recorded delivery. We will photocopy the originals and return them to you. METHOD 2 Take one original document from list A and one from list B to your Branch Secretary or any of the above approved persons listed below:● Delegated Officer of the Branch ● Divisional Organiser ● Executive Committee Member ● Credit Union Officer ● Post Master / Sub Post Master ● Authorised Financial Intermediary ● Councillor (local or county) ● Minister of Religion ● Commissioner for oaths ● Banker ● Doctor ● Police Officer
■ Person with honours / peerage ■ Full Time Trade Union Official ■ Member of Parliament ■ Justice of the Peace ■ Lawyer ■ Teacher ■ Accountant ■ Dentist
The Branch Secretary or other approved person will check the original documentation; will take a photocopy, sign, and Branch stamp.All proof of identity / address must bear your name, and not be solely in the name of partner etc; but can be in addition to their name. Satisfactory proof of identity will include, but not be limited to the following: LIST (A) Current signed Passport. Current Full UK old style Driving Licence (not old style Provisional Licence) [if not used as evidence of address]. Original Inland Revenue tax notification e.g. tax assessment, statement of account, notice of coding – valid for current year. Pension Book or Benefits Book or original notification letter from the Benefits Agency confirming your right to benefits (if not used as evidence of address). Shotgun or firearms certificate. ID pass and safety cards for the following companies: Network Rail, Trans Pennine Express, Central Trains Discharge Book (shippers only - current).
Satisfactory proof of address will include, but not be limited to the following: LIST (B) Original Local Authority Council Tax bill valid for the current year. Current UK photo card Driving Licence. Current Full UK old style Driving Licence (not old style Provisional Licence). A Utility Bill e.g. Electricity, Gas, Water or Telephone bills. These must be originals and less than 3 months old. Mobile ‘phone bills are NOT acceptable. Bank, building society or credit union statement – within last 3 months. Mortgage statement from a recognised lender – within last 12 months. Pension Book or Benefits Book or original notification letter from the Benefits Agency confirming your right to benefits (if not used as evidence of address). Original Inland Revenue tax notification, letter, notice of coding, P60 or P45. Original housing association or letting agency tenancy agreement. Local council rent card or tenancy agreement Original Solicitor’s letter confirming recent house purchase or Land Registry confirmation. Household and motor Insurance certificates - current Credit Union accounts may only be opened and transactions accepted when verification of identity and address has been completed and cross-referenced against RMT membership.We are using the method of Direct Debit only and money will be deducted from your bank account on the 28th of each month. Please return completed forms and ID documentation, as we need to make sure you comply with the money laundering regulations. Failing to complete all forms and ID documentation will delay us from setting up your savings account.
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RMT CREDIT UNION LTD. Finance Department, Unity House, 39 Chalton Street, London NW1 1JD RMT CREDIT UNION APPLICATION FORM – please complete your application along with the attached Direct Debit.
MEMBERSHIP NUMBER
P l e a s e u s e B L O C K C A P I TA L S and black ink. 1
PERSONAL DETAILS. Surname
Address
Forename(s) Home phone Mobile phone
Postcode
Email address Date of Birth 2
National Insurance Number
Your Employment. Employer
RMT Branch
Job Description 3
Mr
Mrs
Ms
4
Membership Status RMT TU Member
5
Miss
Retired RMT TU Member This is the amount you wish to save in ‘shareholdings’ monthly by
How much do you wish to save £ Direct Debit (you must complete form below)
6
Normally your payments are made once a month (28th) to RMT Credit Union Ltd.
7
Next of Kin
.....................................................................................
Address
..................................................................................... ..................................................................................... .....................................................................................
8
I undertake to abide by the rules now in force or those that are adopted. Your signature
Date
Instruction to your Bank or Building Society to pay by Direct Debit Please fill in the whole form including official use box using a ball point pen and Send to: RMT Credit Union Ltd., 39 Charlton Street, London NW1 1JD
Name and full postal address of your Bank or Building Society To: The Manager
Originator’s Identification Number
9
7
4
2
8
1
Reference Number
Bank/Building Society
Address
FOR RMT CREDIT UNION LTD OFFICIAL USE ONLY This is not part of the the instruction to your Bank or Building Society.
Postcode Name(s) of Account Holder(s) Bank/Building Society account number
Instructions to your Bank or Building Society. Please pay RMT Credit Union Ltd Direct Debits for the account detailed in this instruction subject to the safeguards assured by the Direct Debit Guarantee. I understand that this instruction may remain with RMT Credit Union Ltd, if so, details will be passed electronically to my Bank/Building Society.
Branch Sort Code
Signature(s) Date Banks and Building Societies may not accept Direct Debit Instructions from some types of account
✂
This guarantee should be detached and retained by the Payer.
The Direct Debit Guarantee ● ● ● ●
This guarantee is offered by all Banks and Building Societies that take part in the Direct Debit Scheme.The efficiency and security of the scheme is monitored and protected by your own Bank or Building Society. If the amounts to be paid or the payment date changes, RMT Credit Union Ltd will notify you 10 working days in advance of your account being debited or as otherwise agreed If an error is made by RMT Credit Union Ltd or your Bank or Building Society, you are guaranteed a full and immediate refund from your branch of the amount paid You can cancel a Direct Debit at any time by writing to your Bank or Building Society. Please also send a copy of your letter to us.
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