On track with the RMT

 Down the Tube

 

By New Worker correspondent

The RMT is stepping up preparations for ballots for strike action by its 10,000 London Underground members after the tube union accused London Underground bosses of stringing staff along and playing fast and loose after eight days of pay talks failed to secure any kind of meaningful offer out of the management side.

The union is both angry and frustrated at what it sees as blatant delaying tactics. General Secretary Mick Cash warned: “Our negotiators are angry and frustrated at what they see as blatant delaying tactics by London Underground throughout eight rounds of pay talks. RMT is not in the business of being strung along by anyone and the company should wake up, recognise how angry staff are becoming at this cavalier attitude from their top brass and come up with an offer that meets our expectations.”

Death by Contracting Out

By New Worker correspondent

The same union (RMT) has demanded an absolute ban on contracting out and an end to the cuts culture on the railways, along with the replacement of the Office of Rail and Road, a non-ministerial Government Department, with a genuinely independent safety regulator, after the death of a track worker death at Purley, near Croydon.

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) report criticised “Victorian” methods of protection and the fatigue amongst zero-hours contract staff. RAIB’s report revealed the man was on a zero-hours contract. He was on his own because another worker failed to turn up, and was “probably fatigued and possibly distracted by personal and financial issues”, thus concluding that “the terms of his employment was an ‘underlying factor’ in the incident”.

The Chief Inspector of Rail Accidents continued: “When workers are employed on a casual basis on zero-hours contracts, there can be great pressure for them to try and juggle multiple jobs to make ends meet.

"We are therefore recommending that the railway industry reviews the way it manages the use of staff on zero-hours contracts, to minimise the risk associated with this pattern of work.”

He added: “I believe that the industry should continue to explore ways of eliminating the need for Victorian methods of protection on the twenty-first century railway.”

The RAIB recommended that Network Rail should ensure its labour suppliers improve the way they manage the risks associated with such contracts, particularly lifestyle and fatigue. Network Rail merely said it will “review our standards and our supplier practices”.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash was more specific: “Warning after warning from this trade union on fatigue, zero-hours and casualisation has not been properly addressed by Network Rail or the safety regulator the ORR. As a result, lives are at a risk and that is a scandal. For all the talk of a modern, digital railway those in charge can't even guarantee basic levels of safety for track records.

“If those responsible for protecting the safety of rail workers are not doing their job then we need a genuinely independent safety inspectorate with real teeth not linked to budget controls and the cosy world of the industry players which is the reality of the failed ORR model.”