NERC Newsletter February 2023

North East Region

'OFFER' REJECTED OUTRIGHT

Your elected governing body of the RMT (NEC) met on 09/02/23 to collate feedback from regional and national mass meetings, reps, and members to discuss the most recent and much publicised proposal from the Rail Delivery Group. Having vociferously presented them with our response (in the form of numerous branch resolutions, and one from the North East Regional Council as a whole, using feedback from you, the members) we are pleased to report that the RDG proposal has been rejected outright.

If we had accepted these proposals, one of the major points to which we would be agreeing would be an enforced consultation on jobs. So, when in the future, your employer decides your position is no longer required - be it catering, travel consultant, guard/train manager/conductor - we would have agreed to this in advance.

Rest assured they are coming for our jobs and our future: it’s there in black and white in the proposal. We would have been unable to follow any course of industrial response, we would have been unable to escalate. We would have had to accept those job cuts. And for what? A small lump sum of back pay and a paltry pay rise?

It was clear, however, that our membership overwhelmingly saw through the spin and the disingenuous talk of pay, and realised exactly what acceptance of this proposal would mean (see more on page 2).

Members must remember that since private operators have put on new contracts, they have made over £300 million in taxpayer funded profits: profits that are not invested into the railway in this country. They have also been indemnified to the tune of £310 million so that they have not lost a single penny as a result of our strike action This money, given to them on a plate, would have equated to a 10 6% pay rise for our members

The government have admitted it would have been cheaper to settle this dispute – so ask yourself why have they not? Why keep presenting us with these poor excuses for 'offers', barely covering the minimum that our members might possibly, one day, deign to accept? They do this because they want to destroy our union and its members, and, as we can see in the new strike-breaking legislation Rishi Sunak is desperate to rush through before his party is obliterated in the next election, trade unions and the working class as a whole

We were balloted on three fundamental issues: 1 2 3

This 'offer' achieved none of these and we were right to reject it outright: it did not even deserve to be lent credibility by being put to a membership vote

We must now continue fighting We must stand together throughout the next strike dates that have just been announced for March and April – it is crucial we stay strong and resist the attacks that will inevitably be directed our way by the government and the media as soon as the news breaks that we are going to stand strong and not roll over to their pressure

WHAT WAS IN THE 'OFFER'?

In the derisory TOC offer rejected by the RMT this month, the Rail Delivery Group propositions were an outright insult to our members working for train operating companies, including:

Mass job cuts

Closure of ticket offices, removal of catering on many train services at the behest of unscrupulous employers, re-wording but not removal of the threat of driver-only operation, meaning TOCs, should they desire, would have the means to introduce this method of operation.

A clearly defined quota of 800 positions that would be forcibly removed from the industry and with the alleged ' no compulsory redundancy' ending on 31st December 2024. No security if your job was made redundant and you were re-deployed – your salary and pension would not be protected.

Massive real terms pay cuts

Averaging out at 2 25% “increase” per year for the many of us who haven’t had a pay award for 4 years.

This would do absolutely nothing to address the cost-of-living crisis our members currently are enduring and completely undermines union policy.

Attacks on long fought terms and conditions (including but not limited to):

Introduction of mandatory Sunday Working at TOCs where it is not part of working week

Station members would be asked to work at other locations within their area – which has huge implications on those who cannot travel from their home depot

Creation of a two-tier workforce by introducing different sick pay arrangements for new starters. Removal of long-standing railway conditions of service – including attacks on stood off arrangements. Meaning if you are unlucky enough to be declared unfit for work you would not get the benefits that those before us fought long and hard to achieve and you would be thrown on the scrapheap.

It is vitally important that members understand what the RDG wanted us to accept as it is extremely likely they will try to present the same conditions again, perhaps under different wording As long as we stand together, we can fight for more and we can fight for better.

NETWORK RAIL REVISED OFFER REJECTED

Network Rail members participated in their thousands in live debates through the RMT democratic structures and overwhelmingly gave our executive a clear message that we regard the “revised” offer as being the same offer in principle as the one rejected in December's referendum, highlighting the point that the revisions only apply to a small number of workers in particular areas.

We have sent a clear message that we remain vehemently opposed to and wish to continue to fight Modernising Maintenance. Network Rail's plans to meet £400m DFT mandated 'savings' are clearly unsafe, unhealthy for our members and unworkable without any contingency plan for when things inevitably go wrong. It is a recipe for disaster.

Indeed, when RMT met with the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), they concurred with us over many of these very concerns.

The membership has shown that they know that these plans to cut jobs and slash maintenance and inspection tasks in half, and to impose huge changes to working arrangements without agreements, will lead to a crisis in safety on our railway.

Their only solution to tackle any contingency planning is to flood the railway with subcontractor usage which many of us will recall was a major contributing factor to Potters Bar and other rail disasters. Is that where they want to take us? We have already seen broken rails only being picked up by chance where maintenance inspections have been slashed.

As Network Rail are hellbent on forcing through these changes our NEC have instructed the General Secretary to prepare a legal challenge against any imposed changes to conditions of employment, and to write to the company noting outstanding responses have not been received suspending local consultation and to fail to agree in all route councils.

As with the separate TOC dispute it is our members who decide whether they wish to accept any offer, but it is clear that the offer does nothing to address the three fundamental points members were balloted on; namely, Jobs, Pay and Conditions. RMT will communicate to members the availability of dispute fund payments which can be applied to members facing financial hardship due to industrial action.

We deserve better, and we must stand united until the end.

NEXT STRIKE DATES

TOCs

Thursday 16th March

Saturday 18th March

Thursday 30th March

Saturday 1st April

Network Rail

Thursday 16th March

Overtime bans (Network Rail only)

Ops: 26th-March-1st April, 9th April-15th

April, 23rd April-29th April

Maintenance: 17th March-23rd March, 31st

March-6th April, 14th April-20th April

CLEANERS' DISPUTE CONTINUES

The dispute for outsourced cleaners on the railway, including Atalian Servest and Mitie, is ongoing despite the cancellation of previous strike dates. RMT is determined that its cleaner members deserve:

A pay increase to £15 per hour

Decent sick pay

Free travel facilities

Good pension for all

RMT recently won free travel facilities for 5800 of its London-based cleaning operatives, proving that solid action can achieve these aims

Next Branch Dates:

Darlington No1 Branch - Monday 20th February, 1630 at Old English Gentleman Pub, Darlington Teesside Branch - Sunday 26th February, 1900 at Eaglescliffe Pub, Stockton-on-Tees

Newcastle Rail and Catering Branch - Thursday 2nd March, 1600 at Split Chimp Micropub, Newcastle

Newcastle & Gateshead Branch - Friday 3rd March, 1830 at Marlborough Club, Newcastle

York & District Branch - Monday 6th March, 1830 at Bar Convent Living Heritage Centre, York

For all other branch meetings please contact branches on email listed on contacts page. It is vital during this time of industrial unrest that members use their branches to have their voice heard. YOUR UNION, YOUR VOICE

GATE GOURMET

RMT have declared that a dispute situation now exists between our union and Gate Gourmet

We believe that these members who are on one of the lowest wages on the railway deserve more than a minimum increase in order to comply with the real living wage.

Members on Gate Gourmet are an integral part of the railway family and should be treated fairly by an employer that rakes in millions They have refused to negotiate with your union on a pay increase and have simply imposed this derisory amount on workers and we won’t stand for it.

Gate Gourmet staff deliver high standards expected by LNER and the employer profits from your hard labour by paying you as little as it can

Affected members will be balloted shortly, please check that all your details are logged correctly on our membership system. If you need to change anything please call 0800 376 3706 OR email: info@rmt org uk

We need strong membership density as this will greatly improve our chances of success. If you see Gate Gourmet staff in or around stations – ask them to join RMT to win and fightback against inequality. We can win this dispute. Your region backs all workers in their struggles against poverty pay

FIGHTING THE ANTI-STRIKE LAWS

Members from the North East have been particularly active recently in fighting Rishi Sunak's hasty attempts to prevent trade unions from taking viable action Rallies and demonstrations have taken place across the country, including two outside Number 10 Downing Street, with speakers including our own General Secretary, Mick Lynch, and Jeremy Corbyn MPs including Zarah Sultana dashed across the road in a ten-minute lull in the debate itself, to announce their support for trade unions and striking workers everywhere.

There have also been protests on a local level, including demonstrations outside MP's Ian Levy’s office in Blyth.

RMT OFFICIALLY RECOGNISED AT CITY CRUISES YORK

Newly elected reps and activists from City Cruises celebrate winning a voluntary recognition agreement, pictured with Larry Gaynor from North East Shipping and Donald Graham of the RMTs Organising Unit.

After several months of building membership and organising at City Cruises York, management agreed to recognise RMT for the purposes of collective bargaining. We needed to prove to them that the majority of the Bargaining Unit were in favour via a vote conducted by ACAS: the vote went massively in favour of RMT. The voluntary CBA was then negotiated with the company by Regional Organiser Micky Thompson, taking effect from 23rd January 2023

The members now look forward to making RMT work for them and being in a much stronger position when negotiating with their employer.

REGIONAL CONTACTS

NERC CONTACTS

Dave King - Executive Member North East d.king@rmt.org.uk

Martin McCleary - Lead Recruiter North Tel: 07711 570848

berwickrail@rmt.org.uk

Tim Butler - Lead Recruiter South Tel: 07757 425859

yorkdistrict@rmt.org.uk

Donald Graham - Org Unit Tel: 07753 748074

d graham@rmt org uk

Jessica Robinson - Regional Council Secretary Tel: 07784 224412

jpleather89@gmail com

We welcome contributions to this newsletter - if you would like to write an article, please contact any one of the officers above

BRANCH EMAILS

Bedlington: bedlington@rmt.org.uk

Berwick Rail: berwickrail@rmt.org.uk

Newcastle & Gateshead: newcastlegateshead@rmt.org.uk

Newcastle Rail & Catering: newcastlerailcatering@rmt.org.uk

North East Shipping: northeastshipping@rmt.org.uk

Darlington: darlington1@rmt.org.uk

Teesside: teesside@rmt.org.uk

York & District: yorkdistrict@rmt.org.uk

North York Moors: north.moorsRail@rmt.org.uk

Hexham: hexhamrail@rmt.org.uk

REGIONAL OFFICES

Thomas Steels House

49a Thorne Road

Doncaster DN1 2EX

Tel: 01302 760694

North East Shipping Office Unit 17 Cookson House River Drive

South Shields NE33 1TL

Tel: 01914 561308

Branch meeting dates will be communicated in local depots - if you have any concerns, please contact your branch representative.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Twitter: @RMTunion

Facebook: www.facebook.com/RMTunion