North East Region
Your North East Regional Council can be contacted at: NorthEastRegionalCouncil@rmt.org.uk And on our X (Twitter): @RMTNorthEast
WELCOME ON BOARD TO LUMO MEMBERS
Historic Recognition Agreement Signed
After years of work by activists in the region, we have finally signed a recognition agreement for Customer Experience Ambassadors working for Lumo Trains.
This historic agreement means that RMT can now negotiate on pay and conditions for the members who work extremely hard on this open access operator.
We will now be able to enter into a collective bargaining agreement, meaning we are better placed to improve the lives of staff through pay and working conditions.
Lumo staff are based in Newcastle and full-time officer Gaz Jackson has already met with management to start discussions around the 2025 pay award.
Work now starts on ensuring we elect industrial reps within the organisation so we can continue to strengthen our membership
If you work for Lumo Trains and have received this newsletter, please share it with any colleagues who might wish to join the RMT We have more strength in numbers and must work to ensure all Lumo employees on the frontlines are covered by RMT’s umbrella of protection and solidarity
Special thanks again to Newcastle Rail and Catering branch members, Martin Bullock, Andrew Scott and Dave King, who proved to our new and potential members that RMT isn’t the kind of bullying, dinosaur organisation that Lumo management wanted to portray us
Welcome on board!
VICTORY FOR RFA
Members in the region working for Royal Fleet Auxiliary have voted overwhelmingly to accept an improved pay offer from the Ministry of Defence, bringing an end to a hard-fought dispute and delivering significant wins on pay and conditions.
The deal includes:
Significant uplifts in salaries and earnings including backpay which goes some of the way to address the suppression of pay over many years
Key benefits like travel vouchers and the bonus scheme retained for the duration of the agreement
Shorter assignments and better work-life balance
Members in the region took several high profile days of strike action during this battle and finally secured their real terms pay increases, alongside crucially important improvements to their working lives.
RMT will now go in to a phase of serious discussions with the RFA and Ministry of Defence on the future structure of the RFA, their conditions of service and salaries in which we expect to make further significant improvements for our members.
BALLOT OPEN FOR NEWCASTLE NETWORK RAIL OVERHEAD LINE DEPARTMENT
Members working for Network Rail Overhead Line Department in Newcastle are currently balloting for industrial action.
A roster was imposed on the department which greatly exacerbated fatigue due to inefficient planning and insufficient rest periods
RMT held intensive talks under the auspice of Avoidance of Dispute. In these talks, management proposed a review of the roster, but little else. Our members therefore expressed scepticism that such a review would yield meaningful improvements and fears remained that management would continue to be resistant to substantial changes.
Ballot papers were dispatched on Thursday 23rd January and the vote will close on Tuesday 11th February.
Members are urged to vote YES for strike action and YES for action short of a strike, to demand that the company cooperates with our representatives to find an acceptable rostering arrangement.
As always, please ensure your details are up to date on our database, and eligible members should contact the union’s Helpline on 0800 376 3706 or email info@rmt.org.uk if they haven’t received their voting paper.
CONTRACTORS AT TRANSPENNINE EXPRESS
RMT has spent years campaigning for the end of o where TOCs use external companies to hire worke disparate parts of their business, usually agencies w reputations for keeping their employees in the wor financial state with particularly poor terms and con the case of TransPennine Express, multiple aspects operations are outsourcing to agencies, particularly and catering.
Presently, it is blatant to see how this outsourcing is working, and our members are fighting back. RMT to fight for all rail workers to be absorbed into the T wear on their uniform, and to receive the same pay and conditions as their directly employed counterp
To quote General Secretary Mick Lynch: “Outsour stain on our society and is an example of super-exp that undermines workers' rights and dignity”
RAIL GOURMET (TPE CONTRACT) - Member
Members working for Rail Gourmet (outsourced TPE catering staff) in our region have voted overwhelmingly for strike action and action short of a strike This has come through the company breaching their own disciplinary procedures, and failing to provide our members with a formal invitation to disciplinary hearings. They also have not been providing a formal outcome when disciplinary action has taken place.
97 percent of members who voted ticked the YES box for both strike action and action short of a strikeshowing the great strength of feeling on this issue.
Rail Gourmet members will therefore be taking strike action on: Friday 14th February and Monday 17th February
Please support our Rail Gourmet members throughout this strike action - justice for all outsourced workers!
BIDVEST NOONAN (TPE CONTRACT)
RMT have received reports that Bidvest Noonan (the agency employing cleaners for TransPennine Express) are randomly cutting contractual hours of staff working on the TPE contract without any agreement or consent
Our NEC considered this matter and instructed the General Secretary to inform Bidvest Noonan that if imposition of these cuts to rosters continue without agreement from RMT’s elected representatives, then a dispute situation will exist between our two organisations.
Members affected should NOT agree to any cuts in contractual hours without first seeking advice from our lead officer.
Any members employed by similar scurrilous agencies, such as OCS for cleaners or Carlisle Support Services for gateline staff, please take note of RMT’s strong commitment to ending the scourge of outsourcing. We want you to have the same conditions as everyone else who works for your TOC - please encourage your outsourced colleagues to join the union so we can all fight together in solidarity with strength in numbers.
MICK LYNCH TO RETIRE
“General Secretary Mick Lynch is to retire after serving the union for over 30 years.
Always a friend to the North East region, Mick Lynch will be retiring this year.
We wish him a happy and peaceful retirement, and thank him for all his support and leadership over his tenure as General Secretary since 2021.
His speech at 2022's Durham Miners’ Gala will remain a highlight, with the rousing “We are the working class and we are back!” becoming a call to arms for many members over the long dispute for jobs, pay and conditions.
WELCOME OUR NEW NEC MEMBER, JACK RAWCLIFFE
Hi Comrades,
My name is Jack Rawcliffe, and I’m honoured to have been elected as your representative on the RMT’s National Executive Committee (NEC). This year marks my 21st year on the railway, having started as a 16-year-old Apprentice Fitter with Fastline Over the years, I’ve worked in renewals with Jarvis Rail, progressed to Acting Track Chargeman by 21, and, after stints with Babcock Rail and as a Labouronly subcontractor, joined Network Rail in 2015. I’ve worked my way up from Operative to Team Leader, all while serving as a Local Rep and later as a Route Council Rep for Industrial Relations and Health & Safety since 2020.
The NEC is responsible for the general administration of our union and ensuring that decisions made at the AGM are implemented In this role, I’ll be working on behalf of all members in the North East Region, dealing with issues like pay negotiations, recruitment strategies, and ensuring our union’s policies are delivered
I’m here to represent your interests, so please don’t hesitate to reach out with any concerns or questions. Together, we can continue to strengthen our union and fight for a fairer, safer future for all
Solidarity, Jack
REGIONAL CONTACTS
NERC CONTACTS
Jack Rawcliffe - Executive Member North East necnortheast@rmt.org.uk
Martin McCleary - Membership Secretary North Tel: 07711 570848 berwickrail@rmt.org.uk
Tim Butler - Membership Secretary South Tel: 07757 425859 yorkdistrict@rmt.org.uk
Jessica Robinson - Regional Council Secretary & Women’s Officer Tel: 07784 224412 jpleather89@gmail.com
Connor Slomski - Regional Youth Officer Tel: 07468529849 slomskiconnor@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
Darlington No.1: darlington1@rmt.org.uk
Hexham: hexhamrail@rmt.org.uk
Newcastle & Gateshead: newcastlegateshead@rmt.org.uk
Newcastle Rail & Catering: newcastlerailcatering@rmt.org.uk
North East Shipping: northeastshipping@rmt.org.uk
North York Moors: north.moorsRail@rmt.org.uk
Teesside: teesside@rmt.org.uk
York & District: yorkdistrict@rmt.org.uk
Branch meeting dates will be communicated in local depots - if you have any concerns, please contact your branch representative.
