Not about pay- about SAFETY!

ASLEF members are to be balloted for strike action on Southern Rail – just as RMT members announced a new strike date on the same company.

Responding to Southern Rail’s comments about the union’s ballot for industrial action ASLEF General Secretary Mick Whelan said:

"It is no surprise that the management of Britain’s worst performing train company is disingenuous and deceitful when it comes to industrial relations and the honouring of ...agreements." Mick added, "our ballot reflects a complete loss of faith and trust in Southern Rail as the company has shown no respect for agreements we spent years negotiating. We are balloting because of the company’s inept attempt to conflate pay and changes to working practices."   He concluded, "I again give notice to the government and the rail industry that if any train driver is verbally abused, threatened or attacked as a result of the lies peddled by Southern Rail, we reserve the right to do whatever is necessary to protect our members, on Southern or nationally."

Keep up to date with the latest on the dispute from ASLEF at http://www.aslef.org.uk/

RMT confirmed that guards and drivers on Southern Rail will strike again for 24 hours between 0001 hours and 2359 hours on Monday 10th July 2017 in the on-going disputes over the safety impact of the extension of Driver Only Operation and the removal of guards from services.

Mick Cash, RMT General Secretary, said:

“RMT members on Southern Rail have been fighting for safety and access for well over a year now.   The franchise continues to lurch from crisis to crisis as the real impact of hacking back on safety and access hits home. We have seen absolute chaos at Victoria and East Croydon this week in the hot weather which has reinforced the need for safety critical staff on our trains and platforms. The Government cannot spin their way out of this chaotic situation which is wholly of their making.   It is now down to Southern/GTR, and the contract holders in the minority Government, to face up to their responsibilities and engage in genuine and serious talks that address our issues.” 

Next Trades Council Meeting: January 17th

The next meeting of Eastbourne Trades Council will be on Tuesday 17th January, 7.30pm at the View Hotel (formerly known as the Unite/T&G Eastbourne Centre), Grand Parade, Eastbourne. All local trade union members, including retired trade unionists, are welcome to attend the meeting.

THE AGENDA WILL BE:

1. Introductions and apologies for absence
2. Approval of any new affiliations.
3. Minutes of previous meeting (November) and matters arising.
4. Treasurer's Report- Gordon Dyer (apologies given, report sent)
5. RAIL CAMPAIGNS: Update on RMT, ASLEF and TSSA action and campaigns; ticket office action and linking to Action for Rail campaigning.
5. RECLAIM MAY DAY update on planning and grant application.
6. Ongoing Union Campaigns- all delegates are invited to update on their unions' current local and
national campaigning.
7. 2017 AGM: To include proposals for guest speaker and nomination for the Len Caine Memorial
Award.
8. Any other business

End the Rail Rip Off

On 1st January 2017, the government will announce a further rise in rail fares for UK train passengers. It’s the Christmas present no one asked for – rather than giving us the gift of proper investment in rail infrastructure and full public ownership, yet again passengers are paying more but getting less.

While fares keep rising, cuts to services and staffing are taking place across the network – with more ticket offices closing, removal of guards from trains, extension of driver only operations and fewer staff at stations to provide help when we need it.

Action for Rail is organising a day of action on Tuesday, 3rd January 2017. We are calling for a publicly owned railway with affordable fares to end this #RailRipOff. 

Eastbourne Trade Unionists will be joining with our friends from Eastbourne Labour Party at Eastbourne Rail Station first thing in the morning to support the campaign.

Eastbourne Labour Party's Jake Lambert (also a delegate to the Trades Council from the East Sussex NUT union) has consistently called for Southern to be stripped of the franchise.

Public ownership of rail could deliver cheaper fares. If the lines up for renewal this parliament were taken back into public ownership, that could save around £1.5bn – which could fund a 10 per cent cut in season tickets and other regulated fares from 2017. A third (£520m) of this £1.5bn saving would come from recouping the money private train companies pay in dividends to their shareholders.

Find out more about the Action for Rail campaign by clicking here.

Solidarity with ASLEF and RMT

Eastbourne Trade Unionists have stood foursquare behind our colleagues in the RMT and now ASLEF in defending proper services on our local railway.  The campaign to keep a safety-qualified guard on EVERY train is not about money or a reluctance to "modernise", it is about high quality and safe travel, it is about ensuring the safety of all passengers, especially disabled and vulnerable passengers.

Many Eastbourne people have shown their support on the picket lines at Eastbourne Station in recent weeks (as well as objecting to Southern's latest plans to close Eastbourne Ticket Office!)

Today, ASLEF took place in much publicised talks at the conciliation service ACAS. In an extraordinary move, however, the employer refused to admit the RMT into the talks. How can anyone suggest that Southern/GTR are serious about ending the dispute?

RMT General Secretary, Mick Cash said:
“Southern Rail were fully aware last night that I would be attending the talks this morning at ACAS alongside our ASLEF colleagues.

“This morning, on arrival for the talks, I was told that I would not allowed to take part by representatives from the company.

“RMT is furious at the complete contempt that has been shown to us by Southern Rail this morning which leaves us in a state of limbo when we should all be around the table thrashing out the issues that have led to the current action.

“Our members were expecting discussions to take place today and instead we have had the door slammed in our faces. That is no way to rebuild the confidence of the workforce in the Southern management and the talks process and it is no way to reach a solution which is what the public are crying out for.

“I will now be reporting back to RMT’s executive on these developments.”

Annual General Meeting: February 19th

The AGM of the Eastbourne Trades Council will be at 7.30pm, Tuesday 19th February 2013, at the Unite Eastbourne Centre (formerly T&G) , Grand Parade, Eastbourne.

All local trade unionists (including retired trade unionists) are invited, although only delegates from affiliated unions may stand as officers or vote on financial or policy matters.

A G E N D A

1. Introductions and apologies for absence
2. Minutes of the AGM from February 2012
3. Adoption of Rules for 2013 (proposal is same as for 2012) and new affiliates.
4. Officers' Reports and Accounts
5. Election of Officers for 2013

a) Chair
b) Vice Chair
c) Secretary
d) Treasurer
e) Additional non-officer members of the Executive Committee, if required

6. Guest Speaker: Garry Hassell from Action for Rail.

7. Pattern of meetings for 2012
8. Campaign Contacts for 2012
9. Presentation of the Len Caine Award to Gordon Dyer

 

Bombardier: The Impact in East Sussex

We now know the full impact of the Government's disastrous decision to award the contract for building the new fleet of Thameslink Trains to Siemens in Germany, instead of the UK Bombardier plant, potentially spelling the end of train manufacturing in Britain.

Tens of thousands of supply chain jobs in nearly every constituency in the country will be affected. According to research from the RMT Union, East Sussex firms in the Bombardier supply chain include:

Longsite Management and Logistics of East Dean, Tuthill Controls Group in Hailsham Southdowns Environmental Consultants in Lewes, and Deutche UK in Hastings.

On top of the thousands of job losses we now know that that nearly 250 apprenticeships and engineering jobs for new graduates from the Bombardier “Centre of Excellence” will be lost if the government fails to reverse the decision to send the Thameslink fleet contract overseas. With nearly a million young people out of work, kicking the legs from under a skills and training Centre of Excellence is a further major blow to youth employment.

We have also learnt from parliamentary answers that more accountants than engineers advised the Government on the contract. Of the nine government officials involved in the project only two had an engineering background.

It was also shown that the government spent ten times as much for advice from lawyers and accountants than engineers. It is shameful that the procurement exercise has been dominated by accountants and management consultants on fat fees while the skills , and engineering excellence of Bombardier at Derby has been totally ignored.

Please support the Parliamentary Rally and briefing to save Bombardier jobs on Wednesday 12th October, 12.30pm, at Committee Room 10, House of Commons, London.