RMT press releases

Transport union RMT has hailed an employment tribunal ruling that bus company Arriva unlawfully discriminated against two employees because of their RMT membership.

Marcus Farr and Len Graves were harassed, disciplined and threatened with the sack by Arriva because they wore high visibility vests with the union logo on.

The tribunal ordered Arriva to pay the men compensation, including aggravated damages to Mr Graves, and to pay the union its legal costs.

“The successful transportation of the millions of extra passenger journeys each day is a testament to the skill and dedication of the workforce" - Bob Crow

TRANSPORT UNION RMT today paid tribute to the thousands of public transport staff in London and beyond who have been central to the delivery of the successful Olympics and Paralympics.

RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said:

“This has been a fantastic summer of sport for Britain and as well as the success in the medals tables we have also delivered on the biggest transport challenge that London has ever faced."

At yesterdays Tory cabinet reshuffle Patrick Mcloughlin was appointed as the new transport secretary. Mcloughlin, MP for the Derbyshire Dales constituency has been a Conservative MP since 1986 The website 'theyworkforyou.com' lists him as voting 'strongly against equal gay rights,' 'very strongly for the Iraq war' and 'moderately against a transparent Parliament' among other things.

RAIL UNION RMT today demanded a parliamentary probe into plans passed to the union which would see the publicly-owned Network Rail forced to buy-back rail freight yards gifted to private rail freight companies as part of the privatisation carve-up of railway assets.

TRANSPORT UNION RMT will put the issue of a referendum on British membership of the EU, alongside a call for British withdrawal, on the agenda at the TUC Congress which gets underway in Brighton on Sunday (9th September).

In her final act of betrayal of the UK rail industry before heading to Northern Ireland, rail minister Theresa Villiers confirmed that the Thameslink fleet contract, now delayed for over 15 months, has been booted into the long grass again with only another vague statement that it may be signed off in the autumn.

The latest blow to British train building came as it emerged that Siemens, the preferred Thameslink bidder over Bombardier in Derby, have had to pay the Greek Government £262 million in settlement of bribery allegation around the Athens Olympics in 2004.

THE SAFE evacuation of the Northern Rail train derailed near St Bees in Cumbria yesterday underlines the importance of safety-trained train and infrastructure crew who are under threat thanks to “wrong-headed” government policy, Britain’s biggest rail union said today.

As the media reported praise for the train crew’s calm and orderly evacuation of around 100 passengers, RMT condemned the government’s plan to abolish guards under the notorious McNulty report, which aims to sack up to 20,000 rail staff to protect private operators’ profits.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow said:

LOW-PAID CLEANERS on the prestigious East Coast mainline working for ISS are to strike for 24 hours on September 10 after voting by a huge 98 per cent margin for action against an employer that has offered no pay rise for three years.

They will be joined on strike by cleaners working for the same scrooge sub-contractor on London Midland, where a 24-hour stoppage has already been held at depots in Bletchley, Northampton and King’s Heath.

In both disputes ISS has failed to respond to calls for a living wage for workers who play a key role in maintaining rail services.

Rail unions, transport campaigners and passenger groups are holding a national day of action today (Tuesday) to protest against massive hikes in rail fares and cuts to railway staff and services.

UK rail passengers pay among the highest fares in Europe for train travel. Following last year’s inflation-busting fare rises, the government has announced that train operating companies (TOCs) will be able to increase rail fares by three per cent more than RPI inflation. This could mean price hikes on most rush hour travel, season tickets and off-peak fares on the majority of intercity journeys.

Transport union RMT said today that it has joined forces with web campaigners and union resource Labour Start to launch a global “cyber picket” of London Mayor Boris Johnson in the fight for Olympics pay justice for tube cleaners working for ISS and Initial.

The cleaners began a 48 hours strike at 05:30 hours on Thursday 9th August 2012 and the action runs until 05:29 hours on Saturday 11th August 2012.

Pickets were out in force at Stratford and other London locations yesterday and there will be another protest at Stratford at twelve noon today.