The Ticket Collector

Network Rail staff to strike again over Management Failure.

Over 12,000 Network Rail maintenance workers in the RMT union are to strike again next weekend after talks on the long-running dispute over harmonisation of terms and conditions failed to make sufficient progress.

RMT members will not book on for shifts that commence between midday on Saturday July 26 and 17:59 on Sunday July 27. Members will also not undertake any overtime or ‘on-call’ work between 06:00 on Saturday July 26 and 06:00 on Monday July 28.

Weekend maintenance work was brought to a virtual standstill during the first stoppage in the dispute, over the weekend June 14 and 15.

“We had hoped that fresh talks after our first strike would make some progress, but it is clear that the company is still trying to use what should be talks about harmonisation as a cost-cutting attack on jobs and conditions,” RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today.

“Our reps met today and to say they are angry at the lack of progress would be an understatement, and the RMT executive has agreed to call the second weekend’s stoppage our reps have demanded.

“Our first strike was a solid demonstration by our members that they expect talks about harmonisation to produce proposals about harmonisation, not ever-longer lists of the conditions the company wants to destroy.

“We remain available for talks, but if Network Rail wants to settle this dispute it should get around the table and negotiate a harmonisation package that is acceptable to our members,” Bob Crow said.

RMT and TSSA station staff strike, June 26th.

We have received information that Notwork Rail station staff will be striking for 24hours from noon on Thursday June 26th at 19 mainline stations in London and across the country next week in a dispute over compulsory redundancies.
Furthermore Notwork Rail staff will as of 1am Thursday 26th refuse to train, supervise or familiarise non-stations staff with station roles until further notice.

The TSSA and RMT unions said the action by around 330 managers, supervisors and other staff would cause “widespread disruption”.

A senior Notwork Rail spokesperson claimed that “it is prepared for the dispute and that passengers would not be affected”, just as a flying pig flew past their office window. “We’ve got contingency plans in place,” the spokesperson continued to whine. “We’ve got fully trained people who will be able to operate the stations so that the passengers won’t notice any disruption.”.
The spokesperson refused to confirm or deny if the fully trained people were agency staff.

The 24-hour strike will run from noon on June 26 and will hit stations including:
Birmingham New Street, Cannon Street, Charing Cross, Edinburgh Waverley, London Euston, Fenchurch Street, Gatwick Airport, Glasgow Central, London King’s Cross, Leeds, Liverpool Lime Street, London Liverpool Street, London Bridge, Manchester Piccadilly, London Paddington, London St Pancras, London Victoria and London Waterloo.

The unions said members were taking the action after Network Rail refused to guarantee there would be no compulsory redundancies in a reorganisation of station management.

Notwork Blunder - risked Lincoln rail catastrophe.

An apparently serious blunder by a Network Rail manager who worked a signal box during last Saturday’s Lincoln area signallers’ strike could have had catastrophic consequences.

The RMT union has today asked the Railways Inspectorate to investigate an incident at West Holmes box in which track workers and passengers were put at serious risk by an error that could have sent a passenger train on the Newark-Lincoln line through an engineering site at up to 70mph.

A document seen by the union indicates that the time an engineering ‘blockage’ was supposedly given up last Sunday morning (February 24) was entered on a safety-critical authorisation form the night before - more than eleven hours before the time indicated on the form.

The time the blockage is given up is meant to be recorded when it actually takes place, after checking with the person responsible for the safety of the engineering work on the ground, and only then is the line safe to be re-opened to traffic.

If the mistake had not been spotted by the experienced signaller who re-opened the box the following morning, and had the engineering work overrun, the line could have been re-opened to traffic with potentially fatal consequences.

Lincoln signallers to strike in support of colleague.

MORE THAN 50 RMT signallers in the Lincoln area are to take two separate days of strike action after voting by more than four to one for action in support of a colleague treated unfairly by Network Rail, and to defend agreed procedures in dealing with displaced staff.Signallers and supervisors in the Lincoln area will not book on for shifts that begin between 00:01 and 23:59 on Saturday February 23, and again on Saturday March 1.

The union also today warned that it would ballot all signallers and supervisors in the ‘Great Northern’ area between Doncaster and King’s Cross if the dispute is not settled within seven days.

The ballot was sparked when the company effectively tore up a national agreement by making redundant a local operations manager, with 33 years’ experience, rather than offering him suitable options under the established procedure.

Peter Gregory was made redundant from his post, despite his seniority, in breach of what is known throughout the rail industry as the PTR&R - the Promotion, Transfer Redundancy and Resettlement arrangements.

“Network Rail has effectively torn up the existing agreement and tried to deal with our member under a process that has never been agreed, and his colleagues have rallied round to defend their workmate and their conditions,” RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today.

“We have made clear to Network Rail time and again that the PTR&R remains in place for all grades unless and until negotiated otherwise. These arrangements were negotiated in order to provide an industry-wide career path and to give anyone displaced the opportunity to relocate.

“By ignoring PTR&R in one case Network Rail threatens to do it to everyone, and RMT has today made it clear that if the dispute is not settled within seven days we will ballot all signallers and signalling supervisors in the Great Northern area.

“We remain available for talk, but our members have demonstrated that they are prepared to act to defend their colleague and their conditions,” Bob Crow said.

RMT Press Release