IN AN unprecedented attack on the right to strike, Southern rail managers have given the RMT union the following ultimatum: call off all strike action by Thursday or every single guard will be sacked.
Management go on to warn that they will only be re-employed if they accept the new role as ‘on-board supervisor’. Last month, the RMT said workers would stage 14 days of strike action in the escalating dispute over the role of guards on trains. The RMT rightly insist that the guard is a safety critical job and that the safety of passengers must not be compromised.
In a letter to Mick Cash, the RMT’s general secretary, Southern Rail issued the deadline of Thursday to agree to the deal and call off all planned strikes. The company said if the terms were not agreed by Thursday, guards ‘would be served notice letters terminating their existing contracts and inviting them to sign up to the new on-board supervisor roles.’
As a cynical ‘sweetener’ the operator offered to buy off the guards with a one-off lump sum of £2,000 if they agree to give up their role. Mick Cash, RMT General Secretary said: ‘Jobs, safety and access on Southern rail services are not for sale for £2,000. ‘Southern are attempting to bribe the workforce with £2,000, laced with ultimatums and threats.
‘These are the tactics of a company that is out of control and which has declared war on its staff and passengers alike as they put their profits above safety, while levelling a gun at the heads of the workforce. RMT members will not be bullied, bribed or beaten regardless of the tactics deployed by Southern. We stand firm and our offer of genuine and meaningful talks, where both sides set out their positions, stands.’
Meanwhile the strike on Virgin East Coast was absolutely rock solid yesterday morning despite management ‘mounting the biggest scabbing operation in recent rail history,’ RMT said yesterday.
1,800 of its members are involved in the dispute, including train crew and a small number of drivers. Meanwhile, managers were dragged in from across the country to take over striking workers’ jobs and attempted to keep some services running, RMT said, adding that they will be examining whether by doing this the managers had broken the law by breaching legal safety regulations.
There were picket lines across the length and breadth of the line from Edinburgh, Berwick, Newcastle and Leeds all the way through to Kings Cross in London. General secretary Mick Cash said: ‘RMT will not sit back while nearly 200 members’ jobs are under threat.
‘RMT members were solid and united in support of the action in defence of jobs and safety on Virgin East Coast yesterday morning and the trade union movement salutes them. Pickets were out at all key locations.’
• London Underground is facing a new strike at all its stations, RMT confirmed yesterday. Station staff will be balloted for strike action in an on-going battle over job cuts. 873 jobs have been removed from stations already, leaving staff unable to cope with the demands of running busy stations.
Many station control rooms, where communication and alarm systems should be monitored, have been closed. A recent leaked report, compiled by London Underground management itself, blames the job cuts and unstaffed control room for a serious incident at Canning Town station, when an evacuation spiralled out of control following an accident where a passenger fell between a train and platform.
