Paul Reilly, former RMT NEC member
The RMT rail union is reballoting members working for Network Rail and fourteen train operating companies (TOCs), due to the draconian Tory anti-trade union laws, which require a reballot every six months.
The current government has announced that it will push through further restrictions, aiming to enforce minimum service requirements: effectively forcing workers to cross picket lines.
On Wednesday 2 November, Network Rail maintenance RMT members will commence seven days of action, in response to threats from the company that would mean thousands of job losses.
In addition, members in Network Rail operations will be taking three days of strike action on 5, 7 and 9 November, over continued attacks on terms and conditions, the imposition of new technology, and the lack of a decent pay offer.
The threats by the TOCs would see the closure of every ticket office, and attacks on station staff and train crew terms and conditions, including renewed attacks on the role of the guard.
The government has continued to fund the losses of the TOCs to the tune of over £120 million so far, on condition that the companies agree to give the final say on any deal to the transport secretary. This has prevented the union from negotiating anything through the correct channels.
The only pay offer outlined so far has been an insulting 2% for this year and 1% for next year! Therefore, there will be strike action on the TOCs on Saturday 5 November, alongside the action on Network Rail.
All Network Rail and TOC members must return their ballot papers and vote ‘yes’ to industrial action.
The companies and the government want to push through with every attack they’ve ever planned on our members, and destroy the industry as we know it. As we have said from the start, these attacks are not new. They’re not due to the reduction of passengers during the Covid pandemic.
They are the latest step in decades of ideologically driven attacks on our industry, to maximise profit at the expense of workers and the public. That includes 13 years of Tony Blair’s New Labour government failing to reverse the shambolic privatisation of the railways, and only bringing maintenance back in-house due to a series of fatal accidents!
The Tories are falling apart in front of our eyes. We have to fight to kick them out, and demand that Keir Starmer’s Labour nationalises the railways – and not just as contracts expire.
Transport for London attacks on our pensions and terms and conditions
Hundreds of millions in further cuts outstanding
A London tube worker
On 14 October, Transport for London (TfL) proposed two profound changes to our pensions, putting an end to the fallacy that ‘No change was an option’. TfL’s pension report is part of the funding agreement with the Conservative government.
It now seems that TfL’s preference is to transfer us into the local government pension scheme, effectively washing their hands of any responsibility or risk.
The report is clear that any such transfer would be on the terms of the scheme we transfer into. This would mean a near-doubling of our contributions, with major cuts to future benefits. These include big reductions for taking our pension before the raised retirement age of 65, CPI rather than RPI inflation measures, and career-average rather than final-salary used to calculate pensions.
Now that the game of words is over and TfL have laid their cards on the table, it’s important that we act, and act quickly.
The TUC has organised a lobby of parliament on 2 November. It’s imperative that we attend in huge numbers. The phoney war is over. Let’s show solidarity against the attacks on our class.
And on 10 November, let’s take strike action to show London Underground and the Conservative government that we will defend our pension, our jobs, and our terms and conditions in the face of Tory ideology and austerity. The government is weak, the Labour London mayor claims to be opposed to his own attacks on TfL! We need to fight now.
