As High Court judges block guards’ strike - RMT must fight for rail safety!
As High Court judges block guards’ strike
RMT must fight for rail safety!
In a move with far reaching implications for the privatised rail industry the courts have blocked the national Guards’ strike called by the RMT.
The judges accepted the argument from train operating companies (TOCs) that any dispute should be with Railtrack, as the controllers of the Railway safety "Rule Book", and not with the TOCs, who are bound by the law to implement whatever Railtrack tells them.
Whilst they are appealing the decision, the RMT Executive has agreed to call off the strikes.
Despite the protestations of the TOCs that they are merely caught in the middle, the reality is utterly different. The TOCs want to get rid of guards altogether.
In their place they want ticket collectors and buffet managers, "customer care" workers on the trains, who will only have a safety role in a dire emergency.
The current guards’ general safety role will fall on the already overburdened shoulders of the drivers. To facilitate this change the TOCs met with Railtrack and demanded a Rule change. Railtrack obliged.
Whilst all the rail companies are clearly acting in collusion, any attempt by the RMTto defend its members is deemed to be "secondary action" – and thus a breach of the Tory anti-union laws.
If the RMT leadership fails to fight on this issue, no job on the railway will be safe.
When this issue arose two years ago a forthright campaign among the RMT membership saw Railtrack forced to back down. But this time round the RMT leadership has been reluctant to defend its members. Only after a strong rank and file campaign amongst train crew was the proposed Rule change taken seriously.
It became clear that industrial action would again have to be on the agenda but little was done to mobilise the membership. Instead the faintest of offers from Railtrack was hailed as a "victory" and ballots were abandoned.
Once again it took a rank and file revolt to convince the RMT leadership they had to act.
Ballots were again called, but little was done to make up the lost ground, or to prepare the public for any dispute. Despite this Guards voted overwhelmingly for action in most companies.
In the aftermath of Paddington you would have thought the argument for maintaining safety standards was quite clear. But such has been the cowardice of the RMT leadership that even this message has been lost.
So now we face a situation where rail workers face job losses and attacks on safety, where the TOCs are claiming to be defending the safety Rules against a union demarcation dispute.
The RMT must now act decisively to regain the momentum. In the light of Paddington, Southall and other incidents it is not enough to be just trying to hold back the TOCs threats, we should be campaigning for the reintroduction of guards on all trains.
As a first step to mobilising the membership the RMT should immediately hold a recall conference of train crew.
There union members could formulate an agenda for change – demands to improve the safety of the railways whilst protecting the jobs and conditions of guards and drivers.
On that basis the RMT can enter into a real dialogue with the public on how to best provide a safe railway - through public ownership and control.
The union should be prepared to challenge the anti-union laws if that is what it takes to defend its members. But even if the RMT leadership are not prepared to challenge the laws directly then this at least gives them the chance to provoke a clash with the TOCs on a proper basis.
Time and again over the last fifteen years the RMT leadership has ducked the issues and dodged out of a fight to protect train crew jobs and safety. We have seen the result – worse conditions and a steady loss of jobs. This time round the RMT must respond!