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RMT ballot for industrial action
opens as company 'fails to give assurances' on guards on Merseyrail
RAIL Union RMT, on 17 February 2017,
confirmed that a ballot for industrial action is underway after Merseyrail's
continued failure to provide cast iron assurances around the future of the
safety critical role of the Guard. Ballot papers to both Merseyrail Drivers and
Guards has be sent out, with the ballot closing, on 28 February 2017. The union
has launched a strong, high profile campaign across the franchise for a massive
'yes' vote. RMT General secretary Mick Cash said:- "The
union's position on Driver Only Operation is perfectly clear. We will not agree
to any introduction of DOO and will fight to retain the safety critical role of
the guard and to keep a guard on the train. RMT has asked Merseyrail to give the
union assurances that any new trains will have a second safety critical crew
member on board and that the guard will be retained on all services. We set out
clear deadlines giving the company ample time to give those assurances, but the
company have flatly refused to consider a guarantee of a 2nd safety critical
person on the new trains. This dispute, and the ballot for industrial action,
were entirely preventable if the company had listened and to the unions deep
seated safety concerns, had taken them seriously and had put passenger safety
before profit. Merseyrail are also completely ignoring the clear wishes of their
own passengers, who overwhelmingly oppose the idea of Driver Only Operated
trains on their trains. That pig headed attitude has left us no choice, but to
kick off the balloting process."
John Tilley, RMT Regional Organiser, added:- "RMT has now been left with
nowhere else to go, but to ballot our members for industrial action in defence
of the future operational safety of Merseyrail, and the retention of the 220
skilled guards' posts. The more details that emerge of how Merseyrail intend to
operate these new trains, the more we are alarmed and determined to retain the
Guard. Merseyrail confirmed to us last week that the plans, to comply with
recommendation No1 of the official accident report into the fatal
accident, at James Street Station, mean that on
the new trains the driver will be required to monitor a set of CCTV screens in
the cab, until the train has left the station. That is completely at odds with
the requirements of basic railway safety, that require the driver to look out of
the front windscreen, watching the signals, and scanning the track for
obstacles, trespassers or workers. As Cllr Liam Robinson, chair of Merseytravel
recently admitted to us, this is all about money, and to that end we are in
discussion with senior politicians, with a view to ending this reckless proposal
to operate Merseyrail with only a driver on board locked up front in his cab. We
expect our members to vote heavily in favour of taking action, as that's what it
may have to take to get people to listen."
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