ITF Railway Day of Action, Safety First, 13th March 2007

As per previous years the International Transport Workers Federation Railway Day of Action takes place on 13th March 2007. Once again the theme of the day of action will be safety first!

This theme is very relevant for RMT rail workers on both the mainline and London Underground.

The tragic derailment at Grayrigg on 23rd February has once again called into question the safe operation of our railways. You will know that the union has written to the Secretary of State for Transport arguing that the apparent similarity to the Potters Bar crash of May 2002 proves that, in incidents of this type, the normal industry and Railways Accident Investigation Branch inquiries are insufficient to prevent a recurrence of this type of accident in the future. We have called for a full Public Inquiry into the event.

We have also said the inquiry must examine the adequacy of Network Rail’s management systems because of the fragmentation of engineering work that still afflicts our railways and whether drawing all railway activity under one organisation can ensure that the safety of the travelling public and the railway workforce is protected.

The RMT Parliamentary Group will shortly be tabling a motion in parliament supporting the call for a public enquiry. To maximise support from MPs, on the ITF Railway Safety Day of Action on 13th March we will be asking all Branches and as many members as possible to write to their MP asking that they sign the parliamentary motion in support of a public enquiry.

With regards to London Underground members will be aware of the union’s ongoing campaign against the privatisation of the East London Line. The new London Rail Concession will link the extended privatised East London Line with sections of the national rail network but, in order to satisfy the competing demands of the privateers, it will also create unnecessarily complex contractual arrangements and fragmentation. In fact at least 8 components will be involved in running the new service. Of these, two will be responsible for signalling operations, two for infrastructure maintenance, two for infrastructure renewals, one for train and station operations and one for train maintenance

The RMT Parliamentary Group has already tabled a motion opposing the privatisation of the East London Line and on 13th March we will be asking Branches and members to contact their MPs to support this motion as well.

I also know that our shipping, bus and raod haulage members will also wish to suppprt the above activity.

Finally I attach an ITF information sheet on the day of action and you can also click on the ITF campaign web page below to access reports on the days of action around the world.

http://www.itfglobal.org/campaigns/SafetyFirst2007.cfm

I will keep you advised of developments as we approach the ITF Day of Action on 13th March.

Yours sincerely

Bob Crow
General Secretary