RMT members will kick off strike action running from midnight on January 4 to midnight on Saturday January 9, the union has announced.

In addition union members have been instructed not to work unreserved overtime between Sunday January 10 and Saturday February 6.

The series of actions follows a previous six "rock solid" days of industrial action by RMT earlier this month.

Union mmbers are aggrieved by management's insistence that rosters and shifts must be fundamentally altered without consultation with the union.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow accused Network Rail of cost-cutting and demanding workers be at bosses' "beck and call."

"After six days of rock-solid strike action, which saw managers drafted in from England with a few hours' training to run the signalling with serious consequences for services and safety, RMT members are even more determined now to stop the ripping up of agreements and the imposition of new rosters that would wreck their work/life balance," he said.

"This dispute is all about money. Our members will not be treated as slabs of meat that the management can pull off the shelf when it suits them."

Mr Crow added that RMT remained available for talks but that "senior Network Rail bosses have refused point blank to negotiate a settlement to this dispute."

Regional organiser Phil Bialyk accused the employer of breaching a 1994 national rostering agreement by imposing the changes.

"The majority of signallers work a 12-hour shift over a three-day week," he said. "Members have grown used to this and have family commitments.

"Now the employer wants us to switch to an eight-hour shift over a five-day week."

Mr Bialyk was particularly sceptical of a new "fatigue index" which managers say is the reason for the changes in shift patterns.

"Members will still be expected to work 12 hours in case of emergencies," he noted. "Where is the fatigue index for that?"

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Rail signallers union plans further strike in new year

South Wales Echo: Dec 24 2009
by James McCarthy,

ANGRY signal workers are to stage six more days of strikes and ban overtime in a row over new rosters.

The Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union said South Wales members would walk out from January 4 until midnight on January 9 following a “rock solid” six-day stoppage earlier this month.

And it warned it would be balloting more signal workers in South Wales for strikes, escalating the dispute.

General secretary Bob Crow, pictured, said: “After six days of rock-solid strike action, which saw managers drafted in from England with a few hours’ training to run the signalling with serious consequences for services and safety, RMT members are even more determined now to stop the ripping up of agreements and the imposition of new rosters that would wreck their work-life balance.

“This dispute is all about money. It’s about cutting corners and demanding that staff are at management’s beck and call regardless of the impact on home lives. Our members will not be treated as slabs of meat that the management can pull off the shelf when it suits them.

“Senior Network Rail bosses have refused point blank to negotiate a settlement to this dispute.

“RMT remains available for talks and we will continue to press management to get around the table and negotiate an agreement.”

Network Rail said it was “disappointed” with the new strikes.

It claimed it had invited the RMT to meet next week to try to resolve the dispute.

The firm said services would run as normal with “tried and tested” contingency plans in place.

Route director Chris Rayner said: “Despite our best efforts to resolve this dispute, we are bitterly disappointed that RMT do not appear to want these discussions to happen with the latest strike action.

“We urge RMT to suspend this latest strike to come back to the table so we can get this matter sorted as quickly as possible.

“Limiting passenger disruption remains our top priority and we are confident to be able to achieve that with our robust contingency plan.

“There will be full staff strength with competent and trained signallers stepping into the breach, so that passengers will remain unaffected by this futile strike action.”

After the action earlier this month, Network Rail said 95% of trains ran.

Services from Cardiff to Bridgend, from Radyr to Coryton and from Penarth to Bargoed were all affected.

See also:

New year strikes for rail workers over rosters

BBC News: 25 December 2009

Rail workers on the picket line in Newport during the last strike

Railway signalling workers who took six days of strike action in the run-up to Christmas are expected to walk out again in the new year.

Hundreds of Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union members based in south Wales and the Marches are expected to go on strike from 4 to 9 January.

It is in protest at the "imposition" of rosters at a control centre due to open in Cardiff in January.

Network Rail insisted passengers would not be inconvenienced.

The union is also banning overtime as part of the action and announced it would be balloting more signal workers in south Wales for strikes, escalating the dispute.

It comes after signalling workers from areas including Cardiff, Newport, Port Talbot, Vale of Glamorgan and the Rhymney valley walked out between 14 and 19 December.

"It's about cutting corners and demanding that staff are at management's beck and call regardless of the impact on home lives" - Bob Crow, RMT union

General secretary Bob Crow said: "After six days of rock-solid strike action, which saw managers drafted in from England with a few hours training to run the signalling with serious consequences for services and safety, RMT members are even more determined now to stop the ripping up of agreements and the imposition of new rosters that would wreck their work/life balance.

"This dispute is all about money. It's about cutting corners and demanding that staff are at management's beck and call regardless of the impact on home lives.

"Senior Network Rail bosses have refused point blank to negotiate a settlement to this dispute."

But Network Rail said its plan to hold talks with to the union on 30 December had been broken off by the RMT.

It said it had "tried and tested contingency plans", which were brought in during the previous strike.

"Limiting passenger disruption remains our top priority and we are confident to be able to achieve that with our robust contingency plan" - Chris Rayner, Network Rail

The company has extra staff who can step in to ensure a full service, it added.

Chris Rayner, route director for Network Rail, said: "Despite our best efforts to resolve this dispute, we are bitterly disappointed that RMT do not appear to want these discussions to happen with the latest strike action," he said.

"We urge RMT to suspend this latest strike to come back to the table so that we can get this matter sorted as quickly as possible.

"Limiting passenger disruption remains our top priority and we are confident to be able to achieve that with our robust contingency plan.

"There will be full staff strength with competent and trained signallers stepping into the breach, so that passengers will remain unaffected by this futile strike action."

The action is in response to a consultation by Network Rail about changing roster hours to eight hours, which the company said will provide "more productive hours for employees while lowering the level of fatigue risk".