Signal workers take strike action
by Richie Venton, SSP workplace organiser
Network Rail signallers and signals supervisors already work anti-social hours to provide a safe public service.
But they have long-standing written agreements with the employers on procedures when it comes to shift rosters, promotion and transfers.
Network Rail bosses in Scotland are abusing, ignoring and ripping up this agreement, without negotiation, by imposing roster changes at a moment’s notice, without the agreement of the worker concerned, as spelt out in the agreement.
If the examples of them already doing this become the norm, workers and their families will be totally unable to plan their lives.
For two years RMT reps have tried to negotiate with NR Scotland bosses, to no avail. Instead, NR threatened disciplinary action against workers who insisted on sticking to the principles of the longstanding, binding agreement.
RMT members have had enough; they voted by over 2:1 to strike and implement a ban on overtime and rest-day working.
The union tried another two days of talks through ACAS, but NR bosses were out to engineer this dispute - regardless of the disruption to the public. The employers sent representatives to talks who were not even empowered to reach agreements with the union!
The 450 RMT strikers deserve the unqualified support of the entire trade union movement and general public. They have the support of the Scottish Socialist Party, physically on the picket lines and politically in building support for their just case.