THE RMT union is preparing to ballot members over what could be the biggest rail strike in British history.
RMT senior assistant general secretary Eddie Dempsey said it is preparing to ballot members over pay freezes and safety standards.
Eddie Dempseytold GB News: “This dispute’s been a long time in the making. We’ve been through the pandemic period where our members made lots of changes to their working practices and worked right through a pandemic to keep the country moving and many of our members have had pay freezes.
“Now some of them are in the third year of a pay freeze. We’ve changed how we work, we’ve made lots of sacrifices to help the railways going and we’ve been working with the industry in the rail industry recovery group, putting forward ideas on how to help the industry recover.
“But that’s turned into a forum where we’re told now the intention is to strip £2 billion out of the rail industry to make that money come out through stripping out jobs and attacking terms and conditions and keeping wages low.”
Mr Dempsey made his comments during On The Money with Liam Halligan on GB News yesterday. He said the cuts, which have been proposed because of fewer passenger numbers due to people working at home, threaten to put safety at risk.
He added: “We’ve put forward lots of ideas on how they can save money.
“We’ve told them many ways they could make efficiency savings, but they’re intent on making those efficiency savings in removing safety critical jobs, in slashing maintenance standards and safety schedules, and in keeping wages down and tearing up terms and conditions for railway workers.
Mr Dempsey said that money could be saved by cutting pay for executives. “We’ve pointed out that director pay is out of control with Network Rail
“Seven of the highest paid civil servants in the country are Network Rail employees.
“If you strip their money back, just to what the Prime Minister’s being paid, you’d save nearly £6 million a year.
“They’ve got eight non-executive directors, they spent nearly three quarters of a million pounds for those people to attend eight meetings over one year during a pandemic.”
P&O staff and other trades unionists will join demonstrations in Dover, Liverpool, and Hull today, condemning P&O for sacking 800 staff.
The company, which is funded by the Dubai Royal Family, stunned workers in a pre-recorded Zoom call, when they informed staff that they were being dismissed and would be replaced by cheap agency labour from abroad.
When workers rightly refused to simply accept this despotic decision, private security staff with handcuffs, believed to have been hired by the company, began to drag workers off the ships.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “It is vital workers from every industry mobilise for the demonstrations on Friday.
“We need to send a message to ruthless employers and the government alike, that when working people are treated so abysmally, there is a militant response from the trade union movement.
“This example of gangster capitalism which our members in P&O have been subjected, is what lies ahead for other workers up and down the country if we do not all take a stand.”
Liverpool: 1.00pm Main Liverpool Port entrance Liverpool L21 1LA
Hull: 12. 00 midday– King George Dock, Hull HU9 5PR
Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said: “This scandalous action is a betrayal of the workers that kept this country stocked throughout the pandemic. Unscrupulous employers cannot be given free rein to sack their workforce in secure jobs and replace with agency staff.
“The Conservative government must not give the green light to this appalling practice and must act to secure the livelihoods of these workers.”
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: “I’m deeply concerned at P&O announcement – due to the importance to Scotland of the Cairnryan/Larne route obviously, but also the impact on 100s of workers.
“Fire & rehire is an appalling practice & offends the basic principle of fair work. @scotgov will be seeking urgent talks”.
While the UK Government has made no official comment, Defence Minister James Heapey told BBC’s Breakfast that P&O Ferries have ‘behaved disgracefully’ but admitted that the company’s ‘despicable’ fire and rehire action is not something the government could have stopped. He said the government will focus on supporting the workers who have lost their jobs .
Union body calls on ministers to urgently bring forward an employment bill to end fire and rehire style practices
Workers must be reinstated immediately – and P&O Ferries must face serious consequences if they fail to do this, says TUC
What happened to P&O workers “can’t ever be allowed to happen again”, says TUC
The TUC has called for the “scandalous” treatment of P&O workers to be a “turning point” for workers’ rights in the UK.
The union body says ministers must bring forward an employment bill now to stop workers from “being treated like disposable labour”.
The call comes after 800 P&O crew were sacked without notice on Thursday and threatened with handcuffs if they refused to leave their ships.
P&O Ferries’ actions appear to be unlawful. But the TUC says these events show that UK employment law urgently needs strengthening to penalise bad employers.
The union body says ministers must use an employment bill to:
End fire and rehire style practices and stop companies firing at will: P&O has exploited many of the same weaknesses in the law as companies using the punitive fire and rehire tactics. TUC research published during the pandemic revealed that 1 in 11 (9%) of workers have been forced to re-apply for their jobs on inferior terms and conditions. The law should state that no notices of dismissal can be given until consultation has been completed. Employees should be given protection from unfair dismissal from day one in the job.
Increase penalties on companies that break employment law: P&O’s failure to consult staff on their redundancies was unlawful. But companies who flout employment law in this way currently face very low fines and can get away with offering staff measly compensation.
Ban other forms of exploitative practices: More than 1 million workers in the UK are employed on zero-hours contracts and thousands of others are employed in bogus self- employment. The TUC says zero-hours contracts and umbrella companies should be banned.
In addition, the TUC is calling on the government to:
Remove DP World (P&O ferries owner) from any government advisory groups: DP World currently sits on the influential UK Government’s Transport Advisory Group.
Get around the table with unions representing members in the sector to urgently review government contracts with P&O and ensure livelihoods are protected
Reinstate sacked staff
All sacked staff must be reinstated immediately without loss of pay, the TUC is demanding – adding that P&O should face serious consequences.
The union body has warned the government that a “slap on the wrist” from ministers would not be good enough.
And the government must put in place measures to ensure that all future procurement comes with a commitment from companies receiving public money to respect workers’ rights.
TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect at work. But bad bosses can still get away with treating staff like disposable labour.
“What happened at P&O is a national scandal – it can’t ever be allowed to happen again. Enough is enough. This must be turning point for workers’ rights in the UK.
“The government must urgently bring forward an employment bill that strengthens workplace protections and that imposes strong penalties on employers who break the law.
“The prime minister vowed to make Britain the best country in the world to work. He has run out of excuses for failing to deliver on that promise.”
On the need for the government to penalise P&O, Frances added: “P&O has acted appallingly. It must be made an example of.
“A slap on the wrist is not going to cut it.
“If the company refuses to reinstate all of its sacked staff it should face serious consequences.”
