RMT members strike to defend safety – SNP government back the bosses

Philip Stott reports

RMT members who work as train guards for ScotRail have now taken 12 days of strike action since the end of June. The action is a testimony to their courage and determination to defend safety on the railway.

In contrast, ScotRail management are attempting to drive through the de-skilling of the railway by removing trained guards from some current and future services. Driver Only Operation (DOO) is a naked attempt to make more profit by employing lower paid, lesser-skilled staff, as a step to removing the role of the guard completely.

Strike to defend safety

As it stands, guards go through months of specialised training to acquire a skilled knowledge of the train and the railway. In all they are trained in 35 areas of safety responsibility; from dealing with a train accident to signalling systems to working on electrified lines.

ScotRail, owned by the Dutch company Abellio, claim that as the driver has the necessary skills there is no need for another skilled staff member on the train. But as the RMT have consistently pointed out, what if the driver is injured or incapacitated? The guard’s role is also a vital one in providing reassurance to passengers, particularity on late night services for example. The huge public support for the RMT’s strike action is testimony to the backing they have from the travelling public.

Anger at SNP

Their is widespread anger among RMT members at the conduct of the Scottish Government during the strike action. Both Nicola Sturgeon and SNP transport minister Humza Yousuf have read only from the prepared script of ScotRail management. Sturgeon claimed falsely in the Scottish parliament that “the dispute is about who pushes the button to open the door on the train”. This is exactly the line trotted out regularly by ScotRail/Abellio bosses.

Humza Yousuf has called for all strike action to be suspended to allow talks to take place. But why would a so-called “pro-trade union” government make such a statement, other than to try and paint the union as being responsible for the lack of negotiation. In reality it’s the management backed by the Scottish Government and Transport for Scotland who are refusing meaningful talks in an effort to break the resolve of the workforce. The SNP leadership’s actions are further exposing their true political nature, which is to defend the interests of the employers over that of the workforce.

Escalate the action

Serious consideration should now be made into escalating the strike action during August to force the employer to withdraw their plans. A national meeting of all RMT reps (LLC’s) should be convened in the next week to discuss such a plan. This should be linked, as the RMT has already done, to applying political pressure on the Scottish Government to act. Public meetings, street stalls and lobbies of MSPs can all play an important role. It’s also essential that the STUC add their voice to demand action from the SNP. The train drivers union, Aslef, are also giving consideration this week to a possible campaign of industrial action against ScotRail, adding to the pressure on the management.

International support

After being alerted to the strike at a Committee for a Workers’ International event in Belgium, the Rotterdam/Dordrecht branch of the Dutch rail workers union, FNV-Spoor, have written to the RMT supporting their action. They commented: “For us in the Netherlands we have been fighting against one-driver operating trains for decades and won, for the safety and service for passengers and personnel. Again this shows that on a European scale neo-liberal policies result in putting profit before people.We do hope the outcome of this long worn out struggle will be successful.”

Messages of support from trade unions in Scotland and across Europe should be emailed to m.hogg@rmt.org.uk