RMT victory in campaign to keep the ferries public

By Sean Robertson

Following months of industrial struggle by the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union, it has been announced that the Clyde and Hebrides ferry services (CHFS) contract has been awarded to the incumbent public sector operator, Caledonian MacBrayne.

The announcement means that the service will be kept 100% in public hands, following the successful “Keep Calmac Public” campaign which included, a work to rule, strike action last June and an intervention at the STUC congress in Dundee at which RMT members proposed resolutions to save the service and many activists wore yellow t-shirts with the logo to plead their case when first minister Nicola Sturgeon spoke at the conference.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said that it was a major victory for the union and a successful defence of the principle of public ownership and operation of lifeline Scottish ferry services.

“The Scottish government has accepted the union’s arguments over the broader social and economic benefits of lifeline ferry services in the west of Scotland remaining in the public sector with CalMac.

 “It is also a complete vindication of RMT members’ decision to take industrial action in June last year which secured meaningful employment and pension protections in the contract put out to tender by the Scottish Government in July,” he said.

Following the award to CalMac, there will be no compulsory redundancies, ticketing will be modernised on many routes and traffic will increase by 10%.

The deal will also mean improved apprenticeships and community engagement schemes and an investment of £6m in service improvements, as well as onboard catering.

on-going struggle

The CalMac bid was valued at £900m for the contract at 2014-15 prices. But the price is likely to rise to £1 billion when the contract starts in October. The award protects vital public services from profiteers; the other bidder, Serco, which also runs ferries to Orkney, has been heavily criticised by the RMT of its running of the Caledonian Sleeper service in which cost cutting by the operator has put safety of passengers and workers at risk, the union claims.

The victory is likely to be well received by passengers who rely on the service. Polling has shown almost two thirds of Scottish voters think CalMac ferry services should remain publicly operated and not handed over to corporate giant Serco.

National secretary of the RMT Steve Todd said that the union had worked in tandem with the other CalMac unions and the STUC as well as a supportive public to defend and promote the public sector bid during this unnecessary and expensive tender process.

“Negotiations can now continue with CalMac on the Pension Fund and whilst the union is under no illusions as to the need for reforms to the governance structure at CalMac and ferry procurement policy, the fact that the bid from Serco was rejected should give all RMT members encouragement in the on-going struggle against privatisation across the transport industry.

“The union will also step up the campaign to secure an exemption for all publicly contracted Scottish ferry services from the damaging and pro-private EU regulation which demand regular tendering of these lifeline public services,” he said.

This victory is all the sweeter because the SNP- hiding behind EU regulations- have part privatised Scottish water and refused to renationalise Scotrail aver the past years.

On the EU, the RMT general secretary said: “For some time now we have been arguing that the Scottish Government should stand up for Scotland and should stop the tendering of life line ferry services.

“To date they have continued to carry out the instructions of the EU but it is difficult to see how they can conclude the EU driven ferry tendering process prior to the referendum result. That means the referendum provides an opportunity to save our ferry services from this EU directed privatisation.”

“If the Scottish Government won’t stand up for Scotland then the people should stand up to the EU and vote to Leave what is now no more than a corporate cabal run for the benefit of corporations like SERCO who are intent on fleecing Scotland’s ferries regardless of the consequences for the communities who rely on them.”

“People should be in on doubt that if Scottish Ferries end up being privatised the Scottish government will have pulled the trigger and the EU will have provided the gun.”

In fact, the EU’s Lisbon treaty, signed in 2007, and other legislation emanating from Brussels, codifies into law the neo-liberal policies that have dominated world capitalism in the last three decades: privatisation and deregulation, attacks on workers’ rights, and the slashing of pensions, free education and public health services.

The EU is now firmly established as the primary agency of continent-wide austerity a vote to leave could be the catalyst for change we need to reboot and protect our public services, protecting them from the privateers.

Whether or not we vote to leave, Scotland needs politicians who are willing to stand up to the neo-liberal diktats from Brussels and put the needs of the public for well run, and publicly funded public services before the greed of profiteers.