RMT demands probe of scabs' near miss

[Thinking Man's Idiot]

RMT demands probe of scabs' near miss

(Wednesday 08 October 2008)

by ADRIAN ROBERTS




SOLIDARITY STANCE: RMT leader Bob Crow (centre) picketing Motherwell signaling centre on Tuesday.

RAIL union RMT demanded an urgent investigation on Wednesday into a signalling blunder by strike-breaking managers at Edinburgh Waverley station that could have resulted in a fatal crash between two passenger trains.


The union has asked the Railways Inspectorate to investigate reports that, during Tuesday's strike, a train was signalled into a platform at the same time as another was being signalled out of it.

RMT called for an investigation into the competencey of managers used to staff signal boxes during the signallers' strike.

General secretary Bob Crow said that the incident raised serious concerns about the competencey of the managers who Network Rail (NR) are using to break the strike.

"NR has been attempting to label RMT as a union that considers safety to be optional, but this underlines the double standards of an organisation that is happy to water down its own safety standards during a dispute," he said.

"If one of our members was responsible for a serious blunder like this, the book would be thrown at them, yet the company is putting managers who may not have been in a box for years onto the front line and putting rail workers' and passengers' lives into their hands."

Mr Crow stressed that the RMT was more than willing to talk with NR to resolve the deadlock in the dispute over rostering agreements.

The union has put together a new formula, in line with the national rostering principles, which it tabled as talks resumed on Wednesday. It hopes that the formula will allow NR to move towards a settlement of the dispute, which has seen 450 signallers and supervisors on strike.

"Our members have given a magnificent display of solidarity and we now need to see NR move towards us if we are to see this dispute settled before Thursday's second strike begins," Mr Crow said.

"We will be taking the initiative and going into talks with a fresh form of words which we hope will form the basis of an agreement and it is to be hoped that Network Rail will respond in a positive way."

A Scottish government spokesman said: "The First Minister has been in contact with both sides to encourage them to get back round the table and continue talks so as to avoid unnecessary disruption to passengers and services."