Action for Rail Burton-Upon-Trent
Wednesday July 3rd 1500-1730
@ Burton Station
Highlighting the effects Rail Cuts will have on Disabled and Older Passengers
Featuring
Peter Pinkney RMT Presient
Paul Walker RMT National Executive Midlands
Ken Usher RMT Regional Officer
Jon Wheale Burton’s Labour Parliamentary candidate in 2015
Disabled People Against The Cuts
RMT UNITE TSSA ASLEF TUC DPAC BURTON LABOUR
Protest on Rail Policy Brings Political Turmoil to Small Town
Action For Rail is a campaign group set up by the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and its rail affiliated unions as a direct response to the governments proposals to cut up to 20 000 staff across the rail network. The campaign involves leafleting passengers at railway stations across the country informing them of the governments proposals and the affects they will have on their journeys. Within the leaflet there is a section for the passenger to fill in and send off to their respective local MP.
The government plans to close hundreds of ticket offices across the country and reducing the opening hours at even more. These ticket offices are likely to be replace by ticket vending machines a move that would have a devastating impact on disabled passengers, elderly passengers or anyone who needs help and support with a very complex system. There is also plans to cut platform staff, track maintenance and signalling staff, on train none driver staff and even the frightening prospect of driver only operations. In 1963 Dr Beeching took away railway lines and stations. In the present day this government is taking away the background the very people that make the service. Not only is this an attack on peoples jobs it is an attack on a important service which so many people rely on every day.
In the East Staffordshire Town of Burton-Upon-Trent Action For Rail held its first protest at the towns railway station in December 2012. Burton is a station that will be hit by the governments proposals. So Last December members of the Burton branch of the Rail Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) joined forces with anti cuts campaigners and members of the local Labour party to protest against the governments pans. . After the protest the local Conservative MP Andrew Griffiths wrote to the managing director of East Midlands Trains the company that runs the station at Burton to ask for reassurances that the ticket office at Burton was not threatened with closure. The RMT had suggested that Burton ticket office was threatened with closure based on previous example and stated that if it was not going to close completely then the opening hours would be reduced. EMT’s managing director David Horne gave the campaign a minor victor by confirming that the ticket office would not close. However he dismissed Action For Rail as making ‘spurious accusations based upon a union assertion.’ This was backed up by the MP who suggested that Action for Rail was using ‘scare tactics in order to score cheap political points.’ He then had the arrogance to suggest that those involved should come forward and apologies. Since then the campaign has been involved in several rounds of sparing with the local MP. Action For Rail has pointed out to him that the campaign is based on opposing the facts of the governments rail policy and is only informing the public of the threats they cause as well as campaigning for the preservation of rail workers jobs. Mr Griffiths has refused to recognise that it is government policy to cut up to 20 000 rail workers jobs and has also refused to accept that to broken rails on the East Coast Mainline of over five inches are a direct results of cuts to track maintenance staff. Since then Action for Rail have returned to Burton on the campaigns national day of action on March 27th. Members of the RMT again linked up with political activists, the local Labour Party including the parliamentary Candidate in 2015 and the highly popular last Labour MP who retired from politics in 2010. They again mentioned with evidence outlined by the TUC and even the governments own legislation that Burton was set to have the opening hours of its ticket office reduced as well as all other cuts that are to be made. Neither EMT or the MP have made any further comment.
It is for that reason that an impromptu protest on July 3rd has been called to try and bring about a response. The aim is to make the protest as big as possible in order to show the MP and EMT that the public are on our side and it is hoped that the more people at the protest the more likely it is to get a response. The protest will be taking place on Wednesday July 3rd from 3pm. In attendance will be.
Paul Walker RMT National Executive Midlands
Peter Pinkney RMT President (subject to availability)
Ken Usher RMT Midlands Regional Officer
Jon Wheele (Labour) Parliamentary Candidate in 2015 (subject to availability)
Local Labour Party Members and councillors
Bill Upton RMT Burton branch secretary
Members of Disabled People Against The Cuts
William Walker (NUS) Anti Cuts campaigner and left wing political activist and Historian. Un-official political officer for Burton branch of the RMT
I would like to express my personal thanks to the RMT president and Disabled people Against The Cuts who are both coming from London for this event.
For further information please visit www.actionforrail.co.uk or visit the TUC’s website or www.rmt.org.uk www.unitetheunion.org.uk www.aslef.org.uk or www.tssa.org.uk
Solidarity to you all
William Walker
