Rail staff balloted over Christmas pay row

The RMT (National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers) union today (Tuesday 7 December 2010) began balloting conductor members on Northern Rail.

‎The RMT (National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers) union today (Tuesday 7 December 2010) began balloting conductor members on Northern Rail for strikes in a row over Christmas pay.

The ballot comes after RMT said that Northern has failed to “accept a perfectly reasonable proposal” about Bank Holiday pay over the festive season.

RMT has released figures that show that while the company is demanding that the workforce accept flat rate payments over Christmas, Northern Rail operating profits on normal activities have shot up by 87.5% between 2007 and 2010 to a total for the four years of £85.9 million. Over the same period the share holders’ dividends have totaled £80.5 million and have shown a 105% increase between 2007 and 2010. The company’s highest paid director earns £218,000 a year.

Ballot papers will be dispatched to RMT members today and the ballot will close on Monday 20 December 2010.

RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said: “The spirit of old Scrooge is alive well at Northern Rail. This is a company where the work force have generated massive increases in profits and where the board room is awash with cash. While the Northern Rail shareholders are basking in the warm glow of record dividends the staff are being left out in the cold and RMT is not prepared to sit back and allow that unjust situation to continue

“Everyone in the country knows that Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 December are classed as substitute Public Holidays and in negotiations with Northern Rail RMT has demanded that all conductors should receive double time for working on these dates. That is a very modest and reasonable recognition of Christmas Holiday working; however the company has turned it down flat despite the fact that they are sitting on bundles of cash that has been accumulated off the back of the hard graft of our members.

“As it stands, staff rostered to work those days will not receive any enhanced payments. This situation is wholly unacceptable. Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 December are Public Holidays across the entire UK and the vast majority of employers recognise this. However Northern Rail is refusing to acknowledge this fact. It is ludicrous to think that the company believes that it can pick and choose which bank holidays it can honour.

“The ballot for strike action begins today and closes on 20th December. I am calling yet again on the company to do the decent thing, recognise the hard work of their staff this year that has generated hefty profits for Northern Rail and pay them accordingly over the coming festive period.

Northern says that for conductors, Bank or Public Holidays have been classed as normal working days since they were “traded” for other benefits, including increased salaries and more annual leave, in restructuring agreements several years ago.

Adrian Thompson, HR Director for Northern, said: “We have explained to the RMT that we will honour our agreed terms and conditions but will not make any payments over and above those long-standing agreements.

“We do not think it is reasonable for the RMT to demand a new additional payment for these Bank Holidays.

“This is because the previous additional payments for Bank Holidays were traded for other benefits when the restructuring agreements were implemented.

“The RMT is picking and choosing which bits of the agreement it wants to stick to and then calling for strike action when Northern is simply keeping to the joint agreement.”

Northern has 4,800 employees across the north of England and recognises four trades unions, with whom it works to agree terms and conditions of employment for employees such as train drivers, conductors, station teams and engineers.

If there is a vote for strike action then the earliest that a strike could take place would be Monday 27 December.