JOB CUTS – ON TRACK MACHINES and TRACK RENEWALS, AMEY
Question: Are you prepared to take strike action?
Total votes cast 128
Number voting YES 50
Number voting NO 77
Spoilt papers 1
Question: Are you prepared to take industrial action short of a strike?
Total votes cast 128
Number voting YES 75
Number voting NO 53
Spoilt papers 0
JOB CUTS – ON TRACK MACHINES and TRACK RENEWALS, BABCOCK RAIL
Question: Are you prepared to take strike action?
Total votes cast 210
Number voting YES 98
Number voting NO 108
Spoilt papers 4
Question: Are you prepared to take industrial action short of a strike?
Total votes cast 210
Number voting YES 127
Number voting NO 80
Spoilt papers 3
JOB CUTS – ON TRACK MACHINES and TRACK RENEWALS, BALFOUR BEATTY RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES
Question: Are you prepared to take strike action?
Total votes cast 125
Number voting YES 79
Number voting NO 44
Spoilt papers 2
Question: Are you prepared to take industrial action short of a strike?
Total votes cast 125
Number voting YES 113
Number voting NO 11
Spoilt papers 1
JOB CUTS – ON TRACK MACHINES & TRACK RENEWALS, BALFOUR BEATTY RAIL PLANT
Question: Are you prepared to take strike action?
Total votes cast 43
Number voting YES 19
Number voting NO 24
Spoilt papers 0
Question: Are you prepared to take industrial action short of a strike?
Total votes cast 43
Number voting YES 39
Number voting NO 3
Spoilt papers 1
JOB CUTS – ON TRACK MACHINES & TRACK RENEWALS, COLAS RAIL
Question: Are you prepared to take strike action?
Total votes cast 85
Number voting YES 22
Number voting NO 60
Spoilt papers 3
Question: Are you prepared to take industrial action short of a strike?
Total votes cast 85
Number voting YES 46
Number voting NO 38
Spoilt papers 1
JOB CUTS – ON TRACK MACHINES & TRACK RENEWALS, VOLKERRAIL PLANT LTD
Question: Are you prepared to take strike action?
Total votes cast 2
Number voting YES 0
Number voting NO 2
Spoilt papers 0
Question: Are you prepared to take industrial action short of a strike?
Total votes cast 2
Number voting YES 2
Number voting NO 0
Spoilt papers 0
1 comment:
The results of the ballot's are to say the least, very disappointing. With the members at only two companies viewing the situation dire enough to warrant strike action!
It begs the question of how bad do things have to get before one is compelled to take action!
The situation with workbank deferrals has nothing to do with the recession, the money is there and it's guaranteed. All that's changed is that the Office of the Rail Regulator has called on Network Rail to implement efficiency savings, now the easiest way for Network Rail to meet those targets is simply not to do the work.
Saying that they'll do the work at a later date. The down side is that when it comes to doing the work at a later date, it'll cost even more money then, so its a totally false ecconomy. They have to spend even more money to get the same amount of work done as they originally planned, hardly an efficient exercise.
The only real way to effect a significant efficiency saving is to take the whole lot back into common ownership, neednt cost a penny, when contracts expire they are not retendered and go back in house. End of. All those big fat profits margins that would disappear!
The only real way in which they can effect significant efficiencies and save money is to bring the work back into common ownership, but Network Rail have their own agenda in this area which is totally unconnected with the ORR, they'd like to take it back in house but they view terms the conditions and rates of pay of renewals workers as prohibitive. Maintenance workers have been with Network Rail for some time now, and their harminisation talks are no closer to a final conclusion than at day 1. This is because many of the myriad of rates of pay, terms and conditions are not to their liking. They want a maintenance workforce that is far cheaper than the present one, and one that is totally flexible. Basically they want a maintenance workforce that is as cheap as is humanly possible, that thay can send to work anywhere at anytime with no questions asked. Maintenance remains a major headache for Network Rail because of that, and thats why they wont take renewals back by themselves because they see us as another headache.
So instead they adopt a long term strategy, chop and changing contracts every five minutes, pulling work from the workbanks, etc. All with the aim of getting rid of what they view as costly core staff, either by people just up and leaving, or by creating situations where they can get the renewals compnies to do the dirty work for them. Some companies are only too willing to do their dirty work for them.
Network Rail publically proclaim that they want core workers, and that they want to reduce the numbers of agency staff untilised. But in private their position is completely the reverse, they love agency staff because they are dirt cheap, tax deductable, and they can have then working anywhere, anytime they like because there is nothing in their terms and conditions to prevent it and protect them from such ruthless exploitation by Network Rail. They want a similar fate for all rail workers irrespective of the sector they are in.
They ultimately want a work force that is low paided, and that they can have work anywhere in the country like a bunch of gypsies at the drop of a hat.
This is why a better ballot result would have been more beneficial in sending a clear message to Network Rail that such an approach is not going to be stood for. But we have a lesser result, and Network Rail will take that as a green light, and the next time round and there most certainly will be a next time, this result makes that inevitable. Then there will be ever worse conseaquence's than this time
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