REORGANISATION, TRACK RENEWALS (EXCL. PLANT) - AMEYCOLAS JOINT VENTURE

Our Ref: BR4/15/4

30^th June 2010

Dear Colleague,

REORGANISATION, TRACK RENEWALS (EXCL. PLANT) – AMEYCOLAS JOINT VENTURE

I write to inform you that the RMT have entered into a formal 90-day consultation period following the shocking and disappointing announcement that the AmeyColas Joint Venture are proposing the loss of 170 of the 540 posts. In relation to the Track Grades this will mean a staggering reduction of 60% from 228 posts to just 90. The affected Track workers depots will be Bletchly, Bristol, Doncaster, Newport, Saltley and Alpha Tower and Swindon. The remaining 32 redundancies will be spread over other various departments.

Regional Organiser, Brendan Kelly, attended a meeting last week with senior representatives from AmeyColas and they stated that the main rationales behind these proposals are as follows;

• Network Rail imposed efficiently savings of 21%.
• High output contract now capped at fixed rate of £118k/ckm (10% below current operating cost).
• The Conventional (R24) contract is now capped at 10% below 2009/10 levels.
• The rate that the JV gets paid will drop a further 20% in 11/12.

This is clearly not only an attack on jobs but also on pay and conditions. The Joint Venture will not be able to manage their current workload with their newly proposed staffing levels and so inevitably will increase their use of sub-contractors on worse pay and conditions. The company have also made it very clear that they will be seeking to change the present terms and conditions with a view to making the workforce 'more flexible'. Historically such developments have always been to the detriment of the employee.

Your union does not endorse any compulsory redundancies and these proposals are being taken very seriously. However, in all employment matters I expect the Company to adhere to the PTR&R (Promotion, Transfer, Redundancy & Promotion), which can be viewed in the Pay and Conditions database in the Members' area of the RMT website (www.rmt.org.uk).

With a view to being prepared for all eventualities I ask that you contact the RMT Helpline on 0800 376 3706 to confirm your employment and personal details. It is also important that all current local reps and Safety reps contact the Bristol regional office on 0117 925 5018 with their current details. Alternatively you can contact the full time officer Brendan Kelly on 07815 967 675 or email on b.kelly@rmt.org.uk

This would also be a beneficial time for any of your colleagues who are not members of the RMT to join, always remember that there is strength in numbers, and I ask that you encourage them to join, either by phoning the Helpline or seeing the RMT website.

Yours sincerely

Bob Crow

General Secretary