RMT to ballot for industrial action on London Midland over pay & Sunday working

RAIL UNION RMT confirmed today that it has begun balloting members for action on London Midland in two separate disputes over pay and conditions of service and Sunday working.

The pay ballot, which will cover all RMT members, follows a rejection of a series of complex staged pay offers for the current financial year and through to April 2011;

· A 1% increase effective 1^st April 2009 and a further 1% effective 1^st November 2009 or an increase of £350 to salary effective from 1^st April 2009.

· An increase of 1.5% or RPI (Feb 2010) whichever is greater, effective 1^st April 2010 and a further 0.5% effective 1^st November 2010 or an increase of £350 (indexed to February 2010 RPI), effective 1^st April 2010.

The ballot for action in a long-standing dispute over Sunday working enhancements on London Midland, for staff excluding conductors and drivers, is being run in parallel following a delay after the company used the full force of the anti-trade union laws to wreck an earlier voting schedule. Voting in both ballots concludes on 17^th December 2009.

Bob Crow, RMT General Secretary, said today:

"RMT reps have worked hard to try and negotiate a fair deal for our members from London Midland on pay but the final offer from the company falls well short of what is required to reach an agreement.

"We know that London Midland have been put under special measures by the government for their failure to deliver a service and we cannot tolerate a situation where the staff are expected to take a hit on their wages and working conditions because of crisis management right at the top.

"RMT remains available for talks aimed at resolving the two disputes on pay and conditions and Sunday working.

RMT calls for renationalisation of London Midland rail franchise

RAIL UNION RMT today called on the government to take back the London Midland rail franchise from the parent Govia group after the company was hit with a remedial notice for persistent poor performance and failure to deliver an acceptable quality of service.

The RMT demand for renationalisation of London Midland comes just days before the East Coast Main Line is due to be taken back into public ownership and with the government coming under massive pressure to seize back the keys on National Express's two other franchises – C2C and East Anglia.

In a statement today, Transport Secretary Lord Adonis has confirmed that London Midland has been put under the special measures of a Remedial Notice for "exceeding the franchise agreement threshold on cancellations".

RMT research shows that London Midland cancelled 7,558 services in 2008/2009, the second worst performance on the network after Southern, and had cancelled 2,714 services between April and October this year.

Bob Crow, RMT General Secretary, said today:

"The privatisation of the railways is collapsing around the government's ears and the time has come to draw a line under the franchise disaster and get all these services back under public control where they belong.

"London Midland sucked up a £114.2 million subsidy from the taxpayer in 2008/2009 and yet despite that massive bung from the public purse their performance has been a disgrace.

"With the East Coast coming back into public control at midnight on Friday, and with massive pressure on the government to seize back National Express East Anglia and C2C, the momentum for full-scale renationalisation of the railways is gaining pace by the day. The news of the wholesale failure on London Midland will be another nail in the coffin of the rail privatisation disaster."