RMTIEP First Great Western Special BulletinFURTHER STRIKE ACTION AND ACTION SHORT OF STRIKE August 2015Following the 48 hours strike action solidly supported byour members over the threat to jobs, services and safetyfrom the introduction of the new Hitachi Intercity trains,your Senior Union Representatives have been in urgenttalks with management but unfortunately the assurancesthat the RMT require from FGW are not forthcoming atthis stage.Therefore, your unions Executive Committee has againconsidered the matter and taken the decision to call onall our First Great Western members to take industrialaction as listed below:All Fleet Maintenance Grade MembersAll Fleet Maintenance grade members are instructed notto book on for any shifts that commence between:-00.01 hours and 23.59 hours on Saturday 29th August201500.01 hours and 23.59 hours on Monday 31st August2015All Fleet Maintenance grade members will be instructedto take discontinuous industrial action short of a strike asoutlined here: -Not to work any overtime or rest days between 00.01hours and 23:59 hours on Sunday*23rd August 2015Not to work any overtime or rest days between 00.01hours and 23:59 hours on Sunday*30th August 2015.* Fleet maintenance members industrial action onSundays currently under consultation withrepresentativesAll Other Grades (Excluding FleetMaintenance Members)All members excluding Fleet Maintenance grades will beinstructed not to book on for any shifts that commencebetween:-00.01 hours and 23.59 hours on Sunday 23rd August201500.01 hours on Saturday 29th August 2015 and 23.59hours on Monday 31st August 2015The solidarity and determination of our members duringthis dispute has been incredible and I urge you to keepthis up and stand shoulder to shoulder with yourcolleagues on the days of industrial action.nGuardsFirst Great Western (FGW) have saidthere will be no extension toDOO(P), however they have goneback on their word a number oftimes. These new trains have sidemounted rear facing cameras so thedriver can see the outside of thetrain on a screen in the cab. Withthese cameras it wouldn't take alot of work to have DOO(P) inother areas.Other TOCs have a safeworking method where the driveropens the doors and the guardcloses them, so ask yourself...Why are FGW determined to havethe driver in total control of alloperational duties of the train?Ifguards have no operational dutieswith the train we lose our voice.Ticket Office &RevenueAs the RMT reps working in anoffice, we think it's important toexplain why we support thecontinuing industrial action. Firstly we totally understand thatpeople will be upset and anxiousabout losing pay. A lot of us havegot families and all of us have gotfinancial commitments so losing paywill be a big blow. We have to look atthe bigger picture for our industry. There is going to be significantchanges in rail ticketing over thenext five years. Developments insmart cards and smart phonetechnology is going to mean ticketoffice closures are impending.London Underground are in theprocess of closing allticket officesand before long the railway willlface a similar threat. Rather thantechnology being used to enhanceand improve our daily workload, ithas the potential to make the use ofticket offices redundant. We need to unite andsupport our colleagues who arecurrently fighting to protect theirjobs and protect public safety. It isnot possible to run a safe trainwithout the role of the guard. And itis unacceptable for FGW to run atwo tier system by getting rid of thebuffet car while providing for theprivileged. These new trains havebeen paid for by the tax payer. It isunreasonable of FGW to exploit thisopportunity to profiteer, especiallywhen East Coast is introducing thesame trains with no cuts.It's worth noting that anumber of MPs have expresseddismay at the actions of FirstGreat Western and called on thecompany to think again aboutstaffing cuts. A recent parliamentarymotion stated that they aredismayed that passengers are beingtreated in this way when they arepaying the most expensive fares inEurope, while FGW is making hugeprofits and First Group's chairmanhas seen his pay rise by 243 per centin four years to almost 1.6 milliona year. The MPs motion calls onFirst Great Western to think againand reach a negotiated settlementwith the unionsOnly unity will help us reach ourgoals. Please give support to ourcolleagues and show solidarity. Theyhave pledged to do the same for usin the future when required. CateringMembersFGWs plans could hit our gradevery hard. To understand theimplications we provide this guideto FGW's manipulation of wording.FGW: We can't fit buffets onthe new IEP trains as they havealready been built'.TRANSLATION: As Hitachihave explained to us, these trainsare completely modular and things(such as a buffet) can be added veryeasily. Oh, and VTEC will be fittingbuffets to the exact same built'Hitachi trains. And we are justfinishing our latest round ofmodification of composite coaches(which had been built' in the1970s).FGW: All our passengerswant a trolley service.TRANSLATION: When wetrialled a trolley service, inconjunction with a working buffet,on a couple of quiet trains, andasked the few customers we served ifthey liked it, a few of them actuallyresponded and some of those evensaid they may occasionally use it.Oh, and some said they will still usethe buffet.FGW: We will have akitchen' on every new IEP trainTRANSLATION: We currentlyhave a kitchen' on over a hundredservices every day, however, we onlychoose to actually utilise it on ten ofthem.FGW: The trolley will offerhot food.TRANSLATION: The trolleyFIRST GREAT WESTERNRMT reps give a grade by grade perspective on the disputeIEP: ITS EVERYONES PROBLEMwill do no such thing, the customerhost will offer hot food. (Bit of alottery though, as depending onwhich coach you board you mayhave to wait a few hours for themto get to you).FGW: A buffet car takes up40-50 seats.TRANSLATION: Oops sorry,we are talking about an HST buffetcar, actually, on the new IEP trainswe could convert a bike or trolleystore and it would take up no seats!These are just a fewexamples of how words andparaphrases can be used tomanipulate the actual facts. Pleasedo not let yourself be taken for aride. The simple facts are:FGW do NOT want a buffetcar and do NOT want to have to payto have one fitted.That's it in a nutshell.Is that what the publicwant?Is that what you want ?Take a look at other trainoperating companies who have lostbuffets.Are their customers happy ?FGW may not want' abuffet, but the truth is they can' fitone.If you are unsure or haveany concerns or questions over howthese new IEP trains may affect yourfuture PLEASE speak to a unionrepresentative or attend your localbranch meeting.We can't give up the fight.Let's keep this going, we're in ittogether.PlatformThe Platform Train Interface remainsa crucial safety element in the safearrival and departure of trainservices. We believe that safetycritical platform staff should beavailable on all platforms for thesafety of the travelling public andthe trains. The union will continueto fight for this essential safety role. The company are trying toerode the role by trying toimplement 'rear three door despatch'to be done by the Guard and rollingout 'dispatch staff not available'signage across 14 more stations.This is an unsafe act and needs tobe stopped.DriversDrivers should only need to focuson driving the train. RMT believes that the opening andclosing of doors is not theresponsibility of Drivers.For well documented safety reasonsdoors need to be controlledseperately by a Guard.EngineeringJob security is the big issue that weare fighting for as our grade isparticularly at risk as Hitachi havebeen chosen as the company tobuild, supply and maintain the newrolling stocks with depots beingplanned for building. This will have potentialconsequences for our engineeringmembers that are currentlyemployed in-house at FGW and EastCoast.RMT is seekIing recognition rightswith Hitachi on the IEP and theprotection of the terms andconditions of existing staff is ourpriority. nl A Parliamentary Early Day Motion on Staffing on First Great Western Trains is pickingup support from MPs. After outlining the various cuts to staff and the service, EDM 256,goes on to say that the MPs are dismayed that passengers are being treated in thisway when they are paying the most expensive fares in Europe, while FGW is makinghuge profits.l A petition at change.org is backing our campaign on FGW to save thebuffet. You can find the petition at www.change.org/p/first-great-western-save-the-buffet-cars or scan the QR code on the right.l #savethebuffet is being used by campaigners on the internet who support our fight tosave the buffet on FGW.l Negotiations with RMT and FGW are still ongoing and we are determined to get apositive outcome to settle the dispute. Members will be informed of any developmentsimmediately by text and email. Unless you receive a communication from the union tothe contrary the strike actions will take place.LATEST CAMPAIGN NEWS