New Inflation Rates

Tuesday 16^th August 2011

Circular No. National Policy 153/11/MC

To the Secretary all Branches,

Council of Executive members,

Regional Councils and Regional Offices.

Dear Colleagues,

New Inflation Rates

The Office of National Statistics has just published new inflation figures for the twelve months to July 2011.

The Retail Price Index (RPI) for this twelve monthly period is 5%, unchanged from the figure for the twelve months to June 2011.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is 4.4% for the twelve months to July 2011. This is up 0.2% from the figure for the twelve months to June 2011.

Upward pressures on the CPI came from a number of different ‘areas’, the largest being:

• miscellaneous goods & services where the upward pressure came from a wide variety of goods and services but by far the largest contribution came from financial services where, overall, fees rose this year but fell a year ago, particularly for arranging mortgages

• clothing & footwear where prices, overall, as usual fell between June and July due to the summer sales season. Prices this year fell by less (-3.5 per cent), though, than a year ago (-4.9 per cent). The upward effects came from men’s and children’s outerwear

• furniture, household equipment & maintenance where prices also usually fall between June and July due to the sales season. Again, though, prices fell by less this year (-1.1 per cent) than a year ago (-1.9 per cent). The most notable upward effects came from most types of furniture & furnishings and household textiles

• housing & household services where the largest effect was due to increases in housing rent, particularly for social housing provided by registered social landlords

In pay submissions the RMT will continue to emphasise that your financial commitments have increased at a much greater rate than inflation and your living standards have suffered as a result.

Additionally, rail fares have increased by July RPI + 3%. This means that train operating company regulated fares will increase by 8%.

Please see attached a table which shows the increase in rail fares in the constituencies of DfT Ministers.

Yours Sincerely

Bob Crow,

General Secretary

TSSA & RMT Talks - Statement from Gerry Doherty & Bob Crow

 

Dear Colleagues

 

Please see today’s statement below:

STATEMENT 1 FROM GERRY DOHERTY & BOB CROW

TSSA and RMT historically met today, 12 August 2011, to discuss the possibilities of a merged union.

A series of meetings will be held to discuss key issues and objectives recognising that both unions have separate Rule Books and traditions.

Both unions will use their own democratic structures to consult and agree with members and wish to conclude these discussions as soon as possible as industrial attacks are taking place more intensely on transport and travel workers.

The respective union negotiating teams are:

 

RMT

Alex Gordon, Mick Cash, Malcolm Dunning, Owen Herbert and reserve Mick Thompson

 

TSSA

Harriet Yeo, Mitch Tovey, Manuel Cortes and Frank Ward

RMT & TSSA MERGER

Ref: O/5/ I

Circular No. MF/40/11

l0th  August 201 I

To: All Branches and Regional Councils

Dear Colleague,

RMT & TSSA MERGER

With reference to the above, the following was placed before the Council of Executives for
consideration on Friday 5'h August.

"Discussions have taken place between myself and the General Secretary of TSSA over
proposals for both Unions to come together and merge. We are recommending to
both Executive Committees that there are two teams, RMT and TSSA respectively, and
each team should consist of four members. Obviously TSSA will pick their own team
but I recommend that the RMT team consist of the President, Senior Assistant General
Secretary and two Council of Executive members (one Shipping & Offshore, one
General Grades). lf any disagreements arise from joint discussions both myself and the
General Secretary from TSSA will become part of the committee.

I propose the following. Firstly discussions to commence on l2th August and though not
an exhaustive list of agreement the items will be as follows

• Local Branch Structure
• Local Representative Structure
• Regional Structure
• Executive Committee
• Full Time Officials
• Political Affiliation
• Timetable towards full merger."

My recommendation was adopted by the Council of Executives and discussions will take
place accordingly. I will keep Branches and Regional Councils advised of all developments.

 

Bob Crow
General Secretary

Stop the fare hikes: demo for fair fares

Event Date: August 16 2011

Stop the fare hikes: demo for fair fares

Date: 16th August 2011
Time: 8.30 – 9.30 AM
Place: across from Waterloo station (corner of York Way and Sutton Walk). See the meeting point marked on a map

As part of their austerity cuts, the government is planning to raise fares by 28% by 2015. We want to stop them.

Such massive fare rises will be a disaster for people already struggling with rising costs and frozen wages. People won’t be able to afford to get to work, or will be forced to drive – creating more traffic jams and more carbon emissions. Trains should be an essential public service, not a luxury for the rich.

Join us on the day we’ll find out exactly how high fares will be next January to send a clear message to the government: Affordable public transport is vital – cancel the fare hikes and don’t price us off the train!

We’ll be outside Waterloo station in London with placards, banners and plenty of outrage. Come by for half an hour on your way to work (any time between 8.30 and 9.30 AM) to pop giant balloons to show that it’s time to burst the bubble on inflation-busting fare hikes. Or make it the start of a summer day out in London. Either way, help us show the government that we won’t take their unfair fare hikes lying down!

Invite your friends via the Facebook event

Brought to you by Campaign for Better Transport, with support from Bring Back British Rail, Climate Rush, RMT and TSSA

Circular No IR/314/11

TO ALL BRANCHES, REGIONAL OFFICES & REGIONAL COUNCILS

28^th July 2011

Dear Colleagues

RIGHT TO BE ACCOMPANIED/REPRESENTATION AT FACT FINDING INVESTIGATORY MEETINGS – SOUTH WEST TRAINS (BR2/4/4)

It has come to my attention that South West Trains managers have been initiating disciplinary action at Fact Finding meetings which therefore become the first stage of the disciplinary procedure. Under the employment legislation employees have the right to be accompanied at disciplinary meetings, however informal/investigatory meetings are not covered by this legislation and management can refuse a “request to be accompanied”.

The General Grades Committee has considered this matter and has taken the following decision:

“That we note the correspondence from Thompsons Solicitors outlining their legal opinion regarding the issue. Therefore we instruct the General Secretary to write to South West Trains informing them that any fact finding or other meeting that is convened without the ‘request to be accompanied’ being granted must not result in the following:

· The administration of a formal warning to a worker

· The taking of some other action in respect of a worker

· The confirmation of a warning issued or some other action taken

Branches and Regional Councils to be informed.”

I will now be acting on the instructions of this decision and I will keep you advised of any developments.

Yours sincerely

Bob Crow

General Secretary

BRITAIN’S TWO LARGEST RAIL UNIONS AGREE TO MERGER TALKS

FROM RAIL UNIONS RMT AND TSSA

PRESS RELEASE

22 July 2011

Immediate

BRITAIN’S TWO LARGEST RAIL UNIONS AGREE TO MERGER TALKS

The TSSA and RMT unions today agreed to commit to formal talks which could ultimately lead to a merger of the two unions. Initial discussions will focus on closer working between both unions initially through a federation structure with a view to moving towards a merger.

Both unions also agreed that the door will remain open for other smaller specialist unions in transport who may be thinking along similar lines to join the discussions at a future date.

Commenting on the decision, TSSA General Secretary Gerry Doherty said :

“Today’s decision will hopefully be the start of a process designed to serve the interests of future generations of transport and travel trade workers. We owe an obligation to our children and our children’s children to leave better organisations that protect workers in the very uncertain future that

they currently face”

Speaking on behalf of the RMT, General Secretary Bob Crow said :

“This is a historical day for the trade union movement. These talks will bring together two unions each with over a hundred years of specialising in the transport industry in the interests of workers.”

RAILWAYS PENSION SCHEMES – 2010 ACTUARIAL VALUATION

#My Ref: MRP: 1/8 15th July 2011

Circular No. NP/132 /11

To: The Secretary All Branches & Regional Councils

Dear Colleague,

RAILWAYS PENSION SCHEMES – 2010 ACTUARIAL VALUATION

As I am sure you are aware the Railways Pension Scheme (RPS) tri-annual actuarial valuation is presently being carried out by the scheme Actuary and as part of this consultation process the RMT, along with other trade unions, has been having discussions with railway management about these results.

The draft valuation results reveal that the majority of RPS sections are in deficit although some are showing a surplus. The Actuary has indicated that like other UK pension schemes which are in deficit this can be contributed to a number of factors, including poor investment returns and improvements in mortality.

As with past valuation, talks between management and the trade unions have centered on the affordability and sustainability of the RPS. The Actuary has outlined a number of options which could be used to reduce each sections deficit, which include further increases in employer and employee pension contributions and benefits changes.

The valuation results for each section are still to be finalised and whilst there has been discussions about reducing future pension liabilities, the RMT’s policy will be to protect existing and future pension benefits.

I would therefore like to remind all RMT representatives that no agreement should be reached on amending contributions or benefits, either through Pensions Committees or in direct discussions with the employer, without prior consent from Head Office. Details of any employer proposals should be forwarded immediately to Head Office.

The RPS 2010 Actuarial Valuation must be completed by 31^st March 2012. If, however, there are any proposed changes to RPS pension arrangements a member consultation period will begin at least 60 days before the 31^st March 2012.

I shall, of course, keep you advised of developments.

Yours sincerely,

Bob Crow,

General Secretary

New Inflation Rates

Tuesday 12^th July 2011

Circular No. National Policy 127/11/MC

To the Secretary all Branches,

Council of Executive members,

Regional Councils and Regional Offices.

Dear Colleagues,

New Inflation Rates

The Office of National Statistics has just published new inflation figures for the twelve months to June 2011.

The Retail Price Index (RPI) for this twelve monthly period is 5%, down 0.2% from the previous figure of 5.2% for the twelve months to May 2011.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is 4.2% for the twelve months to June 2011. This is down 0.3% from the figure for the twelve months to May 2011.

By far the largest downward pressure to the change in CPI inflation came from recreation and culture where prices, overall, fell by 0.9 per cent between May and June this year compared with a rise of 0.5 per cent between the same two months a year ago. The fall this year was a record for a May to June period. The main downward effects came from games, toys and hobbies, particularly computer games, and from audio-visual equipment and related products, where price discounting this year of items such as digital cameras, DVDs and televisions contributed to the downward movement.
There were also large downward pressures from:

• miscellaneous goods and services where prices, overall, were little changed between May and June this year compared with an increase of 0.6 per cent between the same two months a year ago. The downward effect came from a wide variety of goods and services with the largest contribution coming from insurance where premiums rose by less than a year ago
• communication, driven by telephone equipment and services, particularly mobile phone charges
• second-hand cars which fell in price this year but rose a year ago

By far the largest offsetting upward pressure to the change in CPI inflation came from food and non-alcoholic beverages where prices, overall, rose by 0.9 per cent between May and June this year but fell by 0.1 per cent between the same two months a year ago. The upward effects came from a wide range of product groups, most notably from bread and cereals, meat, and milk, cheese and eggs. In each case, prices rose this year across a range of products compared with falls a year ago.
There was also a large upward pressure from fuels and lubricants where prices fell this year by less than a year ago. Petrol pump prices fell by 0.7 pence per litre between May and June this year to stand at 135.6 pence per litre. This movement compares with a fall of 2.6 pence per litre between the same two months a year ago.

The next publication date will be 16^th August 2011.

In pay submissions the RMT will continue to emphasise that your financial commitments have increased at a much greater rate than inflation and your living standards have suffered as a result.

Yours Sincerely

Bob Crow,

General Secretary

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