L A N R U O ASLEFThe ASSOCIATED SOCIETY of LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS & FIREMEN J JULY 2017 Bristol cream AAD in Brizzle The train drivers ’ union since 1880 railway enginemen’s tax free saver plans use the small changge frromom your pint to invest in your futurre tax free policies from 70p per day for further information call uus on freephone 08800 328 9140 visit our website at www.ennginemens.co.ukk or write to us at Railway Enginemeen's Assurance Society Limited, 727 WWashwoodashwood Heath Road, BirmBirmingham,mingham, B8 2LE @RailwayEnginemens Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority. Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Incorporated under the Friendly Societies Act 19922 L A N 7 R 1 0 U 2 Y L O U J Published by the AASLEFSSOCIATED SOCIETY of LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS & FIREMEN J Mick pays tribute to emergency services workers Somewhere up the stairs into the fire 7 8 T’S been a long month with the run up to the election and, of course, our own I parliament, AAD, in Bristol, much of which is covered in the following pages. We have a News hung parliament with the Conservatives seeking an alliance, not a coalition, of ‘confidence and The Maybot’s election gamble backfires 4 supply ’ with the DUP. With the fraught situation at Stormont, it would be very foolish to do anything Song and dance about Southern Failway 5 that would undermine the Good Friday ASLEF in action at the general election 6 agreement. ATW’s avatar yob on Pillar Parkway 7 But that is the norm for the Tories – 25 10 percentage points ahead in the polls, hubris and Gender matters; and armed cops on trains 8 arrogance, so far ahead we can do what we want, the public will swallow an uncosted manifesto and more austerity – including a dementia tax, as spiteful and damaging as previous policies such as Features the despised bedroom tax – removal of PIP, ATOS ASLEF’s policy making parliament 10 assessments, and hundreds of thousands using food banks. Research by the Joseph Rowntree Simple choice; the AGS gets his 30 11 Foundation shows that there were 1 million year badge; Off the Rails at AAD people, including 312,000 children, destitute in Jim Peters on tackling prostate cancer; 12 11 the UK in 2015. How many more now? No surprise, Claire McCarthy; and Julie Boston then, to some of us, that a properly costed manifesto for the many not the few from a Cat Hobbs; Stephanie Fitzgerald; Phil 13 credible leader like Jeremy Corbyn (not the one Talbot; and Neil Duncan-Jordan ritually demonized in the right-wing press) produced more seats – and votes across the Problems on Southern and freight 14 country – for Labour. Dave Tyson; and Bernard Kennedy 15 Unions, federations, there are a lot of names for organisations that represent workers. We have condemned the cuts, under the guise of austerity, Regulars in public services and ‘cutting red tape’ which is 19 just a euphemism for the removal of the Branch News and 100 Years of Union 16-17 employer’s duty on health and safety whilst, at the same time, removing the worker’s rights to redress Obituaries 19 from bad employers or injury. The government Letters and Classified Advertisements 20-21 that voted down a bill that private homes should be habitable is a moral and ethical disgrace in the Last Word: Gregor Gall says passenger 22 21st century. So, on behalf of ASLEF and its power is as easy as ABC on Southern members, I offer an unqualified tribute to all those On Track, Prize Crossword, ASLEF’s 23 frontline workers in the police, fire brigade, Legal Services and Change of Address ambulance and NHS, and those working behind the scenes, who have done so much, particularly Cover shot of Andy Hudd harbourside and 22 after the incidents in Manchester and London conference photos by Nigel Goldsmith Bridge and the terrible Grenfell Tower fire. They have a vocation and a dedication that has The ASLEF Journal is published every month by: not been properly rewarded. If the race to the bottom on health and safety is shown to be a ASLEF, 77 St John Street, London, EC1M 4NN Tel: 020 7324 2400 contributory factor then the law must be changed email: [email protected] website: www.aslef.org.uk to penalise government and other bodies which are negligent for monetary gain. EDITOR Mick Whelan l DESIGNER Michael Cronin l PRINTER TU Ink, 5 Wythburn Place, London, W1H 7BU Yours fraternally ADVERTISING ASLEF Journal, 77 St John Street, London, EC1M 4NN. Contact Keith Richmond on 0207 324 2407 Mick Whelan, general secretary or [email protected] l CLASSIFIED ADS [email protected] or call 020 7324 2400. The acceptance of a display or classified advertisement does not necessarily imply endorsement of that product or service by ASLEF CHANGE OF ADDRESS Please post your details to ASLEF, 77 St John Street, Clerkenwell, London, EC1M 4NN July 2017 l The ASLEF Journal 3 News ASLEF and The tiring duds of May Scottish Labour HERESA May’s election activists out gamble backfired badly on the streets T as the Tories lost seats – campaigning and their overall majority in the for a House of Commons – while nationalised Labour gained votes in almost railway in every constituency. Edinburgh After saying she would serve until 2020, when she succeeded David Cameron as Prime Minister a year ago, Mrs May did a handbrake turn and called a snap general election on 8 June after opinion polls suggested she could win a three figure majority. Instead, the Conservatives fell Jeremy Corbyn gives the thumbs to 318; Labour gained 30 to 262; up as Labour make gains on the SNP fell to 35; the Lib Dems election night while Theresa May went up to 12; the DUP returned looks glum as the full extent of 10; Sinn Fein 7; Plaid Cymru 4; and Tory losses sinks in on Friday the Green Party 1 (the Speaker morning makes 650). Mick Whelan, ASLEF’s general being in office but not in power.’ mind the gap secretary, hailed the result as an She has to rely on the votes of Train drivers have the smallest wage gap between men and woman endorsement of the positive, the Democratic Unionist Party – of any UK job according to new figures published by the Office of popular, socialist policies – meaning her disparaging phrase National Statistics. The overall gender pay gap is 18.1% but among including, of course, public ‘the coalition of chaos’ has come train drivers it is 0.7%. ‘I’m delighted,’ said Mick Whelan. ‘ASLEF has ownership of the railway – put back to haunt her – while former worked really hard to promote diversity and encourage train forward by Labour under Jeremy Chancellor George Osborne companies to ensure train drivers are more representative of the Corbyn. cheerfully described her as ‘a dead communities they serve.’ The GS added: ‘Train drivers are highly The result has left Mrs May woman walking.’ unionised and covered by strong collective bargaining agreements giving the impression, in the I Five train drivers – and ASLEF which have helped to deliver this success story. While the news is words of Norman Lamont during members – stood at the general welcome, the rail industry needs to do more to improve its his resignation speech in 1993, ‘of election (see page 6). recruitment policies and we will work with it on this.’ Passengers have paid £50 EC president Tosh McDonald gives Rodney Bickerstaffe, former billion for rail privatisation GS of NUPE and Unison, ‘and Rail privatisation is upgrades, excessive another Donny lad’, honourary ‘financially flawed’ train leasing costs, the membership of ASLEF for a according to a new bureaucracy of the lifetime of service to the labour report from academics franchising system movement. Rodney has just at Queen Mary and and train company finished chemo and radiotherapy Essex universities profits have been and will shortly have surgery. We which finds that the passed on to Mick Whelan: The wish him well and look forward to cost of running the passengers through government is a more formal presentation when railway has increased grossly inflated fares. ideologically blind he has finished his treatment. by a staggering £50 ‘This new research value for money and billion since John follows the Transport ANNIE STEpS DowN cheaper fares,’ said GS TwEETS oF ThE moNTh Major’s sell-off. Select Committee and Mick Whelan. ‘It has, in Annie Rutter, one of the first The study suggests many others in fact, delivered huge women to drive trains on Britain’s Obviously, there’s a more that the impact of highlighting the lie inefficiencies for railway, has retired. The Equal Pay nuanced take on this, but, unnecessarily that rail privatisation which staff, Act 1970 and the Sex broadly, voting for Labour = expensive track would deliver better passengers and Discrimination Act 1975 meant not being a c***. taxpayers continue to women could apply to join the Caitlin moran TImE – hE’S wAITINg IN ThE wINgS pay the price. footplate grade on British Rail in Trevor Lawless has a beautiful ‘That £50 billion the late 1970s. Annie joined BR in It’s almost like left-wing railway clock made by John could have paid for 1979 and, after three years as a millennials don’t read the Walker of 1 South Molton Street, the first phase of HS1. driver’s assistant at Norwood Daily Mail . London W1, which he needs to But the government Junction, trained as a driver. She hugo Rifkind sell as he’s downsizing.