REDUNDANCIES – SOUTH WEST TRAINS

12th February 2009

Dear Colleagues

REDUNDANCIES – SOUTH WEST TRAINS

SWT have announced that it wants to make a further reduction of 180 posts on top of the 480 posts that it announced in January. The original 480 proposed cuts directly affected ticket office, cleaning, platform, information, and clerical staff. The further 180 proposed cuts is aimed primarily, but not exclusively, at the revenue protection staff.

Management are determined to slash these 660 jobs at South West Trains. This is a threat to safety; it will lead to some stations being totally unstaffed and extensive understaffing.

The government has said it will ride the recession by supporting public services and projects, and ministers cannot stand by and watch as a profiteering group that has increased dividends by 33 per cent destroys livelihoods and services.

The idea that the 660 staff they now want to sack is somehow superfluous is ridiculous and they know it.

RMT has asked SWT for guarantees that there will be no compulsory redundancies, however management have failed to provide us with any assurances on this matter. Therefore, a dispute situation exists between SWT and RMT.

Our intention is to conduct a ballot for all SWT members for strike action to combat these measures. I will be writing to all affected members soon with a ballot timetable.

Cutting ticket office, cleaning, platform, information and clerical staff is a direct attack on passenger service, and now, by cutting revenue protection staff, they are adding to the reduction in service they provide and at the expense of their staff.

Yours Sincerely

Bob Crow
General Secretary