Newsletter: October, 2008

East London Rail Branch News Vol I, Issue 7 October 2008

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National Union of Rail, Maritime, & Transport Workers’ GENERAL SECRETARY: Bob Crow

The suspension, for two months now, of our colleagues, RPI’s Keith Bayman, Charlie Cicirello, Dave Goddard, and Rob Lees of National Express East Anglia, arose out of a criminal case at Southwark Crown Court. Since then, rumours have abounded over their position, some people even taking the view that ‘there’s no smoke without fire’, or that the Company would not take such severe action if they had not done something wrong. This point of view, although wrong, is almost understandable since the management have never explained themselves over the matter, and allowed misin-formation and misunderstanding to flourish.

So it is down to the RMT to put the full story to our members, and in doing so, point out ex-actly WHO is behaving badly in this case. FACT That NO criminal charges were ever brought against these four by the Police or the CPS as a result of the original investiga-tion. FACT That none of them were in any way criticised or doubted by the Judge hearing the case. FACT That not even the Company has ever suggested they were in-volved in any criminal wrong doing, before, during, or since the original Fraud case.

At a public meeting on the 2nd October, attended by RMT Gen-eral Secretary Bob Crow, the President of the RMT John Leach, the Lead Officer & Re-gional Organiser Bob Rayner, and Council of Executives mem-ber Derrick Marr, the true facts were publicised, and what they said is re-printed inside: ALAN PERRY STANDS CON-DEMNED BY HIS OWN AC-TIONS.

IGNORE THE RUMOURS…

RE-INSTATE

Chair: Glenn Wallis – 07789791224 Secretary: Ed Shine– 07940340128

0626 East London Rail Branch News Email: [email protected]

NEXT BRANCH MEETING: THURSDAY 16TH OCTOBER 2008, 1700 HOURS: The Railway Tavern Public House (Conservatory room), Angel Lane,

Stratford, London E15… CONTACT THE BRANCH SECRETARY FOR DETAILS

THEM NOW! BAYMAN- CICIRELLO- GODDARD- LEES

SPECIAL REVENUE PROTECTION RESISTANCE EDITION

HERE ARE THE FACTS

CHARLIE CICIRELLO


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‘MANAGEMENT PASSING THE BUCK’ But what we need to make clear today, and at your depots, is the extent to which senior Revenue Protection management are implicated in this whole issue. The reason they are acting with such a heavy hand is because they are desperate to shift responsibility from those supposedly in charge of the depart-ment to ordinary members of staff further down the food-chain; Alan Perry, as Head of Department is possibly the main culprit in this. I have written some very stern letters to Mike Goddard [Human Resources Director, NXEA] pointing out this un-necessarily heavy-handed response. I originally got involved due to the suspension of Charlie Cicirello, Revenue Protection Company Councillor and Health & Safety representative– a very active Representative, and we are all aware that he has been a major thorn in the side of Alan Perry. On more than one occasion, I have had to intervene when Perry has been over-zealous in having a go at him.



SPEAKING AT THE ‘RAILWAY TAVERN’ MASS MEETING, LIVERPOOL STREET, 2ND OCTOBER 2008

BOB RAYNER

“THE ALLEGATIONS– SUCH AS THEY ARE– so far presented to me revolve around Revenue Protection Inspectors, on one particular shift at Hertford East depot, using each others’ Ad-vantix [portable ticket machine] and sharing each others’ passwords.

‘UNPROFESSIONAL CONDUCT?’ The situation came to a head when the Com-pany suspended four members, with two of whom I attended their second interviews. Mark Burgess-Lawrence [Area Revenue Pro-tection Manager– West, NXEA] sent out the letters of suspension stating the grounds quite clearly, ‘Unprofessional conduct on the witness stand’. So it is either fortunate– or unfortunate!- that I am extremely experienced in where indus-trial law is concerned, in both criminal and civil cases, and for years I conducted my own Industrial Tribunals. What quite quickly became apparent early on was that while some people gave evidence, very few were actually cross-examined by the opposing Counsel.

‘PERRY REPRIMANDED’ Certainly none of them at any time were reprimanded by the Judge! certainly none of them at any time were reprimanded by the Judge! But it became equally as clear that one person representing the interests of the Company actually WAS reprimanded by the Judge, and that same person now has the temerity to threaten ME with libel over it! That is a joke even if it wasn’t meant as one, as he subsequently corrected me as to ‘the facts’- namely, that it wasn’t a Detec-tive Sergeant he texted whilst the Officer was under Oath, but actually a Detective Constable! This is out in the open now, and NXEA management have been repeatedly attacked with it.


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‘HYPOCRISY’ How can they, without a charge of HYPOCRISY being laid at their door, argue like Perry has done that our members acted unprofessionally on the witness stand when none of them were criticised by the Judge, when the senior Reve-nue Protection manager was? It is perfectly possible that

the Judge restrained himself from immediately issuing a Contempt of Court order. It is equally apparent, as I have repeatedly accused Mike Goddard of, that old and much fa-voured charge of ‘bringing the company into disrepute’ only ever refers to ordinary mem-bers of staff and never seems to refer to or be pertinent to management, who therefore seem able to do what they like, when ordinary members of staff cannot?!



‘RESPONSIBLE MANAGEMENT?’ The central issue here is that management are themselves compromised in regard to their own undertakings on the Company’s franchise agree-ment because they had to state quite clearly as part of the franchise agreement that they would protect and defend their revenue. And it was quite clear from the fact that people were sharing AVB’s and passwords that the Company’s revenue was far from being protected. So WHO is responsible for this? We do not share managements’ view that respon-sibility should only ever go DOWNWARDS; we be-lieve that these managers are paid a certain amount of money to take on this responsibility within a Department. So it’s the old Harry Truman phrase: ‘The buck stops here’; but it seems in modern management, the buck stops as far down the ranks as they can get it and never reaches them!

‘IF NOT, WHO IS?!’ There is no doubt that some people were aware and did use each others’ AVB’s and passwords, but we are equally aware that often people didn’t have access to the correct number of machines that were required for a particular job, and that Alan Perry himself issued instructions that a per-son was not actually required to hand out machines to everybody. So if something went wrong– as often happens in Incident Enquiries- man-agement have to take responsibility . If something has gone wrong, it means the managerial process is wrong, and not necessarily that peo-ple are so much in breach of the Code of Conduct that they are required to be severely disciplined

‘SPREAD THE WORD!’ It’s important that we get members who AREN’T INVOLVED to understand how impor-tant this case is for everyone. We have to publicise these facts to any members of staff who have only heard management’s side of the story or who think ‘no smoke without fire’. This particular group- or cabal!- of man-agement needs to be shown some resistance and needs to be shown that they have a re-sponsibility and duty of care to their staff and NOT just deny all responsibility when some-thing goes wrong and pass responsibility downwards as they have here.

‘WHERE ARE THE FACTS?!’ The one irony is that in the interviews we had, one of the things they have been us-ing to attempt to prosecute these mem-bers, is that they have notes that were taken by a manager in Court. I challenged Perry on this, which of course he denied (that they were his notes), but in which case he or some other manager has in-structed another manager to make sure they took notes. DO THE COMPANY THINK THEY HAVE GOT THE RIGHT TO INVESTIGATE A STATE-MENT TAKEN ON OATH IN COURT?


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‘MIS-USE OF COURT NOTES’ This raises the question- a very serious question- as to whether management have the right to take disciplinary action against somebody who said something- the truth, which no-one is denying, since they were never cross-examined or censured for it or investigated for perjury.

But if they’re are going to do that, they should at least use the official court transcripts which are accurate and word-for-word. Of course, these have the obvious disadvantage, for management, that they might not read as they would like them to! The sudden and recent decision to use the Court transcripts has now become the Company’s excuse to prolong these suspensions, a decision made only after pressure from this union. Even though two of the members concerned here received their transcripts (at their own expense) weeks ago! And it is worth pointing out that their portion of the transcripts are not very long due to the fact that they were questioned so briefly.

‘APPLY RULES FAIRLY’ But it would be interesting to see a transcript of Alan Perry in court: as if the Company are arguing that people CAN be disciplined for what they said in Court, then the same principle should go for senior managers!

THE PRESIDENT’S VIEW: 2ND OCTOBER 2008 THE REASON I CAME DOWN HERE TODAY is to get as many insights as possible as to why you are placed in the situation you are. Now it’s completely relevant that in your group of grades, in the London area, other Representatives are facing suspension– over in the Underground, on Metronet– and not to go into detail about it– but an experi-enced Rep has been stood down and sus-pended on completely trumped up charges: and there’s the common theme! Because from what you arer saying here about Charlie and your other three Brothers, though I don’t know you, what it appears management are doing is something you’ve all got in common with Andy Littlechild, our comrade from Metronet– which is that, if they think they've got something on you and others, on possibly some technical point, that they can call a breach of the

rules, then they’ll come after you. Well, regarding the allega-tions against our members, and the short memories of management, a long time ago I worked on the ticket-ing side of the Underground and I still remember what went on to keep the job go-ing. We knew that management knew that we knew, and if we hadn’t have operated like that, nothing would have got done. So it really sticks in the gullet that even then they manipulated a situation where some-body has looked the other way– poor man-agement, in essence– to try and get the job done, and others are being shot up for it because they went into the witness box and blew the whistle.

Continued next page


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And it’s a shame, as with Andy Littlechild on the Underground, that they think they can get away with it. The reality is nothing to do with the minutiae of whether or not an Avantix PIN number has been shared. Charlie is being set

up because of what he stands for, which is an RMT Rep and activist, and management are clever enough– and cynical enough– to know they’ll have to line up a few other people with him, in order to take out the cornerstone of their problem, which is Charlie. There’s a lot of people he’s defended and advised, in this room and down there on the station, and doing it so successfully, makes himself a target in doing so. You can almost take odds on activists being picked on, and at the moment, when man-agement may feel lucky– we have to rise to the occasion and confront them. I don’t know the details of this case, but what I do know is that we at Head Office have a job of work to do, as do you on the shop-floor being the peo-ple out there– who engage this group of grades in Charlie's’ defence. Because if they think they can take out Charlie and the others, they won’t stop there– they’ll get a taste of blood. Get him out the way and they’ll come back for more and more and more. That’s why we have to be absolutely deter-mined in our defence of these people. The other thing that needs to be said is that all Grades on the railway have the power to apply pressure on management. We’ve got to be imagi-native in what action we take at work, and how we can apply maximum pressure on NXEA to defend these members. We can’t rely on just talking about whether or not we’ve got the Company over a barely legally or not, even if we have! Because these people are already prepared to go to court just to get rid of members– we face this every week and we are facing it now, and we should do everything in our power to stop it get-ting to that stage. I’ve come down here today as President of this Union to make sure that every single activist who puts their head above the parapet, with their members and for their members, gets the full ser-vice, and the full back-up, of this Union. Because where they go, we all go. The National Leadership of the RMT are right behind you, and together we can fight this successfully to the end.

THOUGHT FOR THE MOMENT

“Ten thousand times has

the Labour movement stumbled and bruised it-self.

We have been enjoined by

the courts, assaulted by thugs, charged by the mi-litia, traduced by the press, frowned upon in public opinion, and de-ceived by politicians.

But notwithstanding all this

and all these, labor is to-day the most vital and po-tential power this planet has ever known, and its historic mission is as cer-tain of ultimate realization as is the setting of the sun…”

Eugene V. Debs (1855–1926)

American Trade Union leader, and founding member of the Interna-tional Labor Union and the Industrial Workers Of The World (IWW)




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BOB CROW

FROM THE GENERAL SECRETARY, RMT, TO ALL N.X. REVENUE PROTECTION STAFF

“THE FACT IS, EVERYONE CAN SEE WHAT HAPPENED HERE, that people went to court and told the truth under oath, and in Na-tional Express’s reality, this seems enough to get people the sack. These people could lose their jobs, yet they are innocent. Therefore, whatever happens in future he should be re-instated now or get his job back in future. Unfortunately, UNDER British Employment law, if– as in this case- you’re found not guilty in court, or purely secondary to a case, it doesn’t mean a thing. They say that justice should be swift, yet these suspensions have now lasted eight weeks and counting; so what are they wait-ing for? What we’ve got to do is stand together as one on this, and we’ve got to say to mem-bers, if you don’t support these four people, it could be Colchester next time, or Southend, or Liverpool Street, getting picked on next. I don’t think the membership of this organi-sation should be denied the right to ballot: because if they can pick off these four peo-ple, senior activists or not, and you can’t de-fend them, then what chance have we got at defending our members? THAT IS THE BRU-TAL TRUTH OF THE MATTER. One certain thing is though, is that if people contribute to a Trade Union, then we as Trade Unionists must stand together and support them, because these people have chosen to get out there and fly the flag of this union and support the rest of you on a day to day basis! People like Charlie are amongst the first to

get out there and do disciplinaries, getting people off, getting people re-instated from the sack, and like for the West Anglia people, negotiating at various levels to get them bet-ter pay and conditions. He has basically de-fended YOUR RIGHT to be in a Trade Union. They’ll try and divide you and pick you off one by one; but if you pick on one person in this Union, you pick on 80,000 members. We’ve got to speed up this process while they’re trying to slow the process– at least if we ended up in a tribunal that would speed things along, but with suspension, comes stigma. People think they know what hap-pened, or guess, or believe Company lies. It is a fact that this originates with manage-ment pressing charges when there is no charge to be brought. They are delaying the issue because they have no case. You have our full support, and anything that can be done, industrially, politically, and le-gally, will be done. I came down here today to tell you, standing shoulder to shoulder with John Leach, Bob Rayner, and Derrick Marr, and you who are suspended, you are NOT on your own. We represent the rest of the RMT, and you have our full support. If there is a move to ballot for action, some people will be afraid of ac-tion: but the one guarantee is, that if you stand up to them, you cant guarantee you win, but if you don’t stand up to them, you can guarantee they’ll walk all over you. We have to stand together and tell this rot-ten company that we’re organised, and that if they do damage these people, we stand with them to get them and their jobs back!”


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At the Branch meeting held on Thursday 18th September 2008 at 17:00 at The Railway Tavern Hotel, Angel Lane, Stratford, the following Resolution passed.

“This Branch notes with dismay and disbelief the continuing sus-pension of our Comrade and activist, a Stage II RMT/ Health & Safety representative and Company Councillor for London Eastern Railway (‘National Ex-press East Anglia’), Bro. Charlie Cicirello. This Branch notes the contribu-tion he has made to the devel-opment and organisation of this Union in many workplaces, as well as to the recruitment and retention of members, helping to make this Union a fighting and just Union in the face of years of management assaults of exactly the same kind as we see him facing himself now. He has represented many mem-bers, and won many cases and has faced down many attacks, in the interests of our members. The so-called managers- senior managers at LER, both within the Revenue Protection depart-ment and above them- respon-sible for his suspension have only demonstrated, and con-

tinue to demonstrate hypocrisy and arro-gance. This Branch believes that the treatment so far meted out to Bro. Cicirello amounts to nothing more, and nothing less, than vic-timisation from a management who claim to be professional but have proved themselves by their own actions to be purely vindictive. We salute the sterling work of our Lead Offi-cer in continuing the struggle for justice for Bro Cicirello and we commend him for the

resolve and commitment he has shown in furthering this cause. East London Rail Branch considers that this is nothing less than an outright, indefensi-ble, and unjustifiable attack upon one of our most active comrades, as well as the Union itself, and our ability to organise, recruit, and defend our members. This Branch believes that failure on behalf of NXEA to immediately re-instate Bro Cici-rello and publicly vindicate him will lead to a state of dispute existing between this Union and the Company. Therefore, such a situa-tion developing as a result of NXEA intransi-gency and procrastination, this Branch re-quests that the General Grades Committee instructs the General Secretary to ballot our Revenue Protection grades within NXEA for both strike action and action short of a strike.”

SIGNED: Secretary: Ed Shine Chair: Glenn Wallis

YOUR COLLEAGUES

NEED YOU!!!


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NEXT BRANCH MEETING

THURSDAY 16TH OCTOBER 2008

17:00 HOURS

THE RAILWAY TAVERN HOTEL

ANGEL LANE STRATFORD

SPECIAL GUEST: BRIAN WHITEHEAD

(ACTING LONDON TRANSPORT REGIONAL ORGANISER) WILL BE UPDATING THE BRANCH ON LOROL & NETWORK RAIL ISSUES AND

THE LATEST CAMPAIGNS.

News & Politics

Newsletter: October, 2008