Tuesday 15 May 2012

ASLEF members were picketing outside Nottingham Train Station this morning.

This is the 5th one day strike in support of the ASLEF [Associated Society of Locomotive Steam Enginemen and Firemen] action against East Midlands Trains, a Stagecoach company.

A number of train were 'parked' in Nottingham Station.  Cancellations shown on the board with anouncements over the tanoy, apogising for the inconvenience.

Speaking to them on their picket line, they pointed out that other train companies had settled the issue with the unions, but, East Midlands Train remain obstinate.

A official from this union was on of the speakers at the Trades Council Mayday event. 

Mayday Speeches & Event http://nottingham.indymedia.org/articles/2572

ASLEF general secretary Mick Whelan said the ‘bizarre and insulting’ media statements put out by East Midland Trains recently shows that they are getting desperate. ‘They have run out of ideas, so they are beginning to hit our like naughty children. Their latest accusation – that the union is ‘keeping its members in the dark’ – is even more ridiculous than it is insulting.

‘They are obviously ignorant about this issue,‘ says Mick Whelan. ‘Not being members of our union, they obviously do not know what has been communicated. If they had been ASLEF members they would know the company’s accusations are ridiculous. We have communicated with our members by every means available to us.

‘This type of misleading attack will only lengthen this dispute. I call on EMT management to try to control themselves and come back to the negotiating table in a reasonable and dignified manner.’

Mick Whelan had earlier said 'he would make a full report to his executive committee who would determine how to act most effectively to protect the pensions of union members working for EMT. In the interim, our door remains open. We are willing to meet the company at any time, anywhere.’ 

ASLEF Vs EMT Strike Leaflet:

http://www.aslef.org.uk/files/132769/FileName/ASLEFEMTStrike.pdf

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ASLEF Press Release:

East Midlands – why we are on strike today

ASLEF’s 460 members who work for East Midland Trains will be on strike today as a result of a dispute with management over their pensions. In essence

· EMT has decided to cut the amount of money going into our pension scheme – thus saving the company £2.1 million between now and the next valuation.

· So the scheme becomes cheaper. And ‘cheaper’ inevitably means ‘worse’.

· Our pensions are our security in retirement. We have paid for them ever since we began work. We can’t sit and watch them being devalued.

EMT is telling the media that they are being kind to us by ‘saving’ us £500 a year in money we don’t need to pay into the fund. This is very misleading.

· We don’t want to cheapen our fund. The company fails to mention that because the pension scheme is ‘shared cost’ they save £750 a year – and so £1,250 less goes into our pension fund. In fact, some £2.1 million.

· That means the pension scheme is worth less. Our pensions will be worth less.

It is vital for all British workers to defend their pensions. In this case, why doesn’t EMT care about a cheaper pension fund? Because

it might not be running the franchise in a couple of years, so it has a short-term view of the world.

If the pension fund then is worth a lot less, they don’t care.

If they lose the franchise, they don’t have to deal with it – and if they win it, staff get lower pensions.

PENSIONS ARE IMPORTANT TO US ALL. WE ALL DESERVE DIGNITY IN RETIREMENT.

SO WE HOPE YOU WILL BE UNDERSTANDING AS WE FIGHT TO PROTECT OUR PENSIONS.

We’ve been prepared to negotiate and resolve this for the best part of a year.

Why hasn’t EMT?

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ASLEF: Train Drivers Union

http://www.aslef.org.uk

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ALAN LODGE 

Photographer - Media: One Eye on the Road. Nottingham.  UK

Email:                 tash@indymedia.org

Web:                   http://digitaljournalist.eu

Member of the National Union of Journalists [NUJ]

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"It is not enough to curse the darkness.

                                   It is also necessary to light a lamp!!"

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