Ref: thisisbristol.co.uk
http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/displayN ... K=12742145
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STRIKE BALLOT CALL IN RAIL ROW
11:00 - 01 July 2005
The prospect of the biggest industrial dispute on the railways for more than a decade is a step closer as union leaders backed calls for a national strike ballot in a row over track maintenance. More than 1,500 Rail Maritime and Transport Union members from Bristol could join 18,000 colleagues nationally in industrial action over union claims that the railway maintenance could be "re-privatised".
The row is over a controversial plan to transfer signalling and maintenance work from Network Rail to Merseyrail, which runs rail services across North West England.
The union fears the idea would be the "thin edge of the wedge" and could lead to other maintenance workers' jobs being privatised.
Network Rail took maintenance work back in house last year but proposals are being drawn up for Merseyrail to take over the infrastructure of the track its trains run over.
RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said the Government was behind the proposal, accusing ministers of not wanting the public sector to run any part of the railways.
He said: "I am confident that our members will vote overwhelmingly in support of a strike."