By Paul Jackson, Secretary, RMT LU Engineering branch

Times are hard, companies are cutting back and by and large workers are paying the price of other people's mistakes or cynical moves by companies to maximise profits. One such example was Emcor Rail, which help to maintain station infrastructure on behalf of TubeLines.

The staff there were given notice that the company was laying some of them off and the rest were faced with massive pay cuts, ending of company sick pay, having to reapply for their own jobs and annual leave being reduced to the minimum amount. Bully-boy management were laughing in the face of the workers and rubbing their hands with glee at the thought of forcing the new conditions on their victims.

Unfortunately for Emcor, some of the members there had decided to join the RMT and it was time for the fight back to begin. RMT Regional Organiser Steve Hedley paid a visit to their workplace in Canary Wharf to speak to the workers. He proceeded to organise them into a unified force and empowered them to be able to stand up to management.

It was obvious that these cuts would mean that people couldn't pay their mortgages so it became time for the workers to fight back as they had nothing to lose. In a mass meeting that was attended by the lead manager responsible for the cuts, Steve Hedley tore into him and showed his "union bashing" for what it was: bluster and bluff. The workforce then agreed that none of them would reapply for the old jobs and that they would stick together as a collective unit.

Management were left with a stark choice: force through the cuts and they would have no workforce. The workers made it plan that they wouldn't budge and had no intention of working under the new imposed conditions. The result was hard to call, but the RMT made it clear that they would support any action the workers needed to take. In the end, it was management that blinked and agreed to a fair selection process for the new jobs, reinstatement of the old annual leave and agreement to retain their pay.

Suffice to say, it is possible to defeat the bosses by standing together. These workers are now all in the RMT and we will be looking to gain recognition there very soon. In times like this, it is more important that people join a union that is prepared to fight for them rather than sitting back and allowing the bosses free rein to attack their pay and conditions. The RMT slogan of 'Unity is Strength' couldn't be more true and we salute the workers' co-operative at Emcor.