Memorandum from The National Union of
Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) (FT 06)
1. The National Union of Rail, Maritime
and Transport Workers (RMT) welcomes the opportunity to contribute
to the Transport Select Committee inquiry into Freight Transport.
2. RMT organises around 75,000 workers in
all sectors of the transport industry and negotiates, on behalf
of our members, with some 150 employers. In the freight transport
sector we represent members at rail freight operating companies
including EWS, Freightliner and Freightliner Heavy Haul. We also
organise workers in the road freight industry at companies including
Freightliner (which operates multi-modal services), DHL, Wincanton
Logistics, UPS and Initial City Link.
ENCOURAGING MODAL
SHIFT
3. RMT remains committed to a fully integrated,
publicly owned and democratically accountable transport network.
Self-evidently, all forms of freight transport will continue to
contribute towards an integrated and environmentally sustainable
freight and logistics industry across Britain. However we are
strongly of the view that in order to tackle road congestion,
to counter the damaging effects of environmental pollution and
contribute to the statutory targets set out in the Climate Change
Bill to reduce carbon emissions by 60% by 2050, Government should
develop a freight and logistics strategy which encourages significant
modal shift from road to rail and other environmentally sustainable
forms of transport.
4. Regrettably, the percentage of freight
moved by road in the UK is higher than the EU average. Indeed,
carbon emissions in the UK from Heavy Goods Vehicles increased
from 6.3MtC in 1994 to 7.6MtC in 2004: a rise of just over 20%.[3]
5. The environmental benefits of rail freight
are well established. The Freight on Rail partnership, of which
RMT is a member, indicates that an average freight train and an
average aggregates train can remove from our roads 50 and 120
HGV journeys respectively. Furthermore, the Rail Freight Group
estimates that over the past six years rail freight has saved
two million tones of pollutants, 6.4 billion lorry kilometres
and 31.5 million lorry journeys. RMT believes that as a contribution
to meeting the 60% reduction target set out in the Climate Change
Bill the DfT should be required to set three year targets to reduce
carbon emissions from road freight.
STRATEGIC FREIGHT
NETWORK
6. RMT welcomes the commitment in the July
2007 Delivering a Sustainable Railway White Paper to develop a
Strategic Freight Network (SFN). We look forward to entering into
discussions, alongside our sister rail unions, the Rail Freight
Group and the freight operating companies, with the DfT and Network
Rail about the scale and scope of the network. In terms of funding,
whilst welcoming the £200 million budget for the SFN, we
would trust that where social, environmental and business cases
are identified for rail freight upgrades and schemes further funding
will become available. The Committee will no doubt be aware of
the representations made by the rail freight lobby to the DfT
in the run up to the publication of High Level Output Specification
and the rail White Paper (See Appendix A).
7. RMT will also be seeking clarification
on the relationship between the funding of the Strategic Freight
Network and monies that might become available for schemes funded
by this and possible future rounds of the Transport Innovation
Fund.
8. Whilst welcoming the DfT's commitment
to a Strategic Freight Network, we remain disappointed that the
Delivering a Sustainable Railway White Paper has sidestepped issues
which are important for the future expansion of rail freight including
the high-speed North-South passenger rail link and capacity enhancements
on the West Coast Main Line which, according to the National Audit
Office, is unlikely to be able to accommodate current growth levels
beyond 2015-20.[4]
RMT is also concerned that any widespread extension of differentiated
maintenance standards could have serious implications for freight
and we shall be seeking confirmation from the DfT that any such
extension does not exclude freight traffic from those lines.
LONGER AND
HEAVIER VEHICLES
9. In December 2005 the Department for Transport
rejected two applications from road hauliers which sought permission
to trial 60 tonne lorries. However, the DfT did commit itself
to undertake further studies into LHVs. As the committee will
know trials of the vehicles are currently underway in a number
of EU states and the DfT is currently undertaking a desk-based
study into whether trials should be allowed in the UK. The study
is likely to conclude in October 2007.
10. RMT is completely opposed to the introduction
of these vehicles onto the UK road network. We believe that should
they be awarded licenses, existing rail freight will transfer
to road leading to increased carbon emissions and job losses in
the rail freight sector. Research produced by the freight operating
company EWS in May 2007 indicates that:
— LHVs will create additional external
costs of more than £900 million a year.
— Nearly half of existing rail freight
traffic in commodities such as Aggregates will transfer to road.
— The introduction of LHVs will generate
only minimal environmental benefits compared to existing road
fleets.
— International studies do no support
the introduction of the vehicles.
11. Regrettably, the European Parliament
appears to have conceded the principle of allowing these vehicles
onto the European road network. On 4 September the European Parliament
by 577 votes to 52, with a further 51 abstentions, voted on non-legislative
proposals to allow 60 tonne lorries on certain routes in individual
member states. The matter is now with the European Commission
who will report back to the Parliament in 2008-09. RMT alongside
our colleagues in the Freight on Rail partnership will continue
to lobby hard, both in Europe and domestically, against the introduction
of these "road-trains".
AIR FREIGHT
12. RMT believes that Government plans to
expand the aviation sector in the UK should be revisited. To increase
passenger number from 189 million in 2002 to between 350 and 460
million by 2020 and freight volumes in the South East of England
from 2.2 million tonnes in 2003 to 14 million tonnes in 2030 is,
in our view, environmentally unsustainable.
13. In 2005, 585,682,000 tonnes of foreign
and domestic cargo was moved through UK ports[5].
RMT's view is that the proposed increase in air freight should
be moved where possible by sea. Given the huge volume of cargo
being taken through UK ports it would seem perfectly possible
for the additional business to be readily accommodated.
14. In 2005 90,000 tonnes of domestic cargo
and mail was uplifted at UK airports. To deliver an environmentally
sustainable freight sector we believe that the vast majority of
this cargo and mail should be moved by rail, inland waterway and
coastwise traffic. If Government decides to press ahead with their
plans to expand the aviation sector, both for passengers and freight,
then the very least that RMT would want to see are dedicated rail
freight terminals at airports. Currently only the construction
site at Heathrow's Terminal 5 is rail connected, although there
has been an interest expressed in building temporary rail freight
access for the construction needs at Stansted.
THE SAFETY
RECORD OF
HGV VEHICLES
15. The January 2004 Income Data Service,
Report number 896 on pay, conditions and labour market changes,
indicated that it is heavy goods vehicle drivers, working an average
of 52.9 hours a week, who top the league table of full-time occupations
in Britain with the longest working hours.
16. It is well established that the "long
hours and low pay" culture in the road transport sector is
a threat to road safety, creates unnecessary stress and sits uneasily
alongside initiatives to promote a reasonable work-life balance.
RMT has campaigned for some time alongside the TUC, TGWU, GMB
and URTU for more effective statutory measures aimed at improving
the health and safety at work of professional HGV drivers and
crew.
17. In April 2005 the Government introduced
the Road Transport (Working Time) Regulations 2005. Whilst the
regulations do set a maximum average working week of 48 hours
over a 17 week reference period (which can be extended up to 26
weeks) from which there is no individual or collective opt-out,
they fall short of what we had hoped for. The Regulations introduce
a category of time called a "periods of availability"
which includes periods spent at depots waiting to load/unload
or travelling as a crew member when not navigating or driving
which do not count towards the 48 hour average. The result is
that road transport workers are being placed in the invidious
position of continuing to work excessively long hours in order
to maintain their existing living standards. This creates the
conditions for bringing the regulations themselves into disrepute,
with some drivers wanting to individually opt-out from the 48
hour average.
18. The DfT is currently conducting a review
of the Working Time Regulations. The TUC is part of the working
party which is seeking to investigate abuses of periods of availability.
The result of the review and working party is due by the end of
the year. RMT believes that the DfT should conclude their review
of the Regulations by deciding to bring forward a framework for
the industry that is designed to improve the health and safety
of HGVs drivers and by extension other road users. Such a framework
should scrap the periods of availability, address the long-hours
and low-pay culture in the road transport industry, support shorter
working hours and deliver a better work-life balance.
CONCLUSION
— RMT welcomes the opportunity to contribute
to the freight transport inquiry. RMT remains committed to a publicly
owned, fully integrated and democratically accountable freight
and logistics network. Specifically RMT is calling for.
— Modal shift from road to rail and
other forms of environmentally sustainable transport.
— A well funded Strategic Freight Network.
— Statutory three year targets to reduce
carbon emissions from road freight.
— The proposed expansion of air freight
to be accommodated where possible by sea.
— Where air freight is required there
should be dedicated rail freight access to airports.
— Opposition to 60 tonne longer heavier
vehicles on the UK road network.
— A framework to improve the health
and safety record of HGVs by tackling the long hours low pay culture
in the road transport sector.
APPENDIX A
— Channel Tunnel gauge enhancement
to W12 and full european gauge.
— Felixstowe to Nuneaton capacity enhancements.
— Southampton to WCML capacity enhancements.
— Southampton to WCML diversionary
capacity and gauge enhancement.
— South Humberside Main Line capacity
and flexibility.
— Newcastle to Carlisle gauge enhancements.
— Felixstowe & Southampton train
lengths.
— Gospel Oak to Barking capacity &
electrification.
— Oxford to Bletchley route reopening.
— Stourbridge to Walsall route reopening.
— Hope Valley capacity enhancements.
— Blaenau Ffestiniog enhance route
capability to allow slate waste train operation.
— Newport to Shrewsbury additional
capacity & enhanced loop length and capability.
— Cardiff to Bristol enhance Severn
Tunnel capacity and increase relief line speeds.
— Cwmbargoed Branch Line improve operation
by enhancing line speeds and the creation of new loops.
— Cardiff Central to Cardiff Queen
Street additional signalling capacity.
— W12 gauge enhancement from Berwick
to Glasgow, including Shotts route.
— Run round facilities at Kilmarnock.
— W12 Gauge enhancements and capacity
improvements between Glasgow and Aberdeen.
— Electrification between Monktonhall
Junction and Slatford Junction.
— W12 Gauge enhancement of Glasgow
& South Western Route.
— W12 Gauge enhancement from Mossend/Edinburgh
to Grangemouth.
— Lengthen loops and moving signal
to allow longer coal trains from Hunterston.
— Capacity improvements between Edinburgh
and Inverkeithing.
October 2007
3 DfT: Transport Statistics 2006 Back
4
The Modernisation of the West Coast Main Line-NAO November
2006 Back
5
DfT Transport Statistics 2006 Back
| 
