RMT demands that Mayor lift congestion charge from London lifeboat staff

Thames waterways union RMT today demanded that London Mayor Sadiq Khan exempt staff working at Tower RNLI station from the congestion and ULEZ charges warning that a failure to recognise the vital contribution of this group of staff at the UK's busiest lifeboat station is robbing them of hundreds of pounds a month. 

 
RMT has written to both the Mayor and TFL boss Mike Brown requesting that the RNLI staff be exempt from the charges. The request has been turned down flat and the union is now ratcheting up the pressure as river traffic is expected to escalate over the coming weeks as the lockdown is eased. 
 
The RNLI staff have been advised not to use public transport ‎and have found themselves caught in a charging trap which is set to deepen when the congestion charge timings are extended from the 22nd June. 
 
RMT general secretary Mick Cash said;
 
“It is nothing short of a scandal that the RMT members at the Tower lifeboat station, the busiest in the country, are being hammered by the escalation and extension of congestion charging as they support our volunteer crews in their lifesaving work. We are demanding that the Mayor take urgent action to right this wrong.  
 
“It is expected that river traffic will escalate profoundly over the ‎coming weeks as the lockdown is eased and the contribution of the Thames RNLI staff to ensuring safety on the river must be recognised.  
 
“Our members are calling for nothing more than fairness and justice and Sadiq Khan must face up to this scandal on his watch and do the right thing.”

> RMT National News

Tuesday, 17th February
Maritime union, RMT has welcomed an overwhelming vote for strike action by seafarers employed by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) after management could not even demonstrate that it was complying with minimum wage legislation.
Tuesday, 10th February
RMT is demanding a new law to safeguard transport workers in Scotland against a sharp rise in assaults, ahead of a meeting with MSPs in Holyrood.
Wednesday, 4th February
Outsourced cleaners on the Docklands Light Railway will strike alongside a protest at Transport for London’s Board meeting today, intensifying pressure on London Mayor Sadiq Khan to honour his pledge to bring cleaners back in-house.
Saturday, 31st January
RMT welcomed London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway services being brought under Great British Railways on Sunday but insisted outsourced workers must not be left behind.
Friday, 30th January
Transport union RMT, will demand safe staffing and an end to lone working on the railways at an Action Against Assaults event at the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday 11 February.