RMT to hold #BringBackTheBuffet events

RAIL UNION RMT has confirmed that it will be holding events at Swansea, Plymouth and London Paddington stations at 7am on Monday the 13th of May in support of a union campaign to Bring Back The Buffet on Great Western Railway services.

Great Western Railway (GWR) has removed the buffet car from all of its new Intercity Express Trains, which serve routes from London to Wales and the South West – a move which RMT always argued was a retrograde step. There removal has impacted on the passenger experience by removing the option of a proper catering service. The buffet car also acts as a point of safety and contact.

The events on Monday 13th May will link up workers along the GWR routes who are demanding that the buffet car be reinstated and that the staff who work in the catering grades are properly valued and respected. RMT will be rolling out the #BringBackTheBuffet campaign on a national basis with GWR the starting point for a national drive that will put rail catering, and rail catering staff, centre stage.

RMT General Secretary, Mick Cash said:
“The axing of the buffet car on Great Western Railway was a cash-led move that was all about maximising profits at the expense of the traveller. RMT’s Bring Back The Buffet campaign will set out to right that wrong.

"RMT catering members are an integral part of the rail team and they deserve respect and support.

"For too long catering services on the railway have been seen as a soft touch for cuts. No longer. RMT's #BringBackTheBuffet campaign will put catering on the railway centre stage, where it belongs."
Ends.

EDITORS NOTES

RMT #BringBackTheBuffet campaign page

Early Day Motion 2361

GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY BUFFET CAR
EDM #2361
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Tabled 02 May 2019
2017-19 Session
That this House regrets that Great Western Railway has removed the buffet car from all of its new Intercity Express Trains, servicing long distance journeys such as London to Cornwall; notes that the buffet car provides passengers with proper catering options and a point of safety and contact with staff; is concerned that Great Western Railway's decision to remove the buffet has led to a deterioration in the GWR passenger experience; further notes that the publicly owned London North Eastern Railway line is also rolling out a fleet of the same trains, but all have retained the buffet car; supports the campaign by the RMT union on this issue; calls on Great Western Railway to reinstate the buffet car on all Intercity Express Trains; and calls on the Department for Transport to ensure that the buffet car is a requirement for all future further franchises on this line.