Dear Comrades, My name is Richard Burns and I write to inform you that I have received the honour of being nominated for the upcoming NEC position for Region 1 Scotland by my own Branch Glasgow 5. I am respectfully asking your Branch to consider making a supporting nomination for myself, in this election and therefore I provide a little background of my industry service and involvement within our great union. My current position within the railway is a train manager (guard) with Avanti trains based at Glasgow Central. However, my railway career started in 1990 with Scotrail based at Helensburgh in the north Clyde area, starting as a railman and then becoming an ATE for a couple of years and then moving to Yoker depot as a passenger guard. Unfortunately due to the attacks on the role of the guard, I like many others, was made redundant from the role. This led me back to Helensburgh employed as a TE for a period of time before taking a break from the rail industry. I came back to the railway in 1999 employed as an On Board Caterer with Virgin trains on the west coast mainline for approximately 2 years before becoming a train manager (guard) which is my current role based at Glasgow Central. I have served members at Glasgow Central, firstly as an LLC representative and then becoming a company council representative for both Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley for a period of approximately 15 years, holding the position of assistant chair for the majority of my time on the council. I have dealt with all aspects of discipline and grievance procedures including dealing with local and national industrial issues. Through the experience, skills and knowledge gained at LLC level, I was able to utilise them to play an active role at CC levels including being present at negotiations regarding terms and conditions, pay, benefits and pensions which are all of key importance to our membership. I believe that communication is the bedrock of good organisation, accordingly I have lead from the from the front in our many and varied disputes with Avanti WC and there predecessor Virgin Trains. I have attended numerous courses at our Bob Crow National education centre at Doncaster and have been accredited with all the various educational qualifications to be a representative within the transport industry. I have for the last 10 years also been the assistant chair at my branch and I am currently a serving trustee of our union. Over the last 20 years or so I have attended our unions AGMs as a delegate and also as a trustee.
If I was to receive your nomination and subsequently elected to represent the Scottish Region on the NEC, I can assure members that I would fight tirelessly to ensure all our members in Scotland, irrespective of grade or company will have “a voice at the decision making table”. I will strongly advocate that the “bread and butter issues” of our members are projected and protected at every opportunity. If elected to the NEC, I commit subject to NEC business and other diary commitments to also attend the various Branches throughout Scotland enabling me to meet Branch members and to provide a verbal report on all the numerous burning issues and disputes we are currently fighting, at that time. Members can then hold me accountable for the decisions of the NEC through their tough face to face questioning. Once again, I respectfully request the supporting nomination of your Branch. In Solidarity. Richard Burns Email. Rikez@sky.com Tel. 07766756842