Author: Paul

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Latest LUL Dispute Update from Acas

At today’s talks no real progress was made LU made their position known:

 

– No improvements on Pay

– No improvements on Night Tube payments

– No improvements for easing weekend or night working for all grades

– An undertaking from LU that Night Tube working will not be imposed on staff; BUT that management still retain the ‘right’ to impose rosters if the roster talks are unproductive

 

RMT, UNITE & TSSA are accordingly of the belief that there are no real improvements from LU; and we are still in dispute and will continue to defend all our members

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Chaos on District Line

Chaos on District Line as action short of a strike bites leaving severe train shortages

 

The District line has lost more than a third of its trains this morning due to the union work to rule in the depots which has been ongoing as part of the Night Tube dispute.

 

Tube bosses have attempted to put in stopped trains which are near their maximum kilometres but those can only do short trips as they are on the very edge of their safety tolerances. Those in charge haven’t a clue where train units are overnight due to units being put anywhere due to lack of depot space. The union suspects that even the concessions are being fudged just to get trains in.

 

Today the action short of a strike has really hit home and the impact is set to escalate. The entire Wimbledon & Ealing Broadway service branches had to be suspended earlier due to the severe lack of trains.

 

RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said;

 

“Tube bosses have tried to cover up the impact of the action short of a strike which is continuing across the network and which is hitting services hard with the impact set to escalate.

 

“RMT will be raising again today serious concerns that safety tolerances are being fudged and breached to try and keep services running, threatening passengers and staff alike.

 

“The solution to this dispute is serious negotiations around the work/life balance issues that have led to the action, not a cavalier attitude to safety to try and cover up the impact. “

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MJ Quinns threaten to dismiss and reengage

MJ Quinns have escalated the issue of how fuel costs are claimed back by employees and the removal of fuel cards by now threatening to dismiss and re-engage staff on new contracts in a growing dispute over removal of fuel cards and changing the process by which people can claim fuel costs. Instead of claiming back fuel costs or using Fuel Cards, MJ Quinns are proposing that they pay fuel costs at the Inland Revenue Business Rate of 14p a mile for defined routes to workplaces. This could ignore road diversions etc and we believe may seriously impact our members and leave them paying for the fuel they use driving on MJ Quinns jobs.

Following previous advice to reject the proposals and ask a series of questions on how the MJ Quinns proposal will work, the company have now taken the serious step to threaten to dismiss the workforce and re-employ them on new contracts. They are also looking for staff representatives to ‘discuss’ these proposals and will not negotiate with the RMT.

To that end we are advising our members to insist that the RMT are allowed to represent them and we are looking to start the formal recognition process with immediate effect

We have also advised that we will seek a legal opinion if necessary as to whether this would amount to Unfair Dismissal if members refused to accept the varied new employment contracts.

For more details on contracts check

http://www.acas.org.uk/media/pdf/8/6/Varying-a-contract-of-employment-accessible-version.pdf

 

 

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Another Shocking Section 15 Incident

The RMT have been made aware of another shocking incident in the Section 15 possession. It is inconceivable that LUL continue the relentless changes to track safety on the basis of saving money and risking lives.

We come to work to earn money, not to go home in a body bag

Section 15 eIRF

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RMT confirms new strike dates in Night Tube dispute

RMT confirms new strike dates in Night Tube dispute

 

TUBE UNION RMT has today confirmed two twenty four hour strikes in the Night Tube and station jobs disputes as London Underground management, under the direction of Mayor Boris Johnson, continue to stall over the issue of work/life balance and job cuts arising from the new rosters and the Fit for the Future programme – due to come into force from the 12th September.

 

As a result, the executive of the union has taken the following decision:

 

“We note the magnificent strike action involving all 4 Trade Unions on the Underground. We particularly applaud our members for their solid and resolved action to defend their conditions of service, jobs and pay.

 

We note the continued intransigence and provocation by LU Management and their continued failure to address the wider issues of work life balance.

 

We therefore instruct the General Secretary to inform London Underground that:

 

Train Operator and Instructor Operator members are to take strike action as follows:-

 

  • By not booking on for any shifts commencing from 2100 hours on Tuesday 25th August 2015 until 2059 hours on Wednesday 26th August 2015; and again

 

  • By not booking on for any shifts commencing from 2100 hours on Thursday 27th August 2015 until 2059 hours on Friday 28th August 2015

 

All Other Grades:-

 

  • By not booking on for any shifts commencing from 1830 hours on Tuesday 25th August 2015 until 1829 hours on Wednesday 26th August 2015; and again

 

  • By not booking on for any shifts commencing from 1830 hours on Thursday 27th August 2015 until 1829 hours on Friday 28th August 2015

 

We also note with concern that two of our Fleet Branch members have been sent home and pay deducted for carrying out Union instructions on training. We salute these members and we will not leave them isolated. We instruct the General Secretary to liaise with LU Fleet Branch in order to provide practical support to these members.”

 

 

RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said:

 

“Our members the length and breadth of London Underground have made it clear that they are determined to protect their work/life balance and not fall into a trap where they will be forced to wreck their home lives in order to comply with the “rosters from hell” which have been drawn up to plug the staffing gaps in the Night Tube plans.

 

“Staff are angry that their grievances are being ignored and dismissed by both the Mayor and his officials and that there has been no substantial move as of today from London Underground  to make progress towards a negotiated settlement. That is why we have no option but to strike again. It is ridiculous that the job cuts programme for fleet, engineering and station staff is also still being bulldozed through against this background.

 

“The Night Tube plan has been botched from the off. The basics haven’t been done and those who will pay for this shambles will not only be our members but the London daily travelling public who cough up a fortune and who will find their safety and the reliability of the service compromised from 12th September onwards. Running tube services with fatigued and burnt-out staff is a recipe for disaster.

 

“The action goes ahead and RMT remains available for talks regardless of the point we have reached in the dispute which is perfectly normal.”

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In honour of Bob Crow

In honour of Bob Crow  –  bike ride London to Paris 5 to 7 September 2015 in aid of the British Heart foundation

 http://lastinghope.bhf.org.uk/london-to-paris-bike-ride?dm_i=1QIB,1Q6HK,H86M71,656W9,1

Ben Anderson, Daniel Davies, John Hendy (QC) and Anthony Hoarau (son) are the ‘Red Riders’! we are cycling a gruelling 400KM From London to Paris in aid of the British heart foundation. By undertaking this great challenge we hope that with your help we can raise awareness and fund research into heart related illnesses.
A wise man once said ..“ if you get up and fight you might lose, but if you don’t fight you will definitely lose”.

This is a message that resonates with us as we hope that by supporting the British heart foundation we can fight heart disease which is a leading killer of the under privileged and poor of the western and developing world.

We ride from London to Paris in memory of the late and great Bob Crow, a man with a huge heart and defender of the working people and hope we too can ‘hold the banner’ in some small way and keep his memory and legacy alive.

Nicola Hoarau

Office Manager

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RMT tables response to LU at ACAS Tube dispute talks

RMT tables response to LU at ACAS Tube dispute talks

 

TUBE UNION RMT has set out a position statement in talks with London Underground at ACAS over pay, night tube and continuing job cuts. The LU management have taken away the statement, and responses from the other unions, for consideration.

 

RMT’s position covers the following ground:

 

  • Suspension of two fleet trainers at Ealing Common without pay for carrying out lawful industrial action. RMT’s sees this as provocative, aggressive and an escalation by LU and demands an assurance by the end of today that the staff have been returned to work immediately with their pay reinstated.

 

  • RMT will continue to engage through the ACAS process on the three separate issues in dispute, Fit for the Future Stations, Pay and Night Tube. The settlement of these issues will need to be properly resourced to secure progress.

 

  • RMT opposes the “gun at the head” conditional and confrontational approach adopted by LU which is not conducive to constructive talks. Current agreements must not be undermined or overridden as part of the process. The pay offer of 1% in 2015 and RPI or 1% in the two subsequent years is not acceptable and the union seeks a guarantee of RPI plus. However, in order to make progress RMT suggests deferring immediate discussion on pay at this time.

 

  • RMT is not opposed to Night Tube by agreement and with all issues properly addressed, including:

Rosters and Work/Life balance for all grades to be properly agreed with no one required to work more nights and weekends than at present. Headcount reviews will be required to meet agreed staffing levels in all functions

All volunteers for Night Tube to be properly rewarded, in order to facilitate the new working practices we expect proper rewards and recognition for all.

Transitional Night Tube proposals for Train Operators to be developed, agreed and extended to all functions and grades as part of any agreement.

The Fit For the Future proposals to ensure that all staff have comparable numbers of weekends off with appropriate changes to current agreements to allow new means of rostering the future cover structure which is to be agreed by consent.

 

General Secretary Mick Cash said:

“RMT has made it crystal clear from the start that in return for the very basic guarantees and assurances sought on work life balance that the union will work to agree a final form of station rosters for all areas. A final agreement would have as its basis the best work-life balance and reward for staff while addressing the needs of the business which may well require additional staff resources.

“London Underground  and the Mayor can throw out whatever propaganda they like direct to staff but until these issues are addressed, and the threat of imposition of the rosters is removed,  the dispute will not be resolved and it is now time for them to recognise that and to start negotiating seriously around our position statement. We’ve seen the proposed rosters and if management and Boris Johnson want to know what staff think they should take a trip to depots like Leytonstone and White City and hear what our members think of being rammed in to what are now known across the job as the “rosters from hell.”

“It is also clearly difficult to make progress while Boris Johnson, as Mayor of London and Chair of Transport for London, is boxing in his negotiators through the media while refusing to get his hands dirty himself by talking to us. That is a major obstacle and is at odds with the way that the First Minister intervened directly in Scotland to broker a settlement in the ferries dispute. The ball is now in LU and the Mayor’s court.”

 

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RMT demands an end to posturing by the London Mayor

RMT demands an end to posturing by the London Mayor as he announces that he is to write to all tube staff telling them to accept Night Tube rosters 

Mick Cash said;

“It is time for Boris Johnson to stop the posturing and start talking. This latest stunt of writing to all tube staff just confirms that he is calling the shots on Night Tube from top to bottom and doesn’t understand the fury he has unleashed across all grades, depots and lines.

“The continued refusal of the London Mayor to have any direct contact with the transport unions, despite the fact that he is clearly in charge of the tube dispute, ‎is a ludicrous way to deal with a crisis that has developed on his watch.The appeal direct to the tube workforce ignores the anger and concerns of nearly 20000 union members, reflected in massive votes in successive ballots, and will just inflame the situation.

“In Scotland, when RMT had a dispute on the ferries, the First Minister stepped in and brokered talks which led to a settlement. The Mayor cannot continue to lurch along in ignorance of the facts, ducking his responsibilities as chair of TFL,  when the whole of London is crying out for a negotiated solution that deals with the fundamental issues at the heart of this current dispute.. “

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Secret RMT Plans

The RMT always prides itself on being an all grades union. We are open. We like to communicate with each other and inform our members what is going on.

Its always nice to see senior managers subscribing to our webpage/ facebook or twitter.

So in the spirit of openness, please click the below link for all our secret plans.

Secret Plans: Click here

 

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RMT calls for Urgent Meeting with Boris

With Boris Johnson taking direct control of Night Tube dispute RMT calls for urgent meeting

 

RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said;

 

“It has become clear from the media coverage over the past forty eight hours that Boris Johnson has taken direct control of the current tube dispute.

 

“As the Night Tube is his personal project, and as chair of Transport for London, it is now time for the Mayor to reverse his long standing policy of not meeting with the trade unions and to give our negotiators an opportunity to set out the facts to him directly.

 

“From the Mayor’s statements it is clear that he has not got the message that this dispute is not about money it is about work/life balance and it is essential that with Mr Johnson now taking charge of the dispute that he grasps the fundamental issues. That can only happen through a direct meeting which looks like it’s now essential to making serious progress towards a resolution of this dispute. “

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Picket Line Bear

The RMT has seen reports that a bear has been photographed attending official picket lines. Mick Cash is unavailable for comment.

Industry insiders suspect it may in fact be a monkey in disguise and even potentially a major Night Tube recruitment drive to recruit nocturnal animals for all those friday and saturday nights. London Zoo have confirmed that they have checked and it has not escaped from them.

If seen, the travelling public are advised to give him a cuddle as pickets are entirely peaceful and appreciate the love. People attending work in order to strike break are advised to just turn round and go home.

Some of the above may not be entirely accurate 😉

Picket Line Bear

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LUL Strike rock solid

Rock solid tube action sends out clearest possible message that issues must now be addressed

 

RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said;

 

“The action is absolutely solid on London Underground ‎across all unions, all grades and all lines and depots. That sends out the clearest possible message to Boris Johnson and his tube bosses that they must now take the staff grievances seriously and get back into genuine and meaningful talks.

 

“Our dispute is not with the travelling public it is with those who have botched the introduction of Night Tube and who are trying to plug staffing gaps by wrecking any chance of a decent work/life balance for our members. It really is as simple as that.

 

“The anger and determination of a wholly united tube workforce can be seen on the joint picket lines across the network this morning. Those voices must be heard and understood now and talks convened so that the fundamental issues at the heart of this dispute can be resolved. ”

 

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