Category: RMT

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RATES OF PAY & CONDITIONS OF SERVICE 2022 – RAIL FOR LONDON INFRASTRUCTURE

RATES OF PAY & CONDITIONS OF SERVICE 2022 – RAIL FOR LONDON INFRASTRUCTURE (LUL/0001/RFLI)

 

Further to my previous Circular (IR/217/22, 18th October 2022), the ballot for strike action has now commenced.

 

The ballot papers were posted to members on Friday

 

4th November and the closing date is Tuesday 22nd November 2022.

 

If any member has not yet received their ballot paper, please ask them to contact the freephone helpline on 0800 376 3706 or info@rmt.org.uk as soon as possible.

 

I will keep Branches advised of all further developments.

 

Yours sincerely

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Michael Lynch

General Secretary

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DEFEND JOBS, PENSIONS AND AGREEMENTS – LONDON UNDERGROUND

Dear Colleagues,

 

DEFEND JOBS, PENSIONS AND AGREEMENTS – LONDON UNDERGROUND (LUL/14/2)

 

Congratulations to every member on London Underground (LUL) for taking part in the strike action on Thursday 10th November. This action was solid and showed that your determination to defend jobs, pensions and agreements remains as strong as it was when we took our first strike action in March of this year. Without our action, London Underground would, no doubt, be further down the road of job cuts, pension attacks and the imposition of flexible working.

 

The next action is scheduled for all LUL Station Grades members who will be taking action by refusing to work any overtime between 00:01 hours on Sunday 20th November to 23:59 hours on Saturday 26th November 2022. Station Grades members at Kings Cross Area, Heathrow Cover Group, Victoria Central Cover Group and the SRT will also be taking strike action by not booking on for any shifts commencing between 00:01 hours and 23:59 hours on Friday 25th November 2022.

 

There is also currently a re-ballot underway and papers were posted to members on Tuesday 8th November. The closing date is Thursday 8th December 2022 and all members should be urged to return their ballot paper as soon as possible. Members will also be receiving texts from their Reps asking if they need a replacement ballot paper. Please be assured that this is a genuine communication from RMT.

 

I will keep Branches advised of all further developments.

 

BREAKDOWN IN INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS – ISS (KAD CONTRACT) (LUL/14/2)

 

Further to my previous Circular (IR/239/22, 8th November 2022), the ballot for strike action has now commenced. The ballot papers were posted to members on Wednesday 9th November and the closing date is Tuesday 29th November 2022.

 

If any member has not yet received their ballot paper, please ask them to contact the freephone helpline on 0800 376 3706 or info@rmt.org.uk as soon as possible.

 

I will keep Branches advised of all further developments.

 

RATES OF PAY & CONDITIONS OF SERVICE 2022 – RAIL FOR LONDON INFRASTRUCTURE (LUL/0001/RFLI)

 

Further to my previous Circular (IR/217/22, 18th October 2022), the ballot for strike action has now commenced. The ballot papers were posted to members on Friday 4th November and the closing date is Tuesday 22nd November 2022.

 

If any member has not yet received their ballot paper, please ask them to contact the freephone helpline on 0800 376 3706 or info@rmt.org.uk as soon as possible.

 

I will keep Branches advised of all further developments.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Michael Lynch

General Secretary

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John Leach ‘1’ for RMT General Secretary

I have worked with most of the candidates for many years and I believe that John Leach deserves your ‘1’ VOTE

 

All Grades Union

 

John cares about us all. It does not matter what back ground you come from, what grade you are or where you work, we are all workers and he works tirelessly on everyone’s behalf. It is easy to bang a drum or wave a stick but he recognises the need for different tactics for different fights.

 

Experience:

 

John has many years experience in the RMT. He is currently the Regional Organiser in your area and has served several times on our union’s National Executive and also as our President. During those decades, he has worked along side the very best people, officers and general secretaries we have had and has learnt his trade from these people. He knows how to run the union and is a safe EFFECTIVE  pair of hands in these troubling times.

 

Ability

 

John knows how to negotiate and how to fight if necessary. He has won small gains and large victories and is not ashamed to say his aim is the improvement of everyone’s job, conditions and job security.

 

He has directly negotiated the agreements below:

1.  The LT Pension scheme being opened to Tube Lines staff

2.  Bringing back Tube Lines and other companies inhouse

3.  Covid Isolation and sick  Pay for ABM  Cleaners

4.  The ‘Jobs for Life Deal’ / No compulsory redundancies in LU and all the contractual rights. Staff levels being agreed

5.  TUPE talks with various companies to bring staff back to LUL and on DLR

6.  Recognition agreements on new companies in tfl

7.  Abolition of zero hours contracts and full contractual hours

 

Cool Head

 

When I have worked with John, there have been times where employers have tried to unnerve us or force into the wrong course of action. He never panics and maintains a poker face at all times. He relies on his ability to negotiate a settlement and also has a feeling for whether an employer may have more on the table and will push that issue into dispute. He is able to win through ability and is never scared to fight if necessary.

 

Works with the Members

 

John believe in a fighting and democratic union where the members have the first, second and final say. He will listen to you and he will act on what your tell him. John will be your General Secretary approachable, dependable and experienced.

 

More work to do

 

John recognises the big fights ahead and that we have more work to do. He is working with us on the IR35 issue and protecting all jobs across the London transport arena. He wants to ensure that you have the very best conditions and job security that can be achieved for each and every member. Whether that be LUL, Engie, Thales, Balfour Beatty, Morsons and Cleshar etc we are all brothers and sisters and he wants the opportunity to win for us all.

 

That’s why LUEngineering, your branch and myself, choose to support John Leach ‘1’ for General Secretary

 

Many thanks

 

Paul Jackson

LUEngineering Branch Secretary

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TRANSPORT WORKERS ARE ESSENTIAL WORKERS

RMT launches TRANSPORT WORKERS ARE ESSENTIAL WORKERS campaign as threats of pay freezes and job cuts surface
TRANSPORT UNION RMT said today that it will be launching a fresh wave of campaigning under the banner TRANSPORT WORKERS ARE ESSENTIAL WORKERS as threats of pay freezes and possible attacks on jobs and conditions emerged in Government briefings over the weekend.
The new campaign, which will be rolled out through a high profile advertising blitz on social media and in press ads, will tie in with work being carried out through the TUC and an alliance of unions designed to halt the threat of pay freezes and cuts to standards of living across Britain’s public services and public sector in the wake of the COVID pandemic.
RMT says it would be a kick in the teeth for transport workers, staff who have kept Britain’s essential workers and freight moving for the past year whilst being disproportionately and heavily exposed to the virus in the process, were to be repaid with a hit to their living standards and livelihoods.
RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said:
“Today, transport workers who are risking their lives keeping our country moving have found out they have been stabbed in the back by the Government who have extended  the public sector pay freeze to the transport sector whilst at the same time it’s business as usual for the private companies who will continue to be able to rake in profits.
“RMT will have no hesitation in supporting national coordinated action to deliver our members the pay rise they deserve.”
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Meet the General Secretary Candidates: Mick Lynch

Dear Friends,
Re: Nomination for election of RMT General Secretary
               
I am standing as a candidate in the forthcoming election for General Secretary and I would be honoured to receive your branch nomination.
 
The Covid-19 health crisis has amplified the many challenges we face.  The employers and the government will be seeking dilutions of pay & conditions, pensions, and health & safety standards in order to restore profits and make working people pay for the crisis.  They will also be seeking job cuts in our sectors.
 
Added to this are the existing challenges of new technology, outsourcing, and casualisation.
 
In the face of this, our members expect the RMT to be a united, professional and assertive union, ready to negotiate, but prepared to fight in order to protect them.
 
A united RMT is a powerful force capable of winning for our members. We can campaign, fight, and win as we have shown over the years. But our members need good campaigns they believe in, and will take action in support of their agenda.
 
In the period ahead we need to ensure that RMT is a strong and united Industrial Union that is entirely focused on our members’ needs rather than turning in on ourselves and being distracted from the real tasks our members need us to focus on.
 
Our union must evolve to suit the challenges before us.
 
We must develop our union so that we are fully suited to the campaigns ahead, but also so that we are vigorously engaged in the equality agenda – fighting racism, fighting discrimination.
 
We must bring forward new activists that reflect our diverse membership, our industrial sectors, and their real-life issues.
 
As General Secretary I will be fully committed to our members’ agenda, building and developing our union for the future, and bringing unity of purpose and action across the organisation.
 
I was blacklisted from the construction industry for trade union activity so joined the railway and RMT and my record is one of organising, building our strength, campaigning and negotiating good deals.
 
As an activist and elected RMT national official, I have always sought to do the best for our members and their causes. I believe I am a person that can bring our members together and take forward their campaigns and issues.
 
In my 42 years of trade union activism and as a national officer I have developed the ability and experience to articulate the RMT’s case and policies – in the branch room, at the negotiation table and in the broadcast media.
 
The members have to trust the union, believe in us and what we are doing. To identify with RMT from the shopfloor to the national leadership.
 
I believe that I am a national officer that unites RMT members across grades, sectors, regions and backgrounds.  Throughout my time as a trade union activist and officer, workers and members have trusted me to take their issues forward.
 
We are rightly proud that our members and activists have made RMT a leading force in the working-class movement.  We have shown the way through effective campaigns and industrial action, and by being a union that is brave enough to decide its own independent political outlook.
 
Our members have shown courage and commitment to their union and I am committed to RMT being at the service of our members and that the RMT can go on to further success – to grow and to win.
 
But that needs maximum unity in our ranks – all grades, all sectors.  A united RMT can go on to achieve much more for our members.
 
I hope that as General Secretary I can play my part for this great union and in the campaigns ahead. I have the skills, knowledge and experience that members can trust in the times ahead and to take this union forward.
 
Therefore, I would be grateful if your branch would consider my name for nomination as RMT General Secretary.
 
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Meet the General Secretary Candidates: Steve Hedley

Dear colleagues,

 

I am standing for the position of General Secretary and would ask that your branch considers supporting my nomination.

I am the current Senior Assistant General Secretary of our great union and have done this job for 6 years.Before that I was a
assistant  General Secretary for over two years a regional organiser for four years ,a regional council and branch secretary, a tier two and local rep. All in all I’ve spent 32 years  in the service of our members in the RMT/NUR and have represented all grades in  some capacity in that time.

 

In Standing for RMT General Secretary I wish to make it clear from the outset that I will be fighting my campaign on policies not personalities.

 

I will not attack my opponents and would ask all my supporters to refrain from destructive personal attacks.

 

When this is all over we need to rebuild unity with everyone in our great union to fight the massive attacks coming our way .

 

 

I’m standing for a members led union where as General Secretary (servant of the members)I will work closely with the NEC, officers and reps to defend jobs, safety, terms and conditions and pay.

 

I want the RMT leading the trade union movement industrially and politically.

 

I want our union free from influences in the TUC and Labour Party who want to stifle action and instead promote partnership with the very bosses who are attacking us. The Covid crisis has provided the government with a smokescreen to attack us and the whole union movement,we must build the largest possible coalition of unions ,trades councils, community, disabled and passenger groups to defend ourselves against this.

 

I know the right wing establishment hate me and I see this as a badge of honour. I also know they fear me as someone who will fight to the end to defend our members and our class.I am expecting them to attack and slander me during the General Secretary campaign and whilst this won’t be pleasant with your support we will prevail.

 

Since becoming Senior Assistant General Secretary I have not taken a pay rise but have  donated around £15,000 pounds a year to our RMT fighting fund instead.If elected General Secretary I again  will not take a pay rise and will keep donating to our strike fund .In my opinion if a Union leader takes a huge pay cheque they forget what it’s like for our members and this is why I don’t now and never will do that .

 

We as workers are in an unprecedented situation we need a clear militant industrial strategy to beat off  the forthcoming government attacks .We need to call on all forces friendly to the workers movement to fight by our side .Most of all we need unity in our own union and someone able to inspire our members and make them believe they can win.

 

I have a track record of 32 years union activity always at the forefront of the struggle.The bosses will fear me as General Secretary as they know I cannot be bought or intimidated.

 

I am not motivated by money or ego but by love of the working class and a burning desire to better the lives of all our members. For these reasons I humbly ask that you support me in the General Secretary’s election.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Steve Hedley
Senior Assistant General Secretary

 

 

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RMT CONTRIBUTION RATES 2021

RMT CONTRIBUTION RATES 2021
As you know, the cost of providing members with the benefits of RMT membership increases every year and contribution rates increase in line with inflation to help us to maintain and improve those benefits and services.
With effect from the 1st January 2021 members whose basic salary or equivalent earnings are above £23,200 per annum will pay £5.30 per week
Members whose basic salary or equivalent earnings are below £23,200 per annum will pay £2.28 per week
The new contribution rates effective from 1st January 2021 will be:
      
Period
Full Rate
Low Rate
Weekly
£ 5.30
 £ 2.28
4 Weekly
£ 21.20
 £ 9.12
Monthly
£ 22.97
 £ 9.88
                                         
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RMT General Secretary Announces his early retirement

LUEngineering Branch is saddened to hear that Mick Cash has decided to retire early.

 

We have asked him to take some time and reconsider his position but ultimately, it is a decision that he has made and we therefore have to accept his wishes.

 

Our branch has told Mick that he is always welcome to attend our meetings and we hope he comes to our branch socials in future and happier times.

 

We wish him all the best for the future

 

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COVID 19 – RMT STRATEGY FOR DEFENDING JOBS, PAY AND CONDITIONS

COVID 19 – RMT STRATEGY FOR DEFENDING JOBS, PAY AND
CONDITIONS

 

RMT is fighting for the future of work in public transport and the maritime and offshore sectors. The Coronavirus pandemic has exposed the importance of every worker in key services like public transport. It’s exposed the folly of attempting to run critical public services like commercial enterprises, the bankruptcy of privatisation and the outdated dogma of outsourcing.

 

Yet under the cover of the pandemic and with the support of government, employers across our industry are once again attacking jobs.

 

RMT is committed to fighting for jobs. We will fight redundancies using every tactic at our disposal, as we’ve always done. But we also know we’re not alone.

 

Across the UK employers are looking to impose a new round of austerity on working people. We must also support and link up with the campaigns and struggles of other unions, workers and communities who are seeking to protect and improve their jobs and communities. We will seek to build a united campaign that fights for a new deal for public transport and our members.

 

At the September statutory meeting the NEC gave further consideration this matter and adopted a “NEC policy statement” report and “a policy report” with the following decision: “That we note and adopt the documents on file titles, “NEC Policy Statement” and “Policy report”.

 

The NEC is alarmed by media reports this morning that UK firms have already started consultation on 300K redundancies. This threat faces many RMT members at this time and will affect more in the coming months. It is crucial that our union stands together to defend jobs and conditions.

 

The General secretary is therefore instructed to:

 

Distribute this decision and the NEC Policy Statement to all branches and regions and to inform all members of the statement by email and text.

 

Instruct all branches and regional councils to hold a meeting (in line with current NEC advice on meetings) to launch the policy as soon as possible.

 

To promote the policy in any way possible at the forthcoming TUC congress.

 

To promote the policy throughout the trade union movement wherever and however possible

 

To conduct a press campaign to launch the policy

 

To carry an article on the policy in the next edition of RMT News

 

The progress of this policy is to be monitored at regular meetings of the relevant special subcommittee, which will report to the NEC.”

 

I can advise you that our policies were pursued at the TUC and continue to be so in the wider movement and with the press and politicians and there will be further press work and campaigning to promote the policy.

 

As set out above, the NEC has instructed me to circulate the NEC policy statement and I encourage all branches to read, promote it among your members in their workplaces and more widely. This can be found here:

NEC POLICY STATEMENT

 

 

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