RMT confirms 48 hour DLR strike from tomorrow morning is on as talks fail to make any progress
RAIL UNION RMT said today that staff across all grades on Keolis Amey Docklands Light Railway will strike for 48 hours from early tomorrow after last ditch talks failed to make any progress this morning. The dispute is over a range of serious unresolved issues that are wrecking industrial relations.
Talks on Friday and this morning with KAD failed as management refused to address the core issues of use of agency staff, imposition without agreement of fundamental changes to the control centre managing movement and power, abuse of procedures and the adoption of a wholly cavalier attitude to the issues of risk assessment and the safety and security of both staff and the travelling public.
RMT members voted by a massive 92% to act and will now take 48 hours of strike action with no shifts booked on or after 0359 on Tuesday 3rd November until 0358 on the Thursday 5th November 2015.
The key issues at the heart of the dispute are:
- Abuses of the use of agency staff within the KAD network.
- Undermining the position of Control Centre, stores and other grades effectively casualising key functions
- A creeping culture of bullying and intimidation of staff, including an abuse of the use of CCTV, being allowed to develop
- Breaches of agreements, procedures and the recognition framework
RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said:
“RMT negotiators have made every effort over the past 72 hours to resolve this dispute through negotiation but due to the sheer intransigence of the management the DLR will now face its first ever all-out strike action in the 28 years history of the railway. The responsibility for the massive disruption that will kick in from early tomorrow morning is entirely down to the aggressive and bullying attitude of the new KAD management who don’t seem to understand the basic principles of industrial relations.
“Our members on DLR are furious at the way that Keolis/Amey are trying to bulldoze through some of the worst working practices and conditions that we associate with the operations of the most cheapskate and anti-union companies in the transport sector and that anger is reflected in the ballot results. We will not sit back and allow this aggressive and bullying culture to develop on this key part of London’s transport network.
“The company should not have underestimated the anger of the workforce and KAD’s abject failure to address these issues which left us with no option but to ballot for action and that ballot registered a massive 92% in favour.
“The 48 hour strike now goes ahead as planned. The union remains available for further meaningful talks.”