LU Transformation Update

Dear all, we felt it only right that we should issue a report by the Reps currently taking part in the consultation talks with LU Management for the latest phase of transformation.

This is also an opportunity to for us to give our side of the consultations so far, as management have been very quick to send out comms making us look quite bad and as though we are not supporting our members and are being difficult for no apparent reason. That could not be further from the truth! We are committed to making them stick to their commitment of “meaningful consultation”.

As an overview, and so that you can appreciate what we are all up against, there are 7 different work streams, 2 of which contain a further 18 sub-streams, and our TLL reps have an additional 10 work streams, so in total we are actually dealing with 33 different work streams all going through transformation at the same time. There are in excess of 1600 people in scope and being affected by these changes, and still, on a weekly basis, their numbers are going up and more people seem to are being told they too are now in scope. There are currently 6 RMT reps, 2 LU MATS & 4 Ex TLL MATS

The 7 work streams are;

1. Skills Development

2. Establishment Planning

3. Network Ops Admin

4. Senior Managers Admin

5. Renewals & Enhancements (Access)

6. Renewals & Enhancements (Accessibility, Fleet, Power & Cooling, Signals Control, Stations, Track)

7. Asset Operations (Fleet, Admin, Systems & Reliability, Ops Upgrades, Network Planning, Plant & Materials, Vehicle Logistics, Workshops, Track, Stations, Signals, Power & Electrical)

Week 1. On day 1 of consultation, Nov 7th, we the RMT TU received the S118 letters & the individual Business Cases for each work stream just minutes before the 1st of the management staff briefs began.

We were invited to in excess of 57 various staff briefing sessions between that Tuesday & Friday and your reps tried to spread themselves around them as best as possible, but logistically this was a nightmare.

Week 2. Management had sent the MATS Reps invites to attend their consultation meetings starting on the Monday morning with a total of 3 on that day, one after the other. The 2nd day had been left free of meetings but Wed, Thurs & Friday were also back to back consecutive meetings. We attended the first of the consultation meetings with a number of issues which related not to that particular work stream but the whole of transformation as a whole.

We stated a number of issues;

· No time or opportunity to look through the business case & documentation so far

· Why aren’t the Reps from Fleet, Track & Signals etc included in these consultations

· We want a list of staff names and grades of those in scope in each respective work stream

· We need a list of all NPL, Secondees, Vacancies, so the actual establishment numbers for respective each work stream

· We objected to the number of meetings being squeezed into a day

· We stated we need time between meetings to process information

· We stated that we need time to feedback to our members after meetings

· We requested an overview/briefing meeting with the senior management team

The meeting with senior management took place towards the end of week 2 which consisted of the TU Reps being given a high-level overview of why transformation is happening, a commitment from senior management that the consultation period will take as long as it takes, they are committed to making the talks meaningful and that the TUs could work with management & HR/ER leads to come up with a plan of how the meetings and timings etc will work going forward.

Week 3. At the very first work stream consultation meeting, it was clear that management were going to carry on with their original plan & timetable of meetings, in their order, with their agendas and were very forceful in trying to steer the consultations in the direction they wanted them to go. Immediately we put the brakes on and refused to allow them to plough on with their blinkered way of doing things stating that this was not meaningful, conducive to the TU reps, a U-turn on what was agreed during the previous with the senior management team. Unfortunately, the subsequent “ways of working” discussions went on for almost the next 3 weeks.

6 weeks in and the management obstructions that we are still facing across the various work streams are;

· Numbers continuously changing from the original S118 letters & business cases without proper explanation

· Additional staff finding out they are in scope (ongoing)

· Badly worded emails/letters/comms being sent out unnerving & unsettling staff

· Conflicting and contradictory information being given out by the various leads across the work streams

· Management holding staff drop ins/conference calls at time which are impossible for your TU reps to attend as at the same time, your TU reps are scheduled for other meetings & drop ins etc

· Lack of requested additional information (ie List of vacant positions, secondees etc)

· Will not give transparency to the Hay scoring of proposed ne JDs

· Cannot provide current JDs for all roles (apparently some do not exist)

· Perception being given to staff is that the PROPOSED business cases are the done deal

· Some leads now implying that the consultation will be completed by the end of March no matter what

· A week break over Christmas (Management don’t do unsociable working times)

Please be rest assured that we have only just started to consult on the proposed business cases put forward by management and we are now starting to categorise areas for particular discussion with each respective work stream, and we intend to give each area the due time and attention that they all deserve. We are adamant it will not be rushed and we are challenging everything. We will be holding them to their commitment of “as long as it takes” and that 90 days is a minimum.

An example of some the major areas of concern which we will challenge as we get to each;

· Establishment numbers

· Structure/Reporting Lines

· Pooling

· Mapping/Assessment/Selection

· JDs/Hay Scores/Grades/Pay

· Priority Preferencing/Other roles within LU or TfL/ Up Front VS

Management have made a commitment to us as your TU and to all staff in scope, that they will provide adequate release for you to be able to attend all relevant drop in sessions so we are strongly advising you to take full advantage of this and please attend.

We are encouraging you all to look at the business proposals & in your teams appoint a person to provide us with feedback/flaws/discrepancies etc so that we can take this forward at the relevant meetings. After all you are all the subject matter experts. Some areas are already working on counter proposals.

Please look at the LU Engineering branch website as well as RMT London Calling for regular up-dates.

We hope that you will understand that it will be practically impossible for your TU reps to travel to your workplace and have one to ones due to the sheer work load and logistics of our meetings etc but we do welcome your comms with any relevant information which you feel will help you and your colleagues plight.