New Action Called In Pay And Night Tube Dispute

Further to my previous Circular (IR/170/15, 17th July 2015), the union’s General Grades Committee yesterday considered the latest situation in our dispute with LUL over Pay and Night running. Firstly I wish to congratulate LUL members for their steadfast resolve and determination on the recent days of action. This magnificent show of solidarity sent a crystal clear message that members demand a decent offer to keep pay up with the cost of living and adequately compensates for the introduction of night running.

It is clear the continuous Overtime Ban is biting hard. So much so that management have been making desperate attempts to paper over the cracks by riding roughshod over our agreements which ensure the safety of staff and passengers alike. It has become so serious we have been forced to report LUL to the ORR over a series of breaches of safety protocol last weekend. Talks at ACAS were cancelled this week as we were called to attend an emergency meeting with the ORR to discuss these breaches.

The GGC had considered the matter and, in addition to the ongoing overtime ban, all members are instructed as follows: -

  • From 0330 hours Tuesday 28th July 2015, until further notice, members are instructed not to train or familiarise any London Underground Employee or contractor in any working practice/s that are not a normal, contractual and agreed job task work location of the trainee.

In addition from 0330 hours Tuesday 28th July 2015, until further notice, all Train Operators and Instructor Operators are instructed as follows: -

  • Drivers are instructed to check whether their train has been prepped within the previous 24 hours before bringing their train into service.
  • If the train has not been prepped within the previous 24 hours, do not bring the train into service.
  • If the train has been prepped within the last 24 hours, but this has been carried out by unqualified personnel, do not bring the train into service.

We continue to try to resolve this dispute but LUL has failed to properly address our claim. Their current offer is totally divisive and they have completely failed to address the wider issues of your work/life balance caused by their reckless efforts to bulldoze through the introduction of Night Tube. The offer was designed to buy off the minority to the detriment of the majority – over two thirds of staff would not benefit from any payment for Night Tube. Furthermore, there was not any commitment to ensure that other grades would get a payment as and when Night Tube is rolled out across London Underground.

The recent strike days were rock solid and the ongoing overtime ban is having a drastic impact on their ability to run a service. Regrettably their actions to try to undermine the action have had such serious safety implications that, we have been forced to take this matter to the highest level of the Office of Rail Regulator.

In addition to the above the GGC has also instructed our Traincrew representatives as follows relation to the rostering of overtime: -

Traincrew representatives are instructed not to allocate duties on bank holidays incurring overtime. Every effort should be made not to allocate any overtime at all but if it becomes apparent that this is not possible, then you should withdraw from the process and inform management this is a union instruction.

LUL should be focusing their efforts on tabling a decent offer which rewards our members’ hard work and loyalty and genuinely compensates staff for dramatic affect Night running will have on working conditions. I urge members to continue to stand firm and take the above action as well as continuing to adhere to the ongoing overtime ban. The strike action called from 5th August is still in place but in the meantime we will continue to seek a negotiated settlement.

I shall keep branches fully informed of any further developments.

New 'Pay & Night Tube' industrial action (short of strike) starts from 0330 hours Tuesday 28th July 2015:From 0330...

Posted by RMT London Calling on Sunday, July 26, 2015