Jobs/Pay/Justice Dispute

This Saturday promises to be the biggest trade union march in a decade. The National TUC Demo, Saturday 26th March in London: make sure you’re there and be a part of the biggest trade union demonstration in years, when the TUC marches against the Government’s savage austerity cuts.

Click 'Read More' to get the latest information about the plans for the day

ADVANCE PREPARATION

• Choose in advance the best place(s) to picket. This should be where you will get best access to people arriving for work so you can persuade them not to go in. Try to cover all entrances.
• In addition, you may choose to picket a location such as a busy station, where you can leaflet and speak to the public too.
• Get members to volunteer to picket and to commit to a particular time slot.
• Identify all the book-on times and draw up a picketing rota. Make sure that you have enough people to picket at the right times of the day.

Tube Lines are responsible for the Emergency Response Unit that covers the entire network and is fundamental to the safe running of London Underground. To ensure your own safety and that of others during the period of industrial action you are advised to approach your management prior to carrying out your duties for assurances that a safe system of work is in place.

Standing up for all workers

Wednesday 10th February 2010

In your article titled TfL staff lobby bosses over pay offer (M Star February 3) Steve Hedley, RMT regional organiser, is totally correct in his assertion: "Unless people are prepared to take industrial action, this will keep happening."

(Updated with Ballot Results)

RMT General Grades Committee have decided to accept the LUL pay offer.

General Secretary, Bob Crow says "After giving careful consideration to the situation, the General Grades Committee has decided to accept the most recent offer in respect of the 2009 and 2010 pay increases and the associated improvements to conditions of service. This was a 1.5% increase from 1 April 2009 for one year and RPI + 0.5% or 0.5% whichever is the greater for year two."

Venue: Indian YMCA, Fitzroy Square, nearest station: Warren Street - map here.

• hear the industrial action ballot result
• plan for effective action
• hear details of London Underground’s assault on jobs
• ask questions
• join the discussion

Show your support for RMT’s fight for jobs, pay and justice!

Click '1 attachment' / file name to download a notice advertising this meeting. Please distribute this widely at work.

The Deadline for returning your ballot papers is 21st December 2009..

We need a strong mandate for strike action to show LU that we are not satisfied with the offer as it stands. In light of further attacks, it is essential we show the bosses that we'll stand together with unity.

Every single vote is important.

Circular No. IR. 380/09 dated 10th December 2009 from General Secretary Bob Crow

As you will be aware, the above ballot is well underway and is due to close on 21st December 2009. There had been some movement by the company since the decision to ballot was taken. This movement was confined to the medical redeployment arrangements only and not on the pay aspect itself.

The General Grades Committee’s decision on this is as follows:

“That we note the latest offer from LUL. While we welcome improvement to the medical termination in addition to existing arrangements, the package falls short of the aspirations of our members and is therefore not acceptable."

RMT is sending members on London Underground (including Metronet) a ballot paper for industrial action to achieve a better pay deal. Your union urges you to vote YES to strikes and YES to action short of strikes.

Voting YES to both will enable the union to use a variety of tactics - such as overtime bans or work-to-rule as well as strikes - to win a better deal than the pay-cutting ‘offer’ from management.

London Underground's pay offer remains 1.5% from 1 April 2009 and RPI+0.5% (minimum 0.5%) from 1 April 2010. Despite strong representations from your union, London Underground has not changed the amount of money on offer since it tabled these figures on 1 July 2009.

Following hours and hours of talks at ACAS a new offer has been received from the company. This has been placed before the General Grades Committee and has been referred to the union’s Southern sub-Committee for consideration.

In the meantime the ballot goes ahead. You should vote YES for both strike action and industrial action short of a strike on your ballot paper.

London Underground has revised its offer on medical redeployment, extending it to a maximum of 25 staff in other grades as well as to a maximum 25 drivers.

Click '1 attachment' / file name to download the new issue of our newsletter, 'RMT London Calling'.

Posters have appeared (see opposite) from what seems like rank and file ASLEF members criticising the role of their leadership during the last 12 months of pay negotiations and urging ASLEF members to vote no in their referendum on LUL’s pay offer. The question is does this mean that there is life left in ASLEF?

Since the beginning of RMT's pay campaign the ASLEF's role has been disgraceful. They have not backed RMT's reasonable demands for a decent pay offer for all grades but have done their utmost to disrupt it. Gone are the days of respecting picket lines. Gone are the days of trade union solidarity.

ASLEF have done management’s bidding since November 2008 when the RMT submitted its pay claim. While the RMT has done its level best to negotiate a fair settlement for all grades, they have been craven, cowardly and worse: they have collaborated with London Underground management to undermine our campaign.

Inflation is rising again, and the latest figures show:

• an all-time record increase in the price of second-hand cars (annual rate of increase 13.2%!)
• furniture and household goods up 3.3%
• communication up 2.6%, mainly due to landline phone bills increasing
• food and non-alcoholic drink up 2.2%, with significant increases in the prices of meat, bread, cereals and vegetables.

Press release from Unite union

Tube workers at Unite, London's biggest transport union, have voted in favour of industrial action in a ballot which closed today (Monday). On a return of over 40%, Unite members voted to carry out action short of a strike.

If you've seen the recent blockbuster film 2012 you'll know that it's shaping up to be one hell of a year. Los Angeles slides into the Pacific, a tidal wave swamps India and the Queen is forced to flee the country (ok it's not all bad news). The film's plot is clearly a fantasy, even if the Tories get in next year it probably won't be that bad. However, recently I came across another 2012 fantasy much closer to home.

I received an email today from 'Tube Worker' with a flyer attached urging ASLEF members to reject the pay deal as it stands.

The Tube Worker Leaflet is available to view or download here.

Regional Organiser Steve Hedley writes ...

After a mammoth ten hour session at ACAS on Tuesday night, management left the building without as much as putting an offer on the table concerning pay or even medical redeployment. So non train drivers are to be discriminated against if LUL get their way; even Aslef members who are not drivers will suffer.

Of course we want everyone including drivers to have better medical redeployment, but LUL walked away promising only to hold a further meeting next Tuesday.

Click on the link to download the latest newsletter from the Bakerloo Branch.