What is a National Executive Committee decision?

This article is an 'executive decision' which has been written by the RMT National Executive Committee. The National Executive is the union's governing body in between AGMs. Its decisions set out what the union will do on a particular issue.

These decisions can often be brief, and may be one of several passed over a period of time. To get a better understanding or find out more information about what the RMT is doing, speak to your rep or attend your branch or Regional Council meeting.

RMT Rejects Latest LU Pay Offer

RMT General Grades Committee decision:

We reject the latest pay offer from London Underground. The fractional increase in the offer for this year is to only 4.75%, which is still significantly below inflation, as the RPI figure for February was 5.5%. Our members are experiencing significant increases in their costs of living, the latest being the outrageous price rises announced by British Gas.

Moreover, LU's offer is for a five-year settlement, which is too long a duration, especially when the offer for years 2 to 5 is only a small fraction above RPI. This would leave London Underground staff vulnerable to real-terms pay cuts in years when RPI under-estimates the real rise in living costs, as it often does, and would leave us unable to claim for further increases until 2016.

Adding insult to injury, LU has dismissed out-of-hand our claim for a minimum flat-rate pay increase, which would benefit lower-paid grades. It has also dismissed our claim for a reduction in working hours, and offered little or nothing on our other claims for improved conditions.

We firmly believe that a united stance from all LU trade unions can win a significantly better offer than this, and that separate talks for different grades risk sowing division to the detriment of all grades. We therefore welcome the unity with TSSA and Unite that we have achieved so far, and strongly urge ASLEF to join this united approach. We instruct the General Secretary to write to ASLEF accordingly.

We also instruct the General Secretary to write to all LU members outlining our stance, and to ensure that members are given information and kept informed of developments promptly.

What is a National Executive Committee decision?

This article is an 'executive decision' which has been written by the RMT National Executive Committee. The National Executive is the union's governing body in between AGMs. Its decisions set out what the union will do on a particular issue.

These decisions can often be brief, and may be one of several passed over a period of time. To get a better understanding or find out more information about what the RMT is doing, speak to your rep or attend your branch or Regional Council meeting.