Blogs

The fit for the future(sic) plan LUL have for us all mean we all have to trot off to Ashfield House for an indoctrination process – training exercise ( *delete as appropriate)
Fine. They pay us. We go. We listen. We believe.
In their time. In the hours they expect us to roll up for work as per our contract.

The latest, sensitive approach from LUL is to dictate to part time workers they must attend full time courses, irrespective of commitments outside the world of LUL, be it childcare, elderly relatives or voluntary community work.

The rosters that LUL want to force through in readiness for FFFS in 2016 have been leaked. Inadvertently by a kind hearted and concerned GSM? Maybe. The full impact of the madness of this new model is now available for all to see. The RMT have from day 1 said the idea you can cut 1000 staff, shut ticket offices, control rooms, take away customer focus and assistance and offer a better service is not only flawed but frankly dangerous.

Please download and distribute the new editionn of SFC News on your group

The disgraceful treatment of employees continues unabated.

Our cleaners all over the combine are having to contend with bullying and intimidating managers who routinely abuse agreed policies and procedures including;

• Grievances unheard
• pay illegally deducted
• pay slips not provided
• victimisation
• race discrimination
• targeting of RMT trade union reps for their trade union activities.

I am aware that many questions are being thrown up as LU proceeds to implement Fit for the Future without our agreement.

Ticket Offcie Closures
LU says that it has made its mind up to close every ticket ofcie regardless of all the points raised by RMT.
A list of dates for the closure of every ticket ofice (ex-Silverklink dates TBC but LU is confident they will be shut by the end of 2015) has now been put on the LU Fit for the future site and can be downloaded below.
We will continue to campaign against the closures and will work with the public to stop the company's plans.

An ETF Women’s Committee meeting consists of the elected Committee members, representatives of each sector (railways, civil aviation, etc), guests from affiliated trade unions, local women trade unionists (this time, from Antwerp port), and ETF staff. At the next meeting, we will be joined by the newly-elected young women’s representative. I have proposed that RMT arranges for our National Women’s Advisory Committee Chair, Becky Crocker, to attend the next meeting, in March 2015.

Women’s Health and Safety at Work

Women Working at Antwerp Port

Having begun working as a receptionist in 1975, Monique Verbeeck is the first female secretary of the Belgian port union, BTB. She is also the ITF and ETF women port workers’ representative. Monique introduced a deputation of women union activists from the Port of Antwerp, who addressed the meeting and took us on a visit to the port.

A DHL worker told us that port working is no longer entirely a “man’s world”, although it is still male-dominated.

Country Reports

Spain

From 2007, the socialist government introduced equality legislation and a framework to demand action against sexism and harassment. But since then, the situation has been worsened by economic crisis, with equalities driven off the agenda, curbs on collective bargaining, crèches closed, and equality plans dropped.

There has been a “dualisation of the labour market”, a split between secure workers and precarious workers, who are harder to unionise.

Local BNS/Roster Consultation starts at Rickmansworth.

The first group to begin the local BNS/Roster consultation is my own, Rickmansworth.
At the initial meeting LU confirmed that they agree with our reading of the BNS methodology, which means that if a CSS/CSM on a lone worked station is utilised in the ticket hall for 3 mins in any 15 min period then there should be a second member of staff in the ticket hall at that time.

As you know Interserve have taken over the contract from Initial and it hasn't taken long for a dispute situation to arise.

The issues we are in dispute are as follows;

Pay being withheld deliberately - we have already had 1 walkout over this.
Discrimination
Abuse of the machinery
Bullying and harassment by management
Victimisation

Our cleaner reps and activists are not prepared to stand idly by and let management ride roughshod over their members.

A meeting has been called for : 1600 WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 19 ROOM 1 UNITY HOUSE