RMT official circulars

From General Secretary Bob Crow

You will be aware of the current proposals by London Underground regarding the move of Piccadilly Line Service Control to Hammersmith Service Control Centre. However we still have a substantial number of concerns over this process and believe service control staff and our representatives are being mistreated.

Our main areas of concern are as follows:

• The Wholesale job losses arising from the move to Hammersmith Service Control Centre
• The Non-payment of the Service Operator 3 rate of pay
  

Following the removal of 800 station staff posts by the company last year, I write to advise you that London Underground is to recruit another 600 Customer Service Advisors (CSA’s), coming on top of the 300 employed earlier this year. The company has been forced into this massive u-turn, and has now increased the number of jobs by 100, after savage cuts within the last year.

From RMT General Secretary Bob Crow

Your negotiating team met with LUL under the auspices of ACAS yesterday. The company has not changed its financial offer, and has proposed that in the event of duties remaining uncovered by volunteers at any location, the level 1 committee will meet to resolve it. There is no proposal to change Framework Agreements.

From General Secretary Bob Crow

Please find attached an appeal from Amnesty International in respect of Haiti. I would be grateful if Branches could respond to this appeal for action.

from General Secretary Bob Crow

With reference to the above, I am aware that ASLEF representatives and officials around the country have apparently been asserting that they can organise and represent grades other than Drivers in Train Operating Companies and have been recruiting such staff, including existing RMT members.

Pro forma is attached below

By now most of you will have received a copy of an expression of interest form circulated by LUL asking Drivers to give their preferences for working additional shifts over the Olympic period, in breach of our framework agreements. This form claims its distribution has been agreed with the Trade Unions whereas only ASLEF has agreed. RMT continues to be in discussions with LUL over our claims for Olympic recognition and reward.

From RMT General Secretary Bob Crow

RMT attended talks at ACAS with London Underground yesterday about Olympics working. Unfortunately, instead of going forward from the last wording agreed, management tried to change it by adding qualifications that appeared designed to tie us to agreements made by other unions. RMT could not accept this.

PENSION AND PASSES – TUBE LINES

The strike action taken since Tuesday in this dispute has been rock solid and members are to be congratulated for your solid support and determination in our ongoing campaign for pension and passes justice.

From General Secretary Bob Crow

The following changes to Employment Tribunal procedure came into effect on the 6th April 2012.

• From 1st April increases in Statutory Maternity,Paternity,Additional Paternity, Adoption Pay and Maternity Allowance from £128.73 to £135.45 per week.
• Increase in the qualifying period required to bring a claim for Unfair Dismissal or Request a written statement of reasons from 1 to 2 years.

From General Secretary Bob Crow

I write to advise you that the Government yet again are proposing changes to the CICS that if implemented will affect the compensation that our members currently receive when attacked at work or when they experience a suicide on the railways. It is currently proposed to abolish the lower tariff bands of the Compensation Criminal Injury Scheme (CICS), this move will remove from eligibility the majority of our members injured as a result of criminal violence during the course of their work.