Managers/admin job cuts and reorganisation - RMT comments on London Underground document

If you click here, you can download London Underground management's presentation about their plans for job cuts and re-organisation. You can also read RMT comments on the section about station staffing. Below, you can read comments from our managers' and admin staff rep about that section of the document.

Proposed Management Organisation

There will be a reduction of 7 GSM positions and 5 TOM positions.

Significant improvements in performance in recent year allows TOMs to resume full accountability for staff competence.

Surely the significance of the improvements in recent years is because we have had staff numbers to both manage and deliver the improvements. No doubt with the reduction in staff numbers (both management and staff) we will see a significant dip in performance and results.

Line Standards Manager LSM position will go.

A lot of people hoping to go for the new role of Train Operations Standards Manager will be disappointed as we believe this role will be filled by the remaining LSMs . So false promises being made to Duty Managers giving them the impression they have the chance of the new role.

Duty Station Managers

DSMs rostered across the traffic day.

They always have been rostered across the traffic day and across the nights. In fact the MATS rep had to refer rosters to Directors ad hoc as the rosters imposed by management, (against the will of the DSMs) on two lines and a number of groups had more nights than the DSMs had agreed to. The business needs was the feeble excuse that was given for the extra nights added to the roster. What’s happened to the business needs now then? Talk about moving the goal posts. Can management be trusted? We don’t think so.

5 per Group

How is this going to help with hitting targets? It won’t, a reduction in DSMs will be increasing the workload and making targets unreachable and unrealistic.

Propose to update Job Description.

Does this mean that as DSMs won’t be doing nights they will lose part of their shift allowance?

Carry out P&D for Station Supervisors

What is the point of putting that in, DSMs already do that, makes you wonder about the job description. What is the updating of the JD all about?

Trains Duty Management

DMT role, created in 1998 has not worked as envisaged.

So why do they say there has been a significant improvement in performance (in the TOMs section) surely it’s part of the DMT’s role to deliver that performance along with their colleagues on the trains and stations. Isn’t this a contradiction, like most of the Strategic Plan!

Excessive multi-functional role has led to many individuals specialising in one or other aspects.

This was first introduced by the Trains Performance Manager (Jerry Piper) at Earls Court. The DMTs at the time objected to the segregation of the roles ie: desk and mobile. Now it is being used against them in the OSP to reduce their numbers. They were made to specialise in separate roles, not their choice. Can we trust management? We don’t think so.

Train Operations Standards Manager

“Deputy “ to the TOM

This is like a second TOM on the cheap. As in carrying out P&Ds for Duty Train Staff Managers for example.

35 hour week (no banked rest days)

That means if you move up from DMT you lose 15 days BRDs or equivalent to3 weeks leave.

Duty Trains Staff Manager

This role is all that is left of the train side management for DMTs as DRMs will come under service control. This is basically the old DCM role or Desk DMT with the usual duties including P&Ds as well as investigations and attendance management.

Management are trying to sell this as a stepping stone for train ops seeking promotion. So when will this happen when they intend to get rid of DMTs and Centurions? And in two years time after the Olympics? We don’t think so!

Duty Reliability Manager

First line train and station incident response.

The role will be preferenced by DMTs and it is envisaged as mainly filled by DMTs. These will be dealing with not only trains incidents but also station incidents. It takes many years of experience as a DSM to manage various crowd control issues, sometimes on different stations at the same time, while DMTs would normally be dealing with any train/track incidents. Now DMTs will be dealing with station incidents of which many have no experience as many have come from trains were as a lot of DSMs have worked their way up the station grades with the invaluable experience gained over the years. How can it be safe to plummet the DMTs into this role? They may be managing inexperienced Station Supervisors and having to make safety critical decisions. How safe is that? Not very.

1 or 2 per line rostered 24/7

Currently on many lines at night we have two DSMs on either end of the line and two DMTs, this was insisted on by management to meet the business needs. So have the business need changed that much or is this just about saving money? It is just about saving money and ignoring the safety implications. Now they intend to move the Duty Reliability Manager (mobile) to service control. They will not get the enhancements to their salary that Service Control staff gained in their review a few years back.

Administrative Staff

With the reduction in admin staff, this has a knock on effect on how our staff are dealt with. Also with the reduction in groups, we will have a problem of were a resident AG1 preferences their current location, they are not guaranteed their same location and may have to move, even if it is a location near their home. Some are being told they will have to apply for their own job if their current location is nominated by AGs from other groups, especially groups that are being abolished.

Overall we will lose at least 153 in the Admin and Management grades and that is just for now. Different messages are being sent out by senior managers.

A director told a group of managers at one of the sessions they have been attending at Lillie Bridge Q: The Operational progression system, what will be happening to that? (Grade Progression) A: It needs to be totally revamped to reflect the different jobs and is of little use in its present form. This is happening as we speak.

This is not true, as per the MATS rep, the RMT are currently organising a referendum and he emailed all Duty Managers on that. No more talks are taking place or have been planned on the Grade Progression.