Disabled people and members

Discrimination against disabled workers continues, and RMT is organising to oppose it

LUL fingered in disability discrimination case - again

Submitted by Eamonn Lynch on 14 October, 2015 - 21:15

Following Karen Guyotts' dismissal because she had a disability -  questions were asked in Parliament - MPs from all sides of the house were appalled that in 2015 London's biggest employer could sack one of its employees solely because she had a disability.

 

LUL cited that the reasonable adjustments in place for Karen were "unsustainable" and sacked her.

 

Karen was unable to "sustain" an industrial response due to her condition.

Disability Officers Report August 2015

Submitted by Janine on 27 August, 2015 - 16:35

1. Protesting against attacks on disabled people. The Tories are intensifying their assault on disabled people's rights, particularly access to benefits. I will be circulating information about protests and other events in and around London. Please look out for these and encourage members to take part.

2. Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC). Our union affiliates to DPAC, an excellent organisation that actively does what its names suggests! I propose that the Regional Council invites DPAC to speak at its September meeting.

RMT Equalities Report - May 2015

Submitted by rmtlondon on 16 May, 2015 - 01:00

In this Newsletter:

  • Fit for the Future = More Inequality
  • Inequality of pay and power
  • Location / Displacements
  • Part - time staff
  • Workforce density
  • Destaffing and lone working
  • Rosters and worklife balance
  • Abolition of seated roles
  • What can we do about it?
  • What about equality issues for passengers?

London Underground's disability poem. Monday's disabled child is fair of face and gets a job. Tuesday's disabled child is sacked

Submitted by Eamonn Lynch on 24 February, 2015 - 19:35

London Underground are the stellar employer of London. They set the moral and ethical tone for all the others to follow.

On Monday February 23 LUL were in the media, on TV, on the Radio highlighting the virtues of making the stigma of workers with disabilities a thing of the past.
A good thing you must agree.

On Tuesday February 24 LUL dismissed a young girl because she had a disability.
An absolute disgrace.
After 5 years of reasonable adjustments in place to allow her to continue in her role, they decide it is no longer "sustainable"

Autism In The Workplace Stage 1 Course - 25 March 2015

Submitted by rmtlondon on 20 February, 2015 - 13:25

Autism in the Workplace is a really exciting event being run at the Workers’ Educational Association - WEA - on 25 March 2015, 9.30am–4.30pm. It is sponsored by the Communication Workers' Union (CWU) and includes participation from Simpson Millar solicitors.

Please read on for details of the course and to register for a place.

Report: TUC Disabled Workers' Committee meeting, 27 November 2014

Submitted by Janine on 4 December, 2014 - 12:21

UPDATE ON PREVIOUS ISSUES

  • Shadow Report to the United Nations: still being prepared, as there is a lot of material to fit into a limited space.
  • Challenging myths and prejudice around disability and benefit claimants: Our proposal (from our last meeting) to have a leaflet for workplaces and a model article for union journals is being addressed through the new TUC campaign, ‘Save Our Safety Net’. This campaign includes a magazine for distribution in workplaces which is pretty cheap to buy (£2 for 50 copies; £3 for 100)

Report: TUC Disabled Workers' Committee meeting, 16 September 2014

Submitted by Janine on 28 September, 2014 - 18:40

The TUC Disabled Workers’ Committee elected two co-Chairs for 2014/15: Sean McGovern and Janine Booth.

Disabled Workers’ Conference 2014 - Resolutions

We looked at all the resolutions passed by Disabled Workers’ Conference in May. A document containing these resolutions will (eventually) be posted on the TUC website – until then, email me j.booth@rmt.org.uk if you would like me to send it to you.

Here’s a summary of what we are doing on each:

1. Zero hours contracts and disabled workers

Disabled Access to Public Transport: TUC Disabled Workers' Conference Speech

Submitted by Janine on 29 May, 2014 - 20:23

This is the speech I gave to TUC Disabled Workers' Conference on 28 May.

Many of you will have your own experiences of both the freedom provided by public transport and the difficulty using it – be that the railway, buses, shipping, air travel, trams, riverboats, taxis, or other modes of transport.

Let’s look at some statistics and facts – mainly about the railways.

In a 2013 survey of disabled people, nearly 80% used the railways, half of them at least monthly, often weekly or more.