Campaigning for better working conditions
This week, after months of talks, your TFC reps, along with their Aslef colleagues, were finally in a position to put a joint proposal on rostering Night Tube to LUL trains management. This followed a decision at Company Council to review the impact of Night Tube on all members of staff.
RMT campaigning has forced cleaning company Interserve to commit to hiring 50 AGS agency cleaners on permanent contracts across London Underground by the end of April 2015.
This shows that union campaigning gets results. Our exposure of AGS’s exploitative practises, such as forcing workers to register as “self-employed”, is putting pressure on Interserve. Let’s keep up the fight and win more permanent contracts for cleaners.
A resolution was recently received from Jubilee South Branch regarding the above and this matter has been considered by the General Grades Committee, which has taken the decision to investigate the use of “disguised employees” by Interserve and other companies in TfL/LUL (reference LUL Engineers Charter and article by GS in January RMT News ‘Fighting Casualisation’) and to produce a report on this worrying pract
BREAKDOWN OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS – INTERSERVE (LUL CONTRACT) (LUL/14/2)
Further to my previous Circular (IR/303/14, 17th November 2014), members will recall that we advised the Company that a dispute situation existed over the mistreatment of staff and abuse of power by supervisors and management, non-payment of wages, and attacks on trade union reps and activists. The RMT Reps then commenced the task of checking and updating member’s details as necessary for a ballot for industrial action.
Further to my previous Circular (IR/061/15, 2nd March 2015), the Company has been informed that a dispute situation now exists over the proposed changes to the Services organisation as part of the GTS Optimisation Programme. The proposals include compulsory redundancies and those members left at the Company will be facing worse rosters, shift patterns and terms and conditions. RMT put forward strong counter-proposals during discussions but it is clear that the Company has no intention of changing their plans.
This guidance document covers the following areas:
A resolution has been received from our London Underground Engineering Branch concerning the above matter, which is as follows:-
We therefore ask the GGC to ballot all members at Waterloo and Palestra for both strike action and action short of strike.”
WITHDRAWAL OF REST DAYS, TRACK & CIVILS STAFF – TUBELINES (AP JNP) (LUL/8/6)
A resolution has been received from our London Underground Engineering Branch concerning the above matter, which is as follows:-
“The Branch has been informed that the agreement reached below represents the most that can be achieved through negotiation.
We are concerned that our members need to be fully consulted and involved in deciding whether this agreement is acceptable and our Branch therefore requests a referendum is carried out of all affected members in AP JNP Track and Civils, namely, Civils, Northern and Pic Track, Ultrasonics and the Lube Gang.
We further ask for it to be clear in the referendum that a rejection is likely to lead to a need to take industrial action and a strike ballot will likely follow.
IMPROVING PAY & CONDITIONS – CARLISLE CLEANING & SECURITY (DOCKLANDS LIGHT RAILWAY) (DLR/10/1)
In December 2013, we entered into dispute with the Company over a breach of our agreement regarding implementation of the London Living Wage and following the threat to take industrial action, a settlement was reached, including a pay increase for all members and a commitment that all staff on all contracts will be paid at a rate at least equivalent to or above the London Living Wage from commencement of the new franchise (Circular No. IR/42/14, 30th January 2014).
I am pleased to advise branches that following further discussions with the company, the GGC has accepted the latest proposal from Tube Lines to resolve this dispute. The details of the agreement are below: -