The new issue of our 'RMT London Calling' newsletter reports on next week's industrial action on Tube Lines and Docklands Light Railway, and on the approaching ballot of London Underground members.

It also reports on RMT's victory on ill-health pensions, our campaigning to bring London Overground (including the extended East London Line) into public ownership, John McDonnell's Bill to stop injunctions against strikes for technical trivialities, and RMT's plans to participate in the LGBT Pride march on 3 July.

Click '1 attachment' / file name to download it. Please distribute widely.

RMT members on Docklands Light Railway will strike on 23-26 June after the company refused to give workers any reward for their co-operation with the introduction of new three-car trains.

The extra carriage on each train means that PSAs work with 50% more capacity, so in effect, DLR is saving the cost of half a PSA - around £25,000 - per train. Yet it refuses to share the benefits of three-car running with staff.

This is a statement from General Secretary Bob Crow:

I am pleased to report that another dispute has now been resolved, that is the attempt by SERCO Docklands management to force Control Room staff from a popular 12 hour roster to an 8 hour one without any redress.

Urgent update: Docklands Light Railway has sacked a member of staff for having had swine flu and an accident at work! Unlike other companies (even London Underground!), DLR management has refused to discount swine flu absences from its sickness attendance policy. RMT's DLR branch is planning to hold an emergency meeting to launch a campaign to reverse this outrageous sacking.

Circular No. IR/253/09: IMPOSITION OF ROSTERS – CONTROL ROOM – SERCO DOCKLANDS

The above dispute remains ongoing and I am in the process of re-balloting these members for strike action and industrial action short of a strike.

To re-cap, the dispute originated last year from an attempt by management to force Control Room staff from a popular 12 hour roster to an 8 hour one. A successful ballot for industrial action forced them to pull back from implementation, but negotiations broke down and Serco again attempted to unilaterally implement the 12 hour roster.

Circular No. IR/170/09 29th May 2009

Dear Colleagues

I can confirm that as a direct result of an RMT re-ballot of Serco Docklands Control Room Staff, the company has again backed off from implementing a roster to the detriment of our members. In noting the position, the General Grades Committee has made it clear that in the event of Docklands management again attempting to pull such a stunt sometime in the future, our response will be on a company wide basis involving all members.

Details here.

From RMT official circular 138/09, dated 21st April 2009

Members will recall that earlier in the year the union suspended proposed strike action in relation to the above dispute to facilitate discussions under the auspices of ACAS.

Regrettably, these discussions have failed to resolve the issue that has led to the dispute, namely management’s decision to implement new rosters which will remove the 12 hour weekend shifts replacing them with 8 hour shifts, thus creating a situation where members in the Control Room will lose 24 rest days per annum.

RMT press release, issued today

A STRIKE by members of Britain’s biggest rail union working in the control room of the Docklands Light Railway has been suspended after the company agreed to leave existing roster and leave arrangements in place pending the outcome of further talks.

Some 30 RMT members had been scheduled to begin a 24-hour stoppage at 13:05 on Monday in a dispute over changes to weekend working hours.

RMT Head Office Circular No. IR/18/09 - 29th January 2009
IMPOSITION OF ROSTERS – CONTROL ROOM, SERCO DOCKLANDS

Docklands Control Centre members recently returned a massive mandate in support of both strike action and short of strike action.

RMT press release, issued today

INDUSTRIAL ACTION by Docklands Light Railway control-room staff scheduled to begin on January 5 has been suspended by Britain’s biggest rail union after Serco-Docklands withdrew rosters it had intended to impose, pending further talks.

RMT members in the DLR control room were scheduled to begin a work-to-rule and overtime ban after voting overwhelmingly for both strike action and action short of a strike, and the union had indicated that it would ballot its entire DLR membership in the New Year.

RMT press release, issued today

MEMBERS OF Britain's biggest rail union working in the control room of Docklands Light Railway are being balloted for industrial action over the imposition of new rosters.

The RMT ballot, which closes on December 22, follows Serco Docklands' unilateral decision to replace 12-hour weekend shifts with eight-hour duties, which will deprive around 30 staff of 24 rest days a year.

Circular No. 289/08, Thursday 11th December 2008

IMPOSITION OF ROSTERS – CONTROL ROOM, SERCO DOCKLANDS

Members working in the DLR Control Room for Serco Docklands will be balloted for strike action and industrial action short of strike due to their management’s insistence on imposing new rosters.

The highest-paid director’s earnings:

• London Underground £522,123 (2007)
• Metronet £212,947 (2006/7)
• DLR £136,833 (2007/8)
• CBS Outdoor £477,000 (2006)

TfL’s Transport Commissioner Peter Hendy’s salary: £320,000 + up to 50% bonus (2006)

Tube Lines: 15 Directors, average salary £660,000+ (2007)

On Thursday 31 July, RMT’s Docklands Light Railway (DLR) branch held a recruitment day. Les Sime (branch chair) reports ...

First of all, we would like to thank the members of the regional council for attending our first ever recruitment day - Bros Hedley, O’Dowd, Hodgson, Rayfield and Pottage, and Sisters Siddall and Booth.