LUL Service Control

RMT General Grades Committee decision:

We note the report from our Regional Organiser outlining our representatives’ concerns about lack on consultation about the planned transfer of SSR and Piccadilly Line service control to a new control centre at Hammersmith. We note that our Regional Organiser has called a meeting open to all service control members on 31 January.

We instruct the General Secretary to:

• obtain a report of the Joint Working Party meeting due to take place on 19 January;

Ballyshannon by Albert Bridge

We are holding an urgent meeting for all service control staff affected by Hammersmith SCC on Tuesday, 31st January from 12.00 until 16.00

The meeting will be held at Conference Room 1, RMT Headquarters, Unity House, 39 Chalton Street, NW1 1JD. The closest tubes are Euston and Kings Cross. (Map.)

Job Cuts Announced in Service Control, Around 150 jobs will be lost when new Hammersmith Control Room is opened, ALL EXISTING STAFF HAVE TO APPLY FOR POSITIONS.

LUL Declares War

Make no mistake, the Confidential Report exposed by RMT is the result of months, if not years, of management preparations to transform our job, root and branch, and bust the trade unions along with it.

The results will be massive job losses across all grades.

Bob Crow, RMT General Secretary, said “This document tells us everything we need to know about the operational strategy of London Underground - massive increase in fares alongside an unprecedented attack on jobs and safety. “Every single ticket office would be closed, stations left unstaffed and drivers would be thrown out of their cabs without a single thought for passenger safety.

RMT General Grades Committee decision:

We note the correspondence from Tube Lines. We instruct the General Secretary to send a copy of this letter to our LU Engineering branch and relevant representatives, and to obtain reports from them on the ‘local consultation meeting’ referred to in the letter.

We further note the failure of other employers to respond to our correspondence on this matter, and instruct the General Secretary to send a follow-up letter demanding a response, and to arrange for the issue to be tabled at the next appropriate meetings with these employers.

The Service Control Functional Council recently requested some recognition for the extra work we will be doing during the Olympics.

Please see the attached leaflet.

General Grades Committee decision:

We note the correspondence from London Underground. We now have a little more information on this matter than previously, and note that the physical moves of the affected functions will not now commence until after the 2012 Olympic Games.

We note that discussion will take place at Service Control Functional and Health & Safety Councils this month. We instruct the General Secretary to:

RMT General Grades Committee decision:

We note that London Underground has written to us announcing that it has completed a 'command and control review' which is to include ‘co-location’ of network control functions into one LU Control Centre, which we suspect may involve the forced relocation of staff. It has done this without any consultation with this union, and now has the cheek to offer only 'consultation' about the 'impact on staff' of these changes.

We note that this appears to affect staff in LU service control, Powerlink and Thales.

Joint bulletin from RMT, TSSA and ASLEF - read the text below; click '1 attachment' / file name to download as PDF:

Latest Updates

Duty Manager (DRM) Transfer & Vacancy proposals

Management outlined their proposals for the above as follows:

For a period of 3 years from 14/11/10, any vacant positions of TOSM, DRM or DSM will be advertised in the first instance to Duty Managers whom were subject to the OSP process and notified of their role prior to September 10th.

Joint RMT/ASLEF/TSSA Newsletter following the Service control Health and Safety council meeting, March 2011. Read the text below; click '1 attachment' / file name to download the newsletter.

A number of issues were raised prior to the beginning of normal business

Breach of collective bargaining principle

The following have been elected to serve as functional council representatives, January 2011 to December 2013

• Trains Council: Glenroy Watson (Finsbury Park branch)
• Stations and Revenue Council: Mac McKenna (Hammersmith & City branch) & John Reid (Camden 3 branch)
• Service Control Council (SO 4 seat): Michael Livingstone (Piccadilly & District West)

An RMT member in Service Control writes ...

Firstly, when station staff are taken away, their responsibilities have to go somewhere and a lot of them are being heaped onto controllers. We are being given increasing responsibility for operational procedures such as wrong direction movements (carried out over secure radio) and frankly I think we already carry a huge responsibility (and therefore concurrent potential for cock-up) and need more like we need holes in our heads.

Read the ten reasons below. Click '1 attachment' / file name to download a special issue of 'RMT London Calling for service control grades.

1. Because the job cuts on service control, stations and other grades, will be a disaster. Everyone will suffer, including our passengers.

2. Because LU management are not listening to your union reps in the talks. Industrial action is the only effective tool at our disposal that can force the issue and bring our concerns into the open.

Click '1 attachment' / file name to download this newsletter. Please distribute widely to London Underground service control staff.

This resolution, submitted by Neasden branch and seconded by Hammersmith & City branch, was passed unanimously at the November 2009 meeting of the Regional Council.

This Branch condemns the callous attitude shown by Management, particularly HR, towards apprentices and ex-apprentices and other groups of members in Service Control. The Management aim is to redeploy these members despite being promised jobs in Service Control.

Click '1 attachment' / file name to download our new Service Control Newsletter.