Blogs

All driver members are invited to the next Train Grades Committee meeting to be held at Unity House on Thursday 26th starting at 1430.

Items on the agenda

Olympic rewards negotiations for which there is no agreement at present with RMT
LUL's plans for driverless trains
Other reports from stage two reps
Line reports(what's happening in your depot)
Any issue you want to raise.

It's your union, your job, find out what is happenning and have your say.

Hope to see you there.

Dean O'Hanlon

The government has confirmed plans to push ahead with the high speed rail link which will cut journey times between Birmingham and London, and later Leeds and Manchester significantly.

The DfT consulted 52,000 people on the £32 billion plans announced today but some are unhappy. To mitigate against loss of homes and damage to the countryside the length of tunnelled sections of the line have been increased. However this hasn't been enough to satisfy some groups such as Green Peace, The Countryside Alliance and many constituencies that the route will pass through.

The Trade Union Reform Campaign chairperson, Tory MP Aiden Burley, has been sacked from his government post following a stag party he attended where another guest wore a Nazi SS officer uniform. It has been reported that Burley hired the uniform for his friend himself.

The union busting group TURC which Burley heads is campaigning against union officials getting paid release and for 'a greater element of democratic legitimacy.' Effectively aims that would make it impossible for unions to represent members or to successfully ballot for industrial action.

RMT to begin ballot for industrial action on WightLink ferries over victimisation of staff rep

Publication Date: November 29 2011

TRANSPORT UNION RMT confirmed today that it is to begin balloting tomorrow (30 November) for strike action and action short of a strike all members on Wightlink’s Portsmouth routes over the victimisation and unfair dismissal of an RMT union representative Paul Kelly.

Once again, the Morning Star must appeal to its backbone and its lifeblood, the readers who own, support and underwrite the paper - in short, you.

And if you do not respond, and soon, there may well not be a paper to support.

It has been an eventful and in many ways successful four or five years for the Morning Star.

In that period, we have gained formal support and a presence on our board of management from a solid majority of the organised trade union movement - a first that has astonished - and gratified - people throughout the labour movement.

This annual festival in Liverpool may be of interest to members

Homotopia

Cruising for Art

1-30 November 2011

Welcome to our 8th festival happening across Liverpool throughout November. This year's festival theme is 'Cruising For Art' and we are thrilled that artist Sadie Lee's iconic painting 'Anderrida Shurville' is the 2011 festival campaign which also forms part of a new exhibition 'Pin Ups'.

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.

At this years RMT Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender conference, Executive member for London Transport Region Janine Booth brought to members attentions the realities of LGBT rights internationally and the equalities that British LGBT workers and people still lack.

Internationally full legal equality for homosexuals only exists in 8 countries in the world. That is that they have equal rights including an equal marriage something that still eludes us in the UK. In 80 countries homosexuality is still illegal. Of these seven countries still have the death penalty. Only recently Uganda was attempting to criminalize all homosexual acts - punishment being a death sentence.

The 2011 RMT LGBT Conference was held in Plymouth following a successful Young Member’s Conference a few months previously. There was a good turn out of delegates which made for an enjoyable social event the evening before the conference - and the local gay scene was very welcoming. One local gay pub held a quiz. The winning team consisted of four of our very own LGBT conference delegates who kindly donated the £20 prize to St Luke’s Hospice in Plymouth.

Here are some photos from the 'March for the Alternate' on 26th March in London. Hundreds of RMT members turned out to the demo from across the country.

To see more of the photos click 'Read More.'

BEAT THE BULLY! is a benefit gig for the tube workers.

Stop the cuts, stop the sackings, march for the alternative.

JERRY DAMMERS (SPECIALS) headline this show of solidarity on SUNDAY 20 MARCH 4pm-12.30am BRIXTON JAMM.

Also present will be The Rosinators, DJs Tattoo John (Alabama 3).

Tickets are £12/8 advance, £14/10 on door Rmt/tssa members concs rate . BRIXTON JAMM 261 Brixton Rd, SW9.

To get tickets or read more head over to the Brixton Jamm website.

Stonewall is conducting a survey on the health needs of gay and bisexual men.

"This will be the largest ever survey of gay men’s health. We know quite a lot about gay men’s sexual health, but very little is known about the wider health needs of gay and bisexual men." Say Stonewall.

If you'd like to take part in the survey, click this link to go to Stonewall's website.

I have today sent the following email to the Egyptian Embassy, eg.emb_london@mfa.gov.eg

I have today read in the media (for example, here: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/14/us-egypt-idUSTRE70O3UW20110214...) that Egypt’s military authorities are planning to issue an order banning workers’ meetings and strikes. If this is true, I wish to register the strongest possible objection.

While the exciting events in Egypt make headline news, the mainstream media do not tell us much about workers' and trade union involvement. So I have compiled this selection of links:

• Up-to-the-minute workers' movement news and reports about Egypt on LabourStart website
• Center for Trade Union and Workers' Services (the site appears in Arabic; to see the English version, click the drop-down menu, top left)
  

RMT members joined other trade unionists and students in marching through London today to protest against rises in tuition fees, cuts in education funding, and the scrapping of the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA).

The last photo shows me speaking at the opening rally, giving solidarity greetings from RMT - after a speaker from the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts had sent a speaker to our Regional Council meeting two days previously.

A customer was assaulted whilst West Finchley Station was left unstaffed on Sunday evening. It took nearly a quater of an hour for British transport Police to arrive on the scene. This incident follows the release of LUL documents revealing that nearly a third of stations could at times be unstaffed.

EAMONN LYNCH

T/Op E&C DT

1/19/2011

Dear Colleagues,

As you are aware, I was summarily dismissed from LUL on October 13th 2010.
This letter is my chance to set out the facts of the case rather than the half truths, rumours and spin LUL have chosen to fill the media with.

On August 9th my train had a defective trip cock at Stonebridge Park. When this incident was being investigated, I was given assurances by Bakerloo senior managers that my job was not on the line and I would face a misconduct charge at the most.