Every Job Matters Dispute Report: Trains

The latest edition of 'Every Job Matters: Dispute Report - Trains' has been released as we prepare for five days of strike action over cuts on London Underground. Please print it out and put on your noticeboards, and share on social media.

New Strike Dates Called: Get Ready For Action!

After our recent successful strikes on The Underground your union managed, by solid industrial action and public opinion, to force LU back around the table to consult on their future plans for the job. Your union was expecting the worse and we weren't left disappointed.

LU has refused to budge one inch on their proposed cuts! The scale of the cuts initially announced were just the tip of the iceberg. The promised station by station review simply never materialised. As a result of this your union has been left with no alternative but to call further action.

As drivers we reply upon station staff to assist with a plethora of procedures; we have already outlined these on a number of occasions. With fewer, poorly paid and over-worked staff available to assist it is inevitable that these cuts will severely impact on the role of the driver.

"With fewer, poorly paid and over-worked staff available to assist it is inevitable that these cuts will severely impact on the role of the driver."

LU’s plans for the stations role are a predictor for what they ultimately have in mind for all grades. The latest talks by your union negotiators and LU have revealed some of their plans for the future: fewer weekends off (down to one in six under the current proposals); more flexibility – staff working at several locations where and when it suits them. On the train side it’s easy to imagine what plans LU have for SSR with one train stock once they have brutalised the stations grade! They would use the stations as a model for cross line working on the Met, C&H and District Lines. Indeed LU has already asked to talk to the unions about their future vision of SSR. A Coincidence? We think not!

Your Union has pressed LU about plans to accommodate staff with disabilities under the new regime; it would appear that ‘applying for VS’ is the most viable option. Remember, any driver losing their job as a result of disciplinary, illness or injury would be taking up these roles; more work, less pay. Is that what we want as our safety net? No thanks.

This is an austerity driven attack on our colleague’s terms and conditions, pure and simple. When they have squeezed the life out of them we will be next in line. No body can afford to lose pay on strike days but we most certainly cannot afford to sit back and let this attack continue unchallenged.

The RMT will be taking action to protect our future.

Management Declare War On Tube Drivers: Cabless Trains Commissioning Will Signal The End Of The Grade

Management demonstrated their complete contempt for all Trade Unions when in the middle of an industrial battle with RMT and TSSA over the future of stations they released an employee bulletin in a matter of fact way stating that they will start commissioning trains without cabs, starting with the Piccadilly Line.

It is now crystal clear that the devastating attack that the Union is currently resisting on station grades is part of overall attack on all grades with the end game for management to have trains running up and down with no driver on the front. This is the crossing of a red line for the Union and in breach of our Train Grades Charter.

As 8 weeks of talks have concluded LU management has revealed more job losses rather than less on the station side with devastating further attacks on frontline station staff. Bizarrely we will go from 228 station managers to 1068: one manager for every 4 frontline member of staff!

This is an attack on the public’s and driver's safety as the frontline staff we rely on to help us when things go wrong will be removed, and no doubt there will be further “imaginative” changes to the Rule Book if they are allowed to get away with these attacks.

One thing is clear, whatever grade you are in the future of cuts will be a disaster for our job! With the last year of the pay round just completed management will no doubt be talking pay freezes and attacks on our pension when it comes to next year’s pay round.

Since these train commissioning plans have been announced a number of efforts have been made by RMT to discuss these planned attacks on drivers with the ASLEF leadership and at the time of going to print there appears to a meeting with their GS in the offing.

Their GS made a public statement that they will do all they can to defend our Piccadilly Line members and we hope he is as good as his word and that real Unity breaks out on LUL before it is too late.

As new dates for strikes has been called we hope that all drivers on the combine realise that the fight is theirs whatever Union they are in; when we are united we are invincible as this is a fight that will and must be fought. As the late Bob Crow said, “If you don’t fight you have already lost”.

Every Job Matters Dispute Report: Trains by RMT London Calling