RMT Circular: Tube Strikes Called For August 5th and 6th

RATES OF PAY & CONDITIONS OF SERVICE 2015 and NIGHT RUNNING – LONDON UNDERGROUND (LUL/0001)

Further to my previous Circular (IR/158/15, 3rd July 2015), members are congratulated for taking part in the significant strike action on Wednesday 8th and Thursday 9th July involving all 4 trade unions, which saw every station closed and meant that not a single London Underground train ran on Thursday 9th July. The General Grades Committee has noted the intransigent stance from management over this dispute including the divisive pay offer and the failure to address the wider issues of work/life balance caused by the Company trying to bulldoze through the imposition of Night Tube.

As a result, the decision has been taken to call on all London Underground members to take part in the further industrial action detailed below.

All LU members, excluding Train Operators and Instructor Operators are instructed not to book on for any shifts that commence between:-

18:30 hours on Wednesday 5th August and 18:29 hours on Thursday 6th August 2015

Train Operator and Instructor Operator members only are instructed not to book on for any shifts that commence between:-

21:00 hours on Wednesday 5th August and 20:59 hours on Thursday 6th August 2015

The previous instruction NOT TO WORK ANY OVERTIME until further notice also remains in place and is fully supported by members, resulting in a number of occasions where staff availability to run services is severely impacted.

As members will be aware, the latest offer which was received from London Underground in respect of this matter, was as follows:-

· An average increase on basic salary of 2%. This is made up of a 1% pay increase (February 2015 RPI) and a £500 consolidated flat rate increase in recognition of Night Tube.

· An increase of RPI or 1% (whichever is the greater), for 2016 and 2017.

· A £500 non-consolidated ‘launch bonus’ to all staff on the Night Tube Lines or at Stations serving those lines. In addition a £2,000 non-consolidated transition bonus for Train Operators at Night Tube depots where provisional arrangements will apply to operate Night Tube shifts.

In the recent bulletin, LU asks its employees to urge the trade unions to recommend this offer however, it was made at lunchtime on Monday 6th July with a deadline for acceptance by 18:30 hours that same evening, otherwise the offer would be withdrawn. This attitude from London Underground is unacceptable and it is despicable that they would put such pressure on members to make an important decision affecting the rest of their career in the space of just a few hours. Likewise there was no opportunity for the Union to consult with members within this timescale.

In any case, I’m sure you will all agree that this offer does not meet our demands for a fair and decent pay increase and proper recognition and compensation for the introduction of Night Tube. It is divisive between and a cynical attempt by LUL to bypass any kind of democratic process. The offer was designed to buy off the minority to the detriment of the majority – over two thirds of staff would not benefit from any payment for Night Tube. Furthermore, there was not any commitment to ensure that other grades would get a payment as and when Night Tube is rolled out across London Underground.

As always, the Union is available for talks aimed at resolving this dispute and at the time of writing, your RMT negotiating team is attending further discussions at ACAS. I will of course keep you advised of all further developments.