Pay

This industrial action has been called off

Transport union RMT announced today that hundreds of staff working for City Link will be taking seven days of strike action in a dispute over pay, working conditions and an attempt by the company management to bulldoze through changes to contracts.

The workforce will strike for seven days from 00.01 hours on Tuesday 24th September to 12.59 hours on Monday 30th September 2013.

We note the report from our Regional Organiser. While we welcome the move from individual contracts to collective bargaining of pay and conditions for Train Service Technicians, the current offer is not acceptable to us because:
- for some members, this represents a below-inflation pay rise
- it removes the enhanced rate of pay for overtime
- it allocates annual leave in hours rather than days, which will result in a loss of leave

We therefore instruct our Regional Organiser to pursue this matter through the appropriate procedure, to secure an acceptable offer.

We note the report from our Regional Organise. We note that the employer has confirmed a backdated pay increase of 3% for security staff and 5% for cleaners. We congratulate our members on winning this pay rise through our campaign of industrial action and persistent negotiation.

However, this increase still does not bring pay rates up to the London Living Wage. We instruct the Regional Organiser to continue to press for improvements in these members' pay and conditions.

We note the report from our lead officer, and welcome the renewed efforts for RMT organising on Transport for London, so that we may more effectively fight on issues such as pay, conditions and jobs.

We welcome the monthly meetings to be held with our representatives, and instruct the General Secretary to place a report of the 1 October meeting in front of us.

Further to our decision Gww 9 July 2013, seeking an improvement on the previous offer of 2.75%, we note the new offer from Alstom of 3% effective from 1 April 2013 with no strings attached. We further note the report from the Regional Organiser, that our representative and members wish to accept this offer without delay.

Accordingly, we instruct the General Secretary to advise the company of our acceptance, and to send a personal letter to all members involved.

LU Fleet branch and London Transport Regional Council to be advised.

We note that RMT did not endorse the two-year pay deal accepted by the other trade unions.

We further note the inadequacies of this deal, in particular the non-payment of the 0.5% above-RPI element of the 2012 rise to some grades, and the condition attached to the 0.5% above-inflation element of the 2013 rise that the unions must accept a new performance related pay policy.

We further note that Transport for London cancelled a planned meeting to discuss the new PRP policy.

TRANSPORT UNION RMT confirmed today that in a ballot of staff running the London “Boris Bike’s” scheme, members have voted 100% for strike action over a range of grievances:
• The imposition of a 2% pay increase for 2013
• The imposition of shift change patterns
• The continuous bullying and harassment of members
• The company’s refusal to reach a formal agreement on travelling time or on travel allowances.

RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said:

That we note the latest pay offer from Alstom, of 2.75% effective from 1 April 2013 and some changes in travel facilities. We instruct the Regional Organiser to seek improvements to this offer.

Reports and developments to be placed in front of us.LU Fleet branch and London Transport Regional Council to be advised.

We note the correspondence on file from Transport for London. We do not accept its abrogation of responsibility for Carlisle’s disgraceful refusal to pay the London Living Wage.

Transport for London (and other public bodies) must take responsibility for bodies in its chain of contracting. We further note the lack of response from Boris Johnson, and instruct the General Secretary to step up our public and political campaigning on this matter.

We note that a meeting is to take place with ISS on 18 April and instruct the General Secretary to place a report of this meeting in front of us.

We further note that ISS intends to only pay the uprated level of the London Living Wage six months after the uprating is announced, and claims that this is allowed for in its contract. We are appalled by this, which means in practice that our members are expected to live on less than a living wage for 50% of their lives.