Casualisation

TUC Black Workers Conference 2013

Emergency Motion 1- PASSED

Trainpeople on London Underground

Conference notes that on 27th February 2013, RMT called on Trainpeople members to take industrial action over London Underground's decision to terminate the contract with Trainpeople Agency.

Through the agency these employees had a variety of customer service roles, including station assistant, gateline and supervisory posts, some for up to 5 years.

Speakers-
Glen Roy Watson (RMT Finsbury Park Branch)
Jayesh Patel (RMT Bakerloo Branch)
Cecile Wright (University College Union)
Frank Murray (RMT LU Engineering Branch)
Janet Barnabie (one of the 33 -RMT Bakerloo Branch)

The RMT hosted a lunch time fringe meeting at the Trade Union Congress Black Workers Conference on the 13th of April 2013. Delegates and Visitors came to hear about the mistreatment of 33 RMT members at the hands of an unscrupulous agency company called trainpeople and the not so positive role of London underground in all this.

We note the correspondence from London Underground Ltd, outlining its refusal to offer employment to the redundant Trainpeople employees, and containing a list of spurious excuses for denying the legal and moral rights of these workers.

We condemn London Underground’s refusal to offer permanent employment to people who have been working on its stations for up to five years or more

We instruct the General Secretary to:

1. continue to demand that LUL fulfil its obligations and offer employment to these workers
2. continue to support campaigning and protests in pursuit of this
   

This is the first part of a two part article taken from our newsletter on fighting job cuts. You can download it from here or request copies here

LUL management’s actions are creating problems for staff in all functions. RMT will be producing a series of leaflets giving detail, information and advice for members in each area. Here is a summary:

Stations
Station staff have been hammered since OSP slashed staffing level. Even if some posts are restored, management’s plan is to stretch us further and work us even harder.
To prepare for this, management are leaving duties uncovered, vacancies unfilled and station unstaffed, and repeatedly try to get staff to work outside the rules.

We note that London Underground Ltd continues to breach the settlement of our 2008 Casualisation dispute, in particular in its deployment of ICSAs, continuing use of agency staff, and plans to introduce mobile station supervision.

Noting the correspondence with our legal advisers, we instruct the General Secretary to send a letter to all LUL members reminding them of our ongoing industrial action in this dispute.

An important message from RMT to London Underground passengers.

During the Olympics London Underground has been counting volunteers among the number of safety-trained staff needed legally to keep Tube stations open, putting everyone concerned at risk. See overleaf to see how YOU can help us to stop this abuse.

During the Olympics, London Underground has been using volunteers to help out with the additional crowds using the Tube.

Leaflets have been created to give advice to London Underground drivers on what actions to take when Incident Customer Service Assistants (ICSAs) are working on platforms carrying out SATs.

RMT believes that ICSAs are not adequately trained to carry out this safety related role. Their deployment on the paid side of stations also breaches a casualisation agreement reached between the RMT and LUL in 2008.

You can download the leaflet below. Local Reps should also have copies to distribute. For more information speak with a local rep or get in touch with us.

Industrial action changed - London Underground’s breaches of casualisation dispute settlement

Further to my previous correspondence with regards our Casualisation dispute, your General Grades Committee has reviewed the situation and decided to amend the industrial action. The below action is now CANCELLED:-

Train Operators will not stop at stations which do not have the minimum number of station staff on duty.

We note the views expressed by our LT region train grades committee, the need to keep our disputes and industrial action continuously under review, and our members’ need for advice and information.

We therefore instruct the General Secretary to ensure the speedy and effective implementation of our previous decision of 17 July 2012 to ensure that members are given full support and information in carrying out our industrial action, including both printed materials and personal contact with officials and representatives.