Bakerloo branch

TUBE UNION RMT said today that staff sacked from London Underground’s “Trainpeople” agency contract will be stepping up their fight for jobs and justice following the termination of the deal which has dumped 33 staff on the dole, making a mockery of regulations which were supposed to protect the employment rights of agency staff.

The staff will be taking their fight to Transport for London with a protest in support of “Justice for the 33”at the HQ building Windsor House, Victoria Street on Monday 15th April 2013 between 0800 hours and 1000 hours.

SUPPORT US AT OUR NEXT DEMONSTRATION
ON MONDAY APRIL 15TH
Place: Windsor House, 42-50 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0TL
Start Time: 0800 AM Closest tube station: St. James Park

Click on the attachment to see an RMT newsletter on the Bakerloo detrainment dispute. Main stories follow:

RMT suspends Bakerloo action

RMT on Thursday 21st of March agreed to suspend the Bakerloo detrainment action. While noting that progress had been made since the initial introduction of ‘flash and dash’, LU’s proposals fully accepted by ASLEF, fell short of the union’s aspirations for a proper detrainment policy that would be acceptable elsewhere on the combine.

The RMT has agreed to suspend the Bakerloo detrainment action with immediate effect. The full decision is below:

"We note our Regional Organiser’s report, the proposals from London Underground Ltd, and the views of our representatives.

We also note the letter from London Underground Ltd, which falsely claims that its contents have been agreed by RMT. We deplore LUL’s disregard for the safety of staff and passengers from the point at which the company first imposed its ‘flash and dash’ detrainment policy. We note that management is introducing a new procedure under which trains will be physically checked and confirmed as empty before they go into depots or sidings. We welcome this progress, which is the result of determined action by Bakerloo line drivers backed up by an active campaign of protests. However, we still have several serious concerns:

The Bakerloo Branch agreed the following resolution for the attention of the RMT's General Grades Committee:

"The Bakerloo Branch notes the disgraceful treatment of our members, formally employed by Trainpeople, by London Underground. Despite assurances to our General Secretary and members of our Stations Functional Council, our members’ treatment in the LU recruitment process has been scandalous. We note that at least two thirds of our members have been unsuccessful in the recruitment process despite many of them doing the job for 5 years. We believe that LU has rigged and abused the recruitment process to deny our members direct employment. The fact that 32 of our 33 members are black or are ethnic suggests that racism is a central factor in their treatment.

The Bakerloo Branch agreed the following resolution for the attention of the RMT's General Grades Committee.

“This branch notes the appalling treatment of our young member and activist Brother Jayesh Patel at the hands of LU. Bro Patel was acting in the interests of safety when he requested ‘assisted despatch’ at two overcrowded stations on 1st of February 2013. This branch is amazed that as a result of carrying out these actions he was told to detrain and run out of service. Worse still he was instructed to attend a location away from his home depot to participate in a fact finding. Unfortunately the fact finding interview turned into a Gestapo interrogation where our member was denied the right to ask questions, denied the right to have physical break and denied to go home after his booking off time. Worse, this branch notes that since this time LU have added insult to injury and have stood down him down from that date.

London Underground’s latest proposal to resolve the Bakerloo detrainment dispute has not been
accepted by RMT or Aslef. Their ‘Updated Detrainment Briefing’ being issued to drivers does not settle our dispute. This latest version of ‘flash and dash’ has not been properly negotiated with your union. If a driver detrained using this method of shutting the doors and walking down the train looking in windows and overcarried there would be formal action taken against them.

Used refused and abused,
Now re-abused.

It is disingenuous of London Underground to suggest that the assessments our 33 members were expected to take part in were fair and above board.
The feeling amongst the 33 RMT members is that they were never going to be given a fair crack of the whip on these assessments. What they saw with their own eyes certainly never gave them any confidence they were being treated fairly.

TUBE DRIVERS involved in a five week dispute over staff and passenger safety on the Bakerloo Line will take their campaign out onto the streets this Friday as the union ramps up public support and pressure on London Underground.

The drivers and their supporters will be outside Queens Park station from 7.30am to 9.00am this Friday – 22ndFebruary – demanding an end to the spin and lies from LUL and serious talks to resolve the bitter dispute which continues to disrupt Bakerloo Line services on a daily basis despite a barrage of misinformation from Transport for London.

Tell LU to stop the lies and to act now for safety!

Support Bakerloo train drivers action for safety - join the demonstration on Friday 22nd of February at Queens Park station. Assemble 07:30 to 09:00