London Underground Ltd

Sledge Hammer diplomacy on a loyal company servant. Station Supervisor Dave Issit and his family thrown to the wolves !

Station Supervisor Dave Issit attended a CDI On 19 February, where he was summarily dismissed from LUL. The company upheld this decision at an appeal on 18/03/2013.

RMT General Secretary Bob Crow, wrote to the ORR following an incident in 2011 which resulted in the sacking, and subsequent reinstatement of James, due to the strong union response.The RMT complaint regarded firstly James’ alleged responsibility for the SPAD; and secondly, that James had been compelled to drive when unfit to do so. The letter below is the response.

You can read more about the case here.

The Letter

Dear Mr Crow

JAMES MASANGO

Please take a few seconds to add your name to the petition to stop the closure of Whitechapel ticket office:
https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/london-underground-limited-stop-t...

With Crossrail coming to London next year, Whitechapel Underground station is undergoing a huge refurbishment, which will see the station serving thousands more customers each year. However, London Underground has announced that the completed station will have no ticket office.

We note that London Underground Ltd dismissed Train Operator James Masango in 2011, before a strong response from this union achieved his reinstatement. We note that RMT complained to the Office of Rail Regulation: firstly, about James’ alleged responsibility for the SPAD; and secondly, that James had been compelled to drive when unfit to do so.

We note the report from HM Principal Inspector of Railways Keith Atkinson in response to our complaint, which found that:

• “the case of James Masango’s alleged SPAD does not appear to have been handled in the systematic manner I would have expected from LU”
• “there is undoubtedly room for more structured arrangement between managers and their staff for ensuring clear understanding of an individual’s fitness or otherwise to operate trains”

This EC decision regards 'electronic cigarettes'

We note the reply from London Underground Ltd extending the deadline for our comments to Monday 3 June. We also note the feedback received from branches and representatives.

We note the report from our Regional Organiser, and the feedback from our branches. We endorse his view that an important principle is at stake and that London Underground members can be convinced to take a stand on this issue.

London Underground's continuing use and abuse of agency staff is seriously detrimental to LUL employees, as it undermines their opportunities to obtain and retain work and creates disruption in the workplace. We therefore declare a trade dispute with London Underground Ltd, demanding that it cease the use of agencies and offer permanent, direct employment to agency workers, including those formerly supplied by Trainpeople.

Referring to decision GWW 21st May 2013. The meeting has now taken place and we note the report from our Regional Organiser regarding the substantial progress made and that the recommendation of our negotiating team is that we should regard this dispute resolved due to the following points:

SPAD Policy

The RMT has made great progress in our S Stock dispute with LU. But one sticking point remains - the issue of Cross Line Working.

Following talks at ACAS on Tuesday 21st of May your negotiators tabled a reasonable solution to the S Stock dispute which was flatly refused by LUL for spurious reasons. The RMT proposed that the timetable should be amended so that trains are picked from Moorgate Bay Road as opposed to Baker St Met platforms; our view was that this would not compromise any existing agreements or require any additional training.

TUBE UNION RMT warned today London Assembly members risk unleashing the biggest wave of industrial action on London Underground in 30 years after City Hall politicians lined up this morning to attack basic tube workers’ rights including pensions and passes.

RMT believes that this morning’s attack is part of a coordinated, political action designed to kick off the process of stripping away hard-won working conditions and workplace rights across the Underground network.

RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said:

SFC reps are receiving reports that the number of disciplinary investigations into unsatisfactory surplus and/or loss items in ticket offices is growing.

Please download the latest edition of SFC News and the pro-forma memo that can be used by RMT members to respond to notifications of unsatisfactory items.