London Underground Ltd

REMOVAL OF TUNNEL TELEPHONE WIRES – JUBILEE LINE

We note the resolution from our Neasden branch and the support expressed by representatives from Jubilee South branch. We share our branches’ horror at London Underground’s plan to operate trains on the Jubilee Line north of Bond Street without tunnel telephone wires for a period of up to 4 years. Tunnel telephone wires play an essential safety role, both in facilitating communication and in discharging traction current in an emergency.

We instruct the General Secretary to conduct a ballot of all our Jubilee line driver members for action short of strike action, with a view to drivers taking action including refusing to drive trains in passenger service through tunnel sections without tunnel telephone wires or suitable alternative protection.

We note the resolution from our Neasden branch and share our branch’s concern at London Underground Ltd’s failure to compel its contractor, Thales, to repair signalling irregularities at Neasden Depot.

This is not an acceptable way for the company to conduct its upgrades, not only causing problems for our members at work but also potentially endangering both staff and passengers.

We note the correspondence from London Underground Ltd regarding its ‘staff engagement survey’. While some staff may express their views through this survey, we reaffirm that the only effective way for workers to have their voices heard and acted upon is through effective trade union organisation.

Any developments are to be placed in front of us.

London Transport Regional Council, branches and representatives to be advised.

We note the correspondence from TfL on this matter. We further note that there are several outstanding issues concerning this employer, and that our branch has as yet been unable to provide a response.

We therefore instruct the General Secretary to convene a meeting with our TfL reps on or before Monday 28 January and to place a report of this meeting in front of us.

London Transport Regional Council and TfL no.1 branch to be advised.

33 RMT London Underground “Trainpeople” staff – who face the prospect of dismissal this week - took their demo right to the heart of the company that treated them so appallingly today.

The sacked workers and their supporters were at St James Park station on Tuesday 15th January at 8am where they set up a soup kitchen to highlight their plight and build public and political support for their fight for jobs and justice.

From General Secretary Bob Crow

In my circular No NP/185/12 dated 10th August 2012 (Sick Workers and Annual Leave Ref: LA/185/12) I set out members’ entitlement to receive payment or carry over their leave entitlement where they had been unable to take this due to illness.

This was as a result of the decision of the Court of Appeal that, regardless of whether a worker is employed by a public or private employer, if a worker is unable or unwilling to take the four weeks’ annual leave conferred by regulation 13 of the Working Time Regulations owing to sickness (i) he or she must be allowed to take it at another time

TUBE UNION RMT said today that it is to ballot all staff working on London Underground’s “Trainpeople” agency contract for strike action over the termination of a deal which will dump dozens of staff on the dole and which makes a mockery of regulations which were supposed to protect the employment rights of agency staff.

Today, RMT London Underground “Trainpeople” staff – who face the prospect of dismissal this week - are taking their demo right to the heart of the company that treated them so appallingly this Tuesday.

London Underground inherited a contract with the Trainpeople agency from Silverlink in 2007. In breach of agreements with unions, for five years LU continued to use agency staff in LU uniform while Trainpeople paid them as little as £6.75 per hour. Trainpeople staff joined RMT and organised for equal rights with permanent staff as stipulated in the 2010 Agency Worker Regulations. Then, without warning, LU terminated its contract with the Trainpeople Agency a year early!

Read on to watch the video

33 RMT Members Sacked by Trainpeople Agency
On the 19th December 2012, all 33 Trainpeople agency staff working on the Wembley Central group received an early Christmas present. Trainpeople informed them that their contract with London Underground would be terminated on the 16th January, with no further work on the stations after that. This allowed them only four weeks to find new jobs over Christmas, some had worked on stations for over five years.

We note the correspondence from TfL, and instruct the General Secretary to place this matter back in front of us once it has been discussed at TfL Company Council and/or when the legal advice we sought is received.

London Transport Regional Council and TfL no.1 branch to be advised.