Update on Pay Talks

The RMT delegation of Olly New, Janine Booth and myself (Steve Hedley) met with London Underground management yesterday to discuss pay. Management marginally improved their offer .The new offer is one percent this year and rpi plus 0.5 percent for the next four years.

Not only is management's offer a pay cut in real terms this year with inflation as outlined by C.P.I. at 3.2 percent (February) but the proposed deal would of course take us over the period of the Olympics where Australian rail workers secured a very good pay deal when the games were held in Sydney.

It was the view of all the delegation that management are still refusing to negotiate seriously and are trying to use the recession as a smoke screen to get the Olympics on the cheap.

We are therefore going ahead with our re-ballot for industrial action .We are having to re-ballot because despite an overwhelming democratic mandate for action management went running to unelected lawyers to prevent you exercising your right to strike.

I am appealing to every one of you to vote yes for strike action and yes for action short of strike action hopefully a huge democratic yes vote will bring management back to the table for serious negotiations. If they ignore your opinions we shall have to build on the total shutdown of the Victoria line and stop the whole of London Underground to get decent pay, an end to bullying and no compulsory redundancies.

Remember vote yes to strike action and yes to action short of strike.

Yours sincerely Steve Hedley Regional Organiser