Machinery of negotiation review

As I understand it, the main current issues facing drivers are:

• a clampdown on discipline and attendance
• LUL refusing to confirm that Met line T/Ops only will operate the S7 train on the Met line
• plans to deploy I/Ops on lines other than their own and/or to cross-train other lines' T/Ops or
  I/Os as occurred on the Met line
• new drivers being repeatedly moved from depot to depot
• the possible development of a pool of drivers covering a larger area than just one depot, or
  even one line

We note the correspondence from London Underground Ltd.

LUL’s letter confirms our suspicions that it still intends to increase automation in order to attack jobs and conditions, and we reaffirm our determination to resist this.

We further note reports that some testing of technology to facilitate driverless trains may have taken place at Wembley during the first weekend of November. We instruct the General Secretary to obtain an urgent report on this, and to place it in front of us.

From General Secretary Bob Crow

I write to advise branches that correspondence has been received from LUL, with regards to the arrangements for the first meeting to discuss our bargaining arrangements. This matter has again been considered by the General Grades Committee which has made the following decision:

We note the report from our Regional Organiser, that in practice, our level 2 and tier 2 reps for stations and revenue control (10 reps) and trains (6 reps) have full-time release; we note that additionally, there is a full-time-release representative for Upgrades for trains and for service control. In all other functions – engineering, fleet, MATS, and service control – level 2 and tier 2 representatives are released on an “as and when basis” which can amount to nearly full-time release in practice in some, but not all, cases.

We note that London Underground’s response to our request for release for our representatives on London Underground’s Uniform Consultative Committee for one day prior to the agenda deadline for the meeting to consult and prepare, and one day to report back.

This issue will now be addressed as part of the forthcoming review of machineries. This decision and associated correspondence is therefore to be added to the file LUL/0005 MACHINERY OF NEGOTIATION AND CONSULTATION – LONDON UNDERGROUND.

We note the correspondence from London Underground, calling a meeting to discuss the process for conducting the review of the machineries. We instruct the General Secretary to ensure that the appropriate officer and representatives attend this meeting, and to provide them with copies of previous decisions on this issue.

We note that while this review was originally of the industrial relations and health & safety machineries, the correspondence from LUL now suggests that it covers other areas