Your legal rights

You can sign this very important petition here.

From General Secretary Bob Crow
Despite the successful efforts of the Union and the RMT Parliamentary Group in blocking the government’s previous attack on the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme, as suspected, the Tory millionaires and Lib Dem lickspittles have re-submitted plans to cut a quarter - £50 000 000 - from the CICS budget.

Anticipating the imminent reintroduction of government proposals to cut entitlement to claim Criminal Injuries Compensation, we instruct the General Secretary to immediately:

• establish an e-petition on the 10 Downing Street / directgov website demanding the
• withdrawal of the proposed cuts to the CICS, and urge members and supporters to add their names
• support EDM422 and urge members and supporters to lobby their MPs to sign it

From General Secretary Bob Crow

Further to Circular NP/082/12 dated 3 April 2012, I am pleased to inform you that last night the Government announced that it was withdrawing its plans to remove most injuries from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme. This follows intense lobbying by the Union, working with the RMT Parliamentary Group and the submissions put in by Thompsons Solicitors and John Hendy QC on our behalf.

Transport union RMT has hailed an employment tribunal ruling that bus company Arriva unlawfully discriminated against two employees because of their RMT membership.

Marcus Farr and Len Graves were harassed, disciplined and threatened with the sack by Arriva because they wore high visibility vests with the union logo on.

The tribunal ordered Arriva to pay the men compensation, including aggravated damages to Mr Graves, and to pay the union its legal costs.

You can read the Agency Workers Regulations - which set out the legal rights of agency workers - here.

This article is about an important Employment Tribunal decision regarding a claim of disability related discrimination. The claimant, a London Underground ticket office worker, won the tribunal and following appeal.

"Appeal by Respondents against ET's findings on disability related discrimination, reasonable adjustments and unfair dismissal. No error of law found in ET's reasoning or decisions on these claims. Given their findings of fact, they were held to be entitled to find in the Claimant's favour and their judgment was held to be sufficiently reasoned. Appeal dismissed."

Continue reading to see the case in full.

Justice has prevailed in the case of RMT member William Etchells who has succeeded in his claim for unfair dismissal against Churchill Cleaning Services Limited – contractors on the Tyne and Wear Metro.

According to the TUC, the Swedish Derogation is: “an option written into the EU Temporary Agency Work Directive that allows member States to insert a provision into their transposing legislation that says that where an agency worker is directly employed by an agency they are not protected by the equal treatment provisions in the Directive. The UK Regulations, which come into force in October, make use of the “Swedish” derogation.

"We...believe that the judgment in Mihaj vs Sodexo may be very useful for members in other companies"

We note with concern the correspondence advising that Brother Mihaj had not received the payment ordered by the Employment Tribunal within the required timescale, but note that he has now received the payment.

We further note that Brother Mihaj was successful in his Employment Tribunal application on the grounds that his employer did not use discretion in his case despite the contract of employment stating that discretion applied. We note that many employers routinely act in a similar fashion, for example refusing payments or applying disciplinary sanctions without exercising the discretion the contract or policy includes.