What did the GGC decision to call industrial action say?

Submitted by Admin on 29 November, 2013 - 00:56

We note that this morning, LUL announced:

  • that every ticket office will close by 2015
  • that nearly one thousand jobs on stations will go, with a net loss of 750 jobs
  • that stations will be staffed when trains are running, which suggests that they may not have Supervisors present and may no longer be staffed when trains are not running at night
  • a thoroughgoing restructuring of station staffing, with all job roles changing and staff being re-evaluated for their own jobs

I work for service control. Why should I vote Yes for industrial action?

Submitted by Admin on 29 November, 2013 - 00:52

Service control jobs are under threat

  • When Hammersmith Control Centre opens and cabins close, London Underground wants to shed 150+ jobs. RMT has alternative plan which does not reduce the number of jobs.
  • With Cobourg Street due to close, twenty 20x SO4s have still not been found a post.
  • Management’s long-term strategy is to replace us with technology – to use modern signalling systems not to make our job easier and safer, but as an excuse to get rid of us.

Removing station staff makes our job harder

Do we have political support?

Submitted by Admin on 29 November, 2013 - 00:40

Yes

Mp Diane Abbott asked on the 27th of November at PMQs:

The Prime Minister will be aware that the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, proposes to close nearly every single ticket office on the London Underground network, with more than 700 jobs being lost. Does the Prime Minister believe that that is the way to raise living standards for ordinary Londoners?

Prime Minister David Cameron responded:

Will the RMT work with other unions to stop these devastating cuts?

Submitted by Admin on 29 November, 2013 - 00:37

Yes.

RMT General Secretary Bob Crow has said “Axing staff and ticket offices is part of the drive to a faceless, automated Tube where you take your chances the moment you step onto a station, a platform or a train. RMT will work with sister unions and the public to fight these plans, using every campaigning, political and industrial tool at our disposal.”

I work in engineering. Should I vote YES for industrial action?

Submitted by Admin on 29 November, 2013 - 00:36

Yes.

London Underground Ltd is stepping up its project to casualise the workforce and attack our terms and conditions. The company’s aim is to remove obstacles to cutting jobs, and to drive down the conditions of those who remain. Even if there is no immediate threat to scrap your particular job, this process is going on all around us, so this is a fight for us as well as for other grades.

LUL is:

  • reinterpreting agreements at will; removing rules and procedures; and slowly dismantling our conditions

I'm a train driver. Should I vote Yes for industrial action?

Submitted by Admin on 29 November, 2013 - 00:33

Yes.

Derail LUL’s plans for driverless trains

  • RMT wrote to LUL demanding assurance that all future train stock will have a driver’s cab – LUL’s response refused to give this assurance.
  • LUL wrote that ‘Any new train is likely to be operable in a number of modes’ and that it could not rule out any option.
  • The company admitted that it is ‘currently starting to plan the next generation of rolling stock’ – driverless trains are not a distant plan, but a process that is starting now.

Does the public support us?

Submitted by Admin on 29 November, 2013 - 00:32

Yes.

In a recent survey:
71% oppose ticket office closures
81% said that loss of staff at stations would make travel difficult
71% said they need assistance from staff at stations and on trains
54% said they need help buying tickets
45% said they need help with accessing ticket gates and platforms
34% said staff and ticket office cuts would deter them from making some journeys or make train travel difficult

I work on the stations. Why should I vote Yes for industrial action?

Submitted by Admin on 29 November, 2013 - 00:32

In 2011, the Operations Strategic Plan (OSP) stripped station staffing to the bone. Stations are barely coping as it is. Now management plan to cut nearly 1,000 of our jobs, close all our ticket offices, and completely reorganise our way of working.

Our stations will not cope with this. Every remaining member of station staff will be over-stretched, vulnerable to abuse and assault, fearful for our safety and our jobs. Our jobs will be devalued and our promotion chances will be gone. The company even intents to make us, in effect, reapply for our own jobs.

Will I be affected if it is not my job, or grade that bosses plan to cut?

Submitted by Admin on 29 November, 2013 - 00:31

Yes.

You will still be affected, by:
- increased workload and responsibility on those who remain
- loss of support available in doing your job
- more dissatisfied passengers, meaning more complaints, abuse and assaults
- less opportunity for transfer, promotion, career change or redeployment
- less money going into the pension fund
If management succeed in their current round of job cuts, then it could be your job next.