Thameslink Fleet Sign Off Delayed By More Than A Year

Submitted by rmtlondon on 5 September, 2012 - 03:11

In her final act of betrayal of the UK rail industry before heading to Northern Ireland, rail minister Theresa Villiers confirmed that the Thameslink fleet contract, now delayed for over 15 months, has been booted into the long grass again with only another vague statement that it may be signed off in the autumn.

The latest blow to British train building came as it emerged that Siemens, the preferred Thameslink bidder over Bombardier in Derby, have had to pay the Greek Government £262 million in settlement of bribery allegation around the Athens Olympics in 2004.

RMT Executive Confirms Allocation of Members to Branches

Submitted by Janine on 4 September, 2012 - 18:26

This decision confirmed the allocation of members and workplaces to the 17 branches in RMT’s London Transport region, as listed here.

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We note the report from our Regional Organiser regarding spheres of influence of branches within London Transport region. We endorse the report and instruct the General Secretary to ensure its implementation.

APD Stations Group Power and Electrical Department To Take Industrial Action

Submitted by Admin on 4 September, 2012 - 02:22

We are seriously concerned that this [change to shifts] ...could lead to members working more days or longer hours. - Bob Crow

From General Secretary Bob CrowFrom General Secretary Bob Crow

It has been brought to our attention that London Underground are in breach of the spirit of our Olympic Agreement in terms of the rostering arrangements within the APD Stations Group Power and Electrical Department.

Having consulted with the local branch and representatives, the General Grades Committee has decided to call our members who work as Electricians, Senior Technicians, Team Leaders and Work Controllers within the APD Stations Group Power and Electrical Department to take the following industrial action short of a strike.

Not to work any overtime from 06.00 hours on Friday 7th September 2012 until 23.59 hours on Sunday 9th September 2012

RMT View Initial's Plans For Fingerprinting Workers As An Attack On Civil Liberties And A Tool For Victimisation

Submitted by Admin on 2 September, 2012 - 22:26

We note the reply from Initial, that this is a group wide initiative from Initial Facilities to implement the Kronos Time and Attendance System into all contracts by end of 2012, with both biometric and telephone systems in operation. We also note the views of our representatives, who strongly oppose this move, rightly seeing it as an attack on their civil liberties and a weapon for management to use to victimise our members.

We therefore instruct the General Secretary to:
1. Urgently contact Initial management demanding a meeting to discuss our objections.

London Underground Management Want To Choose Your Rep

Submitted by Admin on 1 September, 2012 - 11:34

It appears that LUL have now decided that they will choose who can and can not be a local rep. Management have refused to recognise Industrial Relations rep Jason Moriarty. An email was sent to Management at Stratford from Employee relations stating "I am of the view that he can not be rep again" and "There is no recognition rights for RMT at north Greenwich."

This is of course nonsense as there has been an RMT IR rep at North Greenwich since it opened and the collective bargaining agreement is very clear about who can be a rep.

London Underground Casualisation Leafter For Tube passengers

Submitted by Admin on 31 August, 2012 - 16:12

An important message from RMT to London Underground passengers.

During the Olympics London Underground has been counting volunteers among the number of safety-trained staff needed legally to keep Tube stations open, putting everyone concerned at risk. See overleaf to see how YOU can help us to stop this abuse.

During the Olympics, London Underground has been using volunteers to help out with the additional crowds using the Tube.

Cumbria Derailment Underlines Key Role Of Threatened Rail Staff

Submitted by rmtlondon on 31 August, 2012 - 15:58

THE SAFE evacuation of the Northern Rail train derailed near St Bees in Cumbria yesterday underlines the importance of safety-trained train and infrastructure crew who are under threat thanks to “wrong-headed” government policy, Britain’s biggest rail union said today.

As the media reported praise for the train crew’s calm and orderly evacuation of around 100 passengers, RMT condemned the government’s plan to abolish guards under the notorious McNulty report, which aims to sack up to 20,000 rail staff to protect private operators’ profits.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow said:

East Coast And London Midland Cleaners To Strike Against ISS Poverty Pay

Submitted by rmtlondon on 31 August, 2012 - 15:57

LOW-PAID CLEANERS on the prestigious East Coast mainline working for ISS are to strike for 24 hours on September 10 after voting by a huge 98 per cent margin for action against an employer that has offered no pay rise for three years.

They will be joined on strike by cleaners working for the same scrooge sub-contractor on London Midland, where a 24-hour stoppage has already been held at depots in Bletchley, Northampton and King’s Heath.

In both disputes ISS has failed to respond to calls for a living wage for workers who play a key role in maintaining rail services.

LUL’S Olympic Legacy: Setting A Train Back By Up To One Car

Submitted by Admin on 31 August, 2012 - 15:45

As part of the Operational Effectiveness programme LUL have introduced a number of changes to Rules. These changes were discussed through the machinery until finally being exhausted at Safety Forum level. LUL chose to push through the majority of these changes.

These Rules were introduced as OSN101 in September 2011 in a booklet titled ‘Getting ready for the Olympics’. Among these changes was an instruction which allows for a Train Operator to set their train back by one car or less after a platform overrun or in the event of a SPAD.