TUBE UNION RMT said today that staff sacked from London Underground’s “Trainpeople” agency contract will be stepping up their fight for jobs and justice following the termination of the deal which has dumped 33 staff on the dole, making a mockery of regulations which were supposed to protect the employment rights of agency staff.

The staff will be taking their fight to Transport for London with a protest in support of “Justice for the 33”at the HQ building Windsor House, Victoria Street on Monday 15th April 2013 between 0800 hours and 1000 hours.

London Underground inherited a contract with the Trainpeople agency from Silverlink in 2007. In breach of agreements with unions, for five years LU continued to use agency staff in LU uniform while Trainpeople paid them as little as £6.75 per hour. Trainpeople staff joined RMT and organised for equal rights with permanent staff as supposedly stipulated in the 2010 Agency Worker Regulations. Then, without warning, LU terminated its contract with the Trainpeople Agency leaving staff facing the immediate prospect of losing their livelihoods.

RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said:
“The way that “Trainpeople” have used and abused a group of workers who have been “temporary” for five years is a disgrace and RMT will not sit back while this exploitation is allowed to fester on London Underground. The staff themselves have shown their determination to fight for justice and we now take the battle right to the doorstep of Transport for London.

“This dispute also makes a mockery of regulations that are supposed to protect agency staff but which cynical employers can duck and weave their way around with the connivance of both the EU and the British Government.

“RMT wants permanent and direct employment for these low paid workers and we are continuing with a major campaign to achieve just that.”