Pay

RMT representatives again attended talks aimed at resolving our 'jobs, pay and justice' dispute at ACAS on Wednesday 24 June.

Most of the day's discussion centred around management's difficulty with accepting that the settlement of the 2001 dispute (the so-called 'Jobs for Life' deal) means what it actually says! The agreement clearly states that:

• "no compulsory redundancies will take place"; and that
• "This agreement applies to all staff employed by LUL, the Infracos and their subsidiaries. "

On Wednesday 17 June, RMT protested outside Mayor's Question Time against Tube cleaners' poverty pay. Protesters demanded that Mayor Boris Johnson keep his promise that everyone working for the GLA or in its areas of responsibility would receive the London Living Wage, recently uprated to £7.60 an hour.

We have learnt that TfL’s annual report, due to be published next week, will confirm that the number of senior managers earning over £100,000 a year has gone up from 123 to 163 in the past year, an increase of nearly one third. If you include Metronet and Crossrail, which is now part of TfL, the number of managers earning six figures plus goes up to 231. These figures don’t even include the huge sums that are being paid out to management consultants.

RMT tube workers will be taking a protest to Mayor Boris Johnson’s question time this Wednesday – 17th June – over his broken promises on the London Living Wage for some tube cleaners and over the docking of pay for staff who could not get into work on the snow day in February.

Here is London Underground's reply to the letter that your Regional Organiser sent to him objecting to the company deducting staff's pay or leave on the day of heavy snow ...

Impact of Adverse Weather on 2 February 2009

I am writing in response to continuing demands for further discussion of LU's approach at a recent Stations Functional Council meeting.

Here is a list of what LUL and TfL pay their managers. That is the same LUL that offers its staff just 1% this year and RPI+0.5% for the next 4 years, and the same TfL that has not yet even tabled an offer.

Hypocrites? Judge for yourself ...

Management would have us believe that all other workers are accepting pay freezes or 'moderate' (tiny) rises. Well, have a look at this list (one-year deals unless otherwise stated):

• Merseyrail drivers: 4.55%, first year of 2-year deal, effective from 30 January 09
• Trico Marine: 7.5%, effective from 1 January 09
• UK Coal: 5%, first year of 3-year deal, effective from 1 January 09
• House of Commons staff: 4.5% consolidated increases, including progression costs, first year of 3-year deal, effective from 1 April 08

This resolution, submitted by Neasden branch and seconded by LU Engineering branch, was passed unanimously at the Regional Council meeting on 30 April 2009.

The Regional Council notes that LUL have now increased their 5-year pay offer to include increases of RPI plus 0.5% in years 2-5.

This offer remains entirely unacceptable in terms of both pay and the continued TfL redundancy process and withdrawal from no redundancy agreements that previously applied to all members.