Pay

The RMT delegation of Olly New, Janine Booth and myself (Steve Hedley) met with London Underground management yesterday to discuss pay. Management marginally improved their offer .The new offer is one percent this year and rpi plus 0.5 percent for the next four years.

Not only is management's offer a pay cut in real terms this year with inflation as outlined by C.P.I. at 3.2 percent (February) but the proposed deal would of course take us over the period of the Olympics where Australian rail workers secured a very good pay deal when the games were held in Sydney.

The inflation figures for March can be found here.

Management will undoubtedly point out the fact that RPI is now -0.4% and suggest that this means that prices are falling. However, CPI - which much more accurately reflects our real cost of living - is at +2.9%. So demands on our income are still rising significantly, but LUL still offers us just 1%, and that is tied to a five-year deal with RPI only for the next four years. The latest statistics do not justify LUL's offer: they simply confirm that it is a year-on-year real-terms pay cut.

RMT press release, issued today ...

Workers on London Overground are to receive a 20% average increase in wages after the successful conclusion of negotiations with the RMT.

RMT members had given their negotiators a massive 10-1 mandate for strike action in the run up to the talks which was a clear reflection of their anger over feeling unrewarded and undervalued for many years.

RMT member Neil Hood writes ...

I wrongly thought there was only one 'rate of inflation'; the RPI, and I also wrongly thought that as long as I'm getting a pay rise equal to or greater than that rate I'd be better off.

Then I discovered this link on the BBC News website.

Yesterday (2 April), RMT and other unions' representatives met with London Underground to discuss your pay. Your representatives at the meeting were Oliver New (Council of Executives), Steve Hedley (Regional Organiser) and Janine Booth (Stations & Revenue Council / Regional Council Secretary).

A full report will follow. In summary:

• LUL did not revise their offer at all.
• With February's RPI at 0%, LUL's offer is 1% this year, followed by RPI only for the next four years.
• All the unions rejected this.
• RMT and TSSA insisted on a one-year deal only.

According to the latest official Retail Price Index, on average prices are now falling. But a closer look at the figures shows that the working-class cost of living is still rising.

Food prices went up 12.5% between February 2008 and February 2009. Eggs went up 11.2%, vegetables 18.6%, fruit 13%.

Fares and other travel costs went up 10.2% (January-January), gas 33.1%, electricity 18%.

The fall in the overall index comes from cheaper prices on clothing, car purchases, and “consumer durables” of all sorts, and from lower mortgage payments.

RMT Circular No IR.107/09

MEMBERS' WORKPLACE CONDITIONS, WELFARE & PAY – LONDON OVERGROUND RAIL OPERATIONS LTD

Further to my circular IR95/09 dated 19th March 2009, I can advise you that the General Grades Committee today took the following decision:-

“That we note the enhanced terms in the latest offer from LOROL and that a mass meeting of our members indicated support for acceptance.

We instruct the General Secretary to commence a referendum of our members with a recommendation to vote “yes” to accept the offer.

The new issue of 'RMT Platform' - RMT's newsletter for London Underground stations and revenue staff - condemns LUL's five-year pay 'offer', and urges all members to vote Yes in RMT's ballot for industrial action and to get involved in the union's campaigning.

It also reports on the pressure managers are putting on ticket sellers, advises members to submit grievances against snow day deductions, outlines the process for lifting the limit on transfer and promotion nominations and celebrates a victory for common sense and RMT!

Top LUL/Metronet boss Paul Tullet made a statement at the Metronet LUL Company Council on Friday 13 March which shows just what we are up against and why everyone must vote yes in the coming ballot for industrial action. At this meeting, management tabled the same 5-year pay offer that management of the rest of LUL had previously tabled - RPI plus 1% for '09 followed by RPi plus 0% for the following 4 years.

That is quite bad enough - a year-on-year real-terms pay cut - but Mr Tullet then went on to say ...