LU 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 stipulated in the 2010 Agency Worker Regulations. Without warning, LU terminated its contract with the Trainpeople Agency a year early! We are are now fighting for these thirty-three workers to be employed by London Underground.
The ruthless and callous sacking of 33 RMTagency memebrs just before Xmas has stirred some very raw emotions among ordinary rank and file memebrs.
There is a demo on Mon Jan 7.1300hrs at Wembley Central station
Badges, placards, banners and T shirts are all being made, it looks like Monday could be a noisy and vibrant demo
Make sure you are part of it
Badges will be available for all
Join the RMT demonstration, 1300, Monday 7th January, Wembley Central Station.
LU must employ Trainpeople Agency workers permanently! Dump the agency, employ the workers!
Bring flags, banners, etc. LU must be forced to take notice of LU and agency staff working together for justice.
Background
LU 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 uniforms to meet their staffing needs while Trainpeople paid them as little as £6.75 per hour.
Each month our Executive Council Member Janine Booth reports to the Regional Council. This report as a synopsis and the full 'EC decisions' can be read here.
We've added some links to the report to explain some of the topics covered in more detail.
Remember branch meetings and the regional meeting are open to all members - this is where you can get involved and make a change in your union.
CLEANERS
We note the appointment of Brother Hogg as lead officer for RMT members employed through Trainpeople.co.uk staffing agency.
We instruct the General Secretary to arrange a meeting at Unity House with the Assistant General Secretary, lead officer, General Grades Committee members and a nominated representative of each Regional Council to discuss the organisation of workers employed through Trainpeople.co.uk. A report of this meeting to be placed back in front of this General Grades Committee.
You can read the Agency Workers Regulations - which set out the legal rights of agency workers - here.
We believe that railway employers are increasingly using agencies such as Trainpeople, in order to casualise the workforce, prepare for job cuts, and undermine our power to take effective strike action. The use of agencies is part of the employers’ and government’s strategy for pursuing the McNulty proposals.
We believe that every railway worker is entitled to a permanent, secure job. We therefore demand an end to the use of agencies, with their employees offered direct employment with the railway company at which they work.
According to the TUC, the Swedish Derogation is: “an option written into the EU Temporary Agency Work Directive that allows member States to insert a provision into their transposing legislation that says that where an agency worker is directly employed by an agency they are not protected by the equal treatment provisions in the Directive. The UK Regulations, which come into force in October, make use of the “Swedish” derogation.
In June's edition:
From RMT General Secretary Bob Crow
I have received reports that agency workers employed by Trainpeople.co.uk engaged on Grand Central Railways and London Underground’s Bakerloo Line contracts have not been paid for the second month running and have been excluded from the Agency Worker Regulations by Trainpeople.co.uk, who are using the Swedish derogation contract model to employ our members.
We note the issues raised by a member who works for the agency ‘Trainpeople’, the legal advice received, and that this employer argues that it is exempt from regulations concerning agency workers, as it is using the ‘Swedish Derogation Model’. We instruct the General Secretary to: