Danny Davis to Come Back as a Driver

Let nobody be in any doubt - this is a fantastic result for Danny. Having been sacked for an alleged offence that certainly didn’t merit dismissal, Danny was looking at a bleak future for himself and his family. On appeal he was given a position as a CSA2, but after a formal request from the RMT Regional Organiser to the HR Director Danny was moved to a CSA1 position. Then the result of the RMT ballot for strike action came back and suddenly the landscape changed.

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The power imbalance between employers and workers in the UK is heavily weighted in favour of the bosses. Successive governments have removed workers’ rights to the extent that UK employment laws are now amongst the most repressive in the Western world, and dismissing workers is really easy. Things were made worse recently when the current mob in parliament changed the threshold for a legal strike ballot in a clear attempt to hamper the remaining effective unions. But not even this could stop the RMT on the Central Line.

A campaign organised by Central Line East Branch and supported by Central Line West Branch resulted in a phenomenal yes vote in support of Danny. Despite senior managers putting out false information, the RMT members at all 5 depots drove a coach and horses through the threshold to send a clear message that Danny would be protected. A casebook campaign saw reps and activists speaking to every member and flooding the line with factual information about what had happened to Danny. The members responded magnificently and gave the Regional Organiser a strong mandate when he and a TFC rep went on to meet the company at a Director’s review.

The transport industry is just about the only area left in the UK where workers have the organisational ability and the industrial and financial clout to take effective strike action. Had Danny worked in virtually any other industry, or been in any other trade union he wouldn’t now have a job. But due to the level of membership density in LUL, the power imbalance isn’t as great as elsewhere; when the RMT speaks, it does so from a position of strength which is recognised by LUL. As a result Danny has now been told that the terms of his regrading are strictly limited and that on the 12 month anniversary of his sanction he will immediately regain his driver’s salary and commence training to return to his grade.

This result is only possible because the RMT is constantly recruiting new members – people coming to work on LUL recognise that the RMT is the only union willing and able to fight for them. But complacency is our enemy, and we are constantly facing new threats from the employer and the Government. To maintain the strength we have it’s important to get the message out there that we are only as strong as our membership; each time we see a new face in our workplace we all have a duty – reps and members alike – to approach them with the message that joining the RMT will safeguard their future prosperity and job security. Together we are strong.