LU Transformation Update

On 22nd March 2018, your Regional Organiser, along with your RMT reps and reps from other unions, met with London Underground at Director Level to discuss a number of outstanding Transformation issues. These issues included the use of Fixed Term Contract Staff, the way the company is dealing with people on maternity and parental leave, and the way they are filling vacancies that have arisen through Transformation.

 

London Underground has provided your reps with an incomplete list of roles that are being covered by secondments, fixed term contracts and non-permanent labour. The number of roles being filled in this way is in the thousands. RMT believes that no one should be at risk through Transformation, when clearly there are roles available that permanent staff can be filling. Likewise, we cannot condone people being used on secondments for years and not being offered these roles on a permanent contract.

 

We had a long discussion around how staff on maternity, shared parental and adoption leave are being treated during Transformation. We do not believe that the company are fulfilling all of their legal obligations and need firmer assurances that these people will have a role to come back to, when the Transformation model is proposing so many lost roles. We also oppose these people being asked to take part in selection and assessment. Maternity legislation exists to protect the health and wellbeing of new parents and babies and this treatment is extremely stressful for our members.

 

We finished the meeting by discussing the filling of vacancies during Transformation. Early in the consultation process, the RMT proposed what we believe to be a fair process of vacancy filling, which would mitigate the number of people losing their positions. We based this on the OCP document and also on how we have dealt with this issue in the past. However, the company rejected this proposal and implemented their own process.

However, the very next day, the company reneged on their own process and have used something different in each work stream. We believe that they are doing this to cherry pick their favourites to fill vacancies. We absolutely disagree with this behaviour.

 

We are awaiting a response from the company, but in the meantime, please check updates on individual work streams, attend your Branch meetings and contact your Transformation reps with any queries. It is vital that all queries are sent to the Transformation reps.

 

They are Kelly Berry, Mick James, Paul O’Brien, Phil Rigby-Faux, Danni Rogers & Lorna Tooley