ATTENDANCE

• Bakerloo –
• Camden No.3 – Becky Crocker, Pat O'Brien, John Reid
• Central Line West – Vaughan Thomas
• DLR –
• East Ham – Unjum Mirza, Gary Lazell, James Wong-McSweeney
• Finsbury Park – John Kelly, Glenroy Watson, Dave Rayfield, John Noonan
• Hammersmith & City – Mac McKenna, Josie Toussaint-Pinnock, Shaun McKenzie
• Jubilee South & East London Line –
• London Taxis –
• LU Engineering – Lewis Peacock, Andy Littlechild, Jackie Darby, Simon Cottington
• LU Fleet – Kieran Crowe
• Morden & Oval – Arwyn Thomas
• Neasden – Nigel Eivers, Gash Carney
• Piccadilly & District West – Gwyn Pugh, Neil Hodgson, Raj Vyas
• Retired Members – Carol Foster
• Stratford No.1 – Adrian Finney, Michael Cronin, Janine Booth (meeting secretary)
• TfL No.1 –
• Thames Riverboats –
• In attendance – Steve Hedley (Regional Organiser), Olly New (Council of Executives member)

The Regional Council Secretary suggested that all items other than Council of Executives / Regional Organiser's reports and Resolutions be remitted to the next meeting of the Regional Council Executive. Proposed by LU Engineering; seconded by Stratford no.1; agreed.

1. COUNCIL OF EXECUTIVES/REGIONAL ORGANISER'S REPORTS

Olly New reported on:

• LU job cuts dispute - strike still on
• has had personal time off sick recently
• on Northern Rail, Group 4 staff are checking tickets
• LU duty managers grade progression - offer improved, now recommending acceptance
• DLR ballot of all members on several issues
• TubeLines victimisation of Chris Huthcinson
• LU victimisation of Eamonn Lynch, Arwyn Thomas, Ravi Suria, Peter Hartshorn
• ASLEF Boxing Day dispute
• near end of term as C of E member - best wishes to successor

Andy Littlechild (LU Engineering branch) proposed a vote of thanks to Olly for his work as the C of E member. Unanimously endorsed.

Steve Hedley reported on:

• LU job cuts strike - unions offered to suspend b ut management rejected
• need to escalate action
• London Overground issues
• tribute to Olly

There were no questions or contributions.

2. RESOLUTIONS

1. Flexible Working and Parental Leave Legislation, submitted by LU Engineering, seconded by Stratford no.1
That this Branch deplores the weakness of Flexible Working and Parental Leave legislation. The legislation only requires the Employer to "consider" a request by parents and carers for arrangements which allow them to work and take care of their families.
In practice the employer just has to deny the request for any one of ten reasons and the law says that's OK. So the law can actually be used by the employer to prevent carers from working.
Once the request has been denied, the member can try and find a part-time job. If no such job is found they are forced out of the company because they are not considered "capable" of working. Management don't hesitate to use the LU Occupational Health services to achieve the removal of inconvenient staff. This is marked in the CMO and Upgrades areas of LU and makes a mockery of "family friendly policies" and the Government's efforts to get mothers in particular back to paid work.
We ask the RMT to make strong representations to the Equality and Human Rights Commission, to lobby Government to change the law making an offer of part time work, on comparable conditions mandatory on any company with more than 100 employees.
In addition where there is a demonstrable detriment to the children of not allowing their carer to work flexibly the company should be subject to sanctions for neglect.

Reoslution moved and seconded formally. Carried unanimously.

2. 5-Rounders on the Victoria Line, submitted by Finsbury Park, seconded by Stratford no.1

This Union will not accept the introduction of 5 rounders on the Victoria Line.

The Regional Council President asked for clarification as to whether the resolution referred to new Victoria Line stock as well as to current. Finsbury Park branch replied: yes.

Carried unanimously.

3. LU Jobs and Safety Disputes, submitted by Bakerloo branch, proposed by East Ham branch (formally), seconded by LU Engineering branch.
The LTRC congratulates all RMT and TSSA members for their solidarity and determination to resist the attacks on our job from the tube bosses and the Tory Mayor. We also place on record our thanks and sincere appreciation to those non members who respected our picket lines.
We note that the last 3 strikes have shown the resolve of our members. We also note that the action has stretched management to the limit in their attempts to say that LU are running some kind of service for propaganda reasons.
This Regional Council believes that to win this strike we need to increase the action to 48 hour periods. We believe that to bring our members with us we need to provide hardship payments for those who request it to cover the loss of wages because of the increase in the extra day's action.
Further, given this union's leadership in resisting cuts to jobs and services, we call on the labour and trade union movement to rally behind us. To this end the national union will call for mass rallies at four locations on the tube - north, south, east and west - to build mass pickets on the strike days concerned. We also believe that all strike action should be cordinated with other unions eg the FBU, NUJ etc.
We call on the general grades committee to implement this policy in its entirety.

Contributions from Regional Council Secretary and Council of Executives member, and delegates from Neasden, Finsbury Park, Stratford, East Ham branches.

Vote: 9 branches in favour; 0 against; 1 abstention.

4. Escalation of LU Job Cuts Dispute, submitted by Finsbury Park branch
This Region calls upon the union to urgently campaign for an escalation of the action in the dispute regarding jobs and safety on LUL as already agreed at regional level in order to win the dispute.
This should be done by way of propaganda (including a personal letter to all members) and a commitment to release a sum of money for branches to compensate those members who need financial assistance to support an escalated campaign of industrial action. This should be allocated from the national hardship fund and be an amount that makes a tangible difference with branches given an allocation and discretion to identify those members who need it (ie. it will not be a blanket payment to all members).
Furthermore this union should actively press to prosecute LUL for the safety breaches for far identified in this dispute to highlight their callous disregard for passenger safety despite protesting the opposite in the mainstream media.

Finsbury Park branch submitted an amendment to add We recommend that one of the days for action should be Saturday 18th December.
The Regional Council Secretary requested Finsbury Park branch did not accept the amendment, so that the amendment and motion may be voted on separately. Finsbury Park branch accepted the amendment.

Substantive (resolution plus amendment) seconded by Piccadilly and District West.

LU Engineering spoke against. Contributions from delegates from Camden 3, Morden & Oval, LU Engineering, East Ham.

Vote: 4 branches in favour; 1 against; 5 abstentions. Carried.

EMERGENCY RESOLUTIONS

E1. National demonstration against cuts, submitted by Neasden branch, accepted as emergency, seconded by East Ham branch
This Regional Council supports the call from the PCS union for a national demonstration against cuts before Christmas.

Moved and seconded formally. Contribution in favour from delegate form Finsbury Park.
Carried unanimously.

E2. ACAS Talks, submitted by LU Engineering branch, accepted as emergency, seconded by Hammersmith & City branch
That this region fails to understand the logic of the talks at ACAS over the station job losses that have excluded our elected Regional Organiser and left the team at ACAS without an elected official to represent and negotiate for us all at these talks. We therefore call on this exclusion to be withdrawn and our Regional Organiser reinstated to these talks.

Carried unanimously.

E3. Charges for Picket Materials, submitted by Neasden branch, accepted as emergency, seconded by Piccadilly & District West branch
This Regional Council is in disbelief that the union expects branches and regional council to purchase flags and other material in order to give picket lines visibility.
Industrial action is something that we don't take lightly, and the fact that members are losing money by supporting the ballot result should be recognised by the union's Coiuncil of Executives and all picket line materials should be provided fromthe eneral Fund or Organising Unity, free of charge.

Carried unanimously.

Meeting closed 17:55.