RMT pledges full support to Vestas occupation – Bob Crow to visit factory tomorrow

Submitted by Admin on 22 July, 2009 - 14:26

TRANSPORT UNION RMT today pledged full support to the workers occupying the Vestas wind turbine factory on the Isle of Wight and confirmed that RMT general secretary Bob Crow will be making a solidarity visit to the occupation at 6pm tomorrow evening (Thursday 23rd July).

The Vestas factory is the only unit in England manufacturing wind turbines. The Dutch company which owns it are trying to close the factory down with the loss of 625 jobs blaming the British government’s lack of commitment to renewable energy. The company is reported to have made profits of $56 million in the> first quarter of this year alone – a rise of 70% on last year.

The factory has been under workers occupation since Tuesday. Communication lines into the factory have been cut and deliveries of food and water have been blockaded by private security guards. This morning, those involved in the occupation have been threatened with summary dismissal.

Bob Crow, RMT general secretary, said today:
“Nothing underlines the attack on job and communities that has been unleashed in the UK by greedy bosses and incompetent politicians better than the occupation at Vestas.

Report: ex-Silverlink Joint Working Party, Monday 20 July

Submitted by Joffe on 22 July, 2009 - 12:17

As well as the attack on Core Station Supervisor training outlined here, the following issues were also discussed at Monday's Joint Working Party about the ex-Silverlink stations:

* Staff who failed the Station Supervisor application have been allowed to reapply - 31 of the 34 have done so. The applicants will have 'enhanced coaching'. The three parts of the application - written test, role play and interview - will have a full day each, with coaching prior to assessment.

Swine Flu - London Underground's Guidance

Submitted by Admin on 22 July, 2009 - 11:09

Below is the company's (not the union's!) guidance on swine flu. Comments welcome!

Please find below our current response and actions you should take for staff that report sick with swine flu or flu like symptoms. This advice supersedes all previous advice with immediate effect. Please cascade this as necessary.

Employees that can prove that they had actual swine flu, and proof will be either a GP certificate or evidence of having been prescribed Tamiflu must be recorded as sick explanation accepted. This is strictly for those with proof. The SAP code for this is 160.

Swine Flu - NHS Advice

Submitted by Admin on 21 July, 2009 - 18:00

You'll probably be aware that Mayor Boris Johnson held a 'Swine Flu Summit' yesterday to address concerns. No trade unions were represented.

Meanwhile, LUL's Director of Safety is insisting there is no need to meet your safety representatives over the issue and that the entire thing is exaggerated.

Aside from the fact that the employer has a legal duty to consult safety representatives on your behalf, we believe the Director of Safety, Mike Strzelecki, to be improvident and irresponsible.

Your Legal Rights - Safety

Submitted by Admin on 21 July, 2009 - 12:44

1) The principal safety legislation in the land, the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (Section 7) states:

The employee has a duty in:

“taking reasonable care for your own health & safety and that of others who may be affected by what you do or don’t do”

2) Under the Employment Rights Act 1996, as amended, employees have the right not to be dismissed, selected for redundancy or subjected to any detriment on the following grounds:

Save Vestas Wind Turbine Plant

Submitted by Admin on 20 July, 2009 - 22:22

Below is the message of support from RMT London Transport Regional Council to the 'Save Vestas' campaign. You can keep up-to-date with the campaign by clicking here.

I am writing to give my full support to the campaign to save the Vestas wind turbine plant on the Isle of Wight.

Prine Minister Gordon Brown has stated that we need 'green jobs' both to tackle the recession and to save the environment. If he does not act to save Vestas, his words will be shown to be meaningless and hypocritical. The government should bring Vestas into public ownership, and run it democratically in the interests of working-class people and the future of our world.

MATS staff: Defend Your Job, Defend Your Rights

Submitted by Admin on 20 July, 2009 - 22:20

An RMT member writes ...

MATS, if you are a M, SM, Technical or AD grade then the OCR is coming for you. LU Employee Relations have just ripped up the protection you thought you had under annexe H of the PPP contract and you are now eligible for Compulsory Redundancy.

Whether you are an Engineer, Document controller, CAD Draftsperson, Accountant, Quantity Surveyor, Project Manager, Architect, Site Surveyor, Buyer, Technical Writer, Planner or PA you are expendable as you are, in Gerry Duffy's words, "just back-room staff".

Ex Silverlink stations: Management attack core role of Station Supervisor

Submitted by Joffe on 20 July, 2009 - 21:14

London Underground management are trying to whittle away the core roles of a Station Supervisor by creating a part-qualified Supervisor grade on the ex-Silverlink stations. RMT believes that this is both unfair on the staff who will take up these Supervisor jobs and a threat to the Station Supervisor grade in general. We are insisting that all Station Supervisor grades must continue to receive the full core Supervisor training and not be de-skilled.

Resolution: Economic Crisis

Submitted by Admin on 20 July, 2009 - 19:09

This resolution, submitted by LU Fleet branch, was passd unanimously by the August meeting of the Regional Council.

Branch notes:

That the economic crisis, internationally and domestically, is leading to soaring unemployment, insecurity and devastation of communities.

UK unemployment is well over 2 million and headed sharply upwards. But much worse is to come. Nearly half a million people have now been unemployed for at least 12 months.