Tube union RMT reveals £16 million cost of botched project which has left dozens of stations dangerous and unstaffed

Tube union RMT today revealed through an FOI request the astronomical waste of nearly £16 million on a system meant to enhance staff rostering but which has left dozens of LU stations dangerous and ‎unstaffed.

The system called RCT – Rostering and Coverage Tool – was introduced to replace the method used by which staff were allocated duties. LUL went ahead with the RCT despite strong representations from RMT and many managers who said that it was not cost effective, not needed, and simply wouldn’t work.

In August , London Underground Limited (LUL) announced the RCT project was to be permanently withdrawn.

This has taken place against a back drop of stations on a daily basis having no staff – sometimes for whole traffic days – because of a general freeze on overtime and farcically slow recruitment of station staff.

The RCT was also linked to the mass job losses of vital station administrators. RMT demands these positions are re-instated .

RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said:

“Despite RMT reps and managers pointing out from a very early stage that the RCT was a waste of money that wouldn’t work, LUL bosses ploughed ahead with this expensive failure.

“Instead of wasting public money on useless and unnecessary systems , LUL would be better served investing money – in this case nearly £16 million – on ensuring all stations are staffed throughout the day and ensuring members of the public have the safe service they deserve.”