Pay

As of July 2009, annual price inflation rates of particular products:

• food: 5.6%
• fuel and light: 9.6%
• gas: 24%
• coal and solid fuels: 21.9%

[government inflation figures]

In the year to June 2009, the prices of many essentials rose at a far higher rate than RPI inflation:

• Coal & solid fuels up 21.9%
• Fuel and light up 9.6%
• Gas up 24.0%
• Electricity up 6.8%
• Water and other charges up 4.7%
• Fares and other travel costs 5.5%
• Bus and coach fares 7.3%
• Other travel costs 4.8%
• Food up 5.3%, with
  • tea up 10.3%

This resolution, submitted by Jubilee South and East London Line branch, was passed at the August Regional Council meeting.

This Branch/Regional Council is appalled, but not surprised, by the recent comments made by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, that his payment of £250k, for writing a Sunday newspaper column, was nothing more than ‘chicken feed’.

We feel this is a disgrace, considering the Mayor’s actions in intervening in the current LUL pay dispute, and also the failure to pay cleaners the London living wage.

If you want to keep up with the latest statistics on pay settlements, inflation and other employment-related facts, you could try looking at the IDS website.

One fact it will tell you is that median pay settlements are currently running at 2% - a full 0.5% higher than LUL and TfL's current offers. ['Median' is one type of average, found by arranging the values in order and then selecting the one in the middle.]

Bob Crow, RMT General Secretary, said:

“Transport workers in London will look at Boris Johnson’s claim that £250,000 a year for moonlighting in a second job is “chickenfeed” and wonder just what planet he’s living on.

“Our members working as cleaners on London Underground, who have been denied the London Living Wage that was promised them by Boris Johnson, will be especially angry when they are out there doing dirty jobs for little more than six pounds an hour.

This link shows Boris Johnson describe his quarter of a million payment for a second job as a journalist as “chicken feed”.

It makes me wonder not only about our Mayor's judgement but also his hypocrisy in opposing the RMT pay claim. Why is it that millionaires so strongly oppose people on just over twenty thousand per annum getting a pay rise that keeps up with the real rate of inflation?!

Here are some recent pay settlements, which may help put London Underground's and TfL's current offers in perspective:

• HBOS: 4.25%
• Lloyds TSB: 4%, second year of 3-year deal
• Phoenix Healthcare Distribution: 3.65%
• BAE Regional Aircraft: 3%
• BVT Surface Fleet: 3%
• Stagecoach South West: 3.2 - 4.5%
• Stagecoach South West Weillington depot: 4%
• Maersk Offshore Deep Sea Ratings: 3%
• Hitachi: 4.2% from 1 January 2009, plus 3% from 1 April 2009
• Wabtec: 3.5%
• Unipart Crewe: 2.5%

London Underground has today tabled a revised pay offer:

• Year 1: 1.5%
• Year 2: RPI+0.5%

The latest figures from the Office of National Statistics (attached) prove once again that LUL/TfL's pay offers lag well behind rising prices - in other words will cut your pay in real terms.

In the year to May, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 2.2%. The Retail Price index - acknowledged as seriously underestimating real inflation - stood at -1.1%. RPIX (RPI, excluding mortgage interest payments) was +1.6%.

Here are some price rises for particular areas of your spending:

Click '1 attachment' / file name to download this important leaflet.

The attached leaflet has been jointly issued by RMT and other TfL unions PCS, Prospect, TSSA, Unison and Unite.

It explains why the unions have unanimously agreed to reject TfL's pay offer.