LUL Trains

We note the report from our Regional Organiser and the progress made in talks, and that London Underground Ltd has agreed to extend the period of our ballot mandate by 28 days. We note that the R.O. and the majority of representatives believe that sufficient progress has been made to suspend the industrial action and we therefore instruct the General Secretary to immediately advise the company and our members that the strike action due to begin at 12:00 on Wednesday 4 December 2013 is suspended.

Following a ballot for strike action which resulted in an overwhelming 88% vote in favour in a dispute over the systematic abuse of drivers and the unilateral ripping up of negotiated agreements, all RMT Train Operators and Instructor Operators on the Piccadilly Line are instructed to not book on for any turns of duty that commence between: -

12:00 hours on Wednesday 4th December 2013 and 11:59 hours on Thursday 5th December 2013.

The RMT have recieved a new document which reveals more details of London Undergrounds cuts plan. This newly released document, attached below, is a 'Change Assurance Plan' which gives some further insight into what these cuts, if successful, could mean in health & safety terms .

The document is very low on detail of how the proposed changes to station staffing structure will impact on the driver grade. However, section 2.7 claims that there are no changes proposed to train operations.

• Union willing to discuss any proposals to extend services.
• TfL press statement untrue

We note and adopt the report of our Southern Sub-Committee.

Further, we note the press statement by Transport for London dated 26 November, stating that our industrial action ballot is ‘in response to plans unveiled last week to run parts of the Tube for 24 hours at weekends during 2015, and to make staff more visible at stations’.

We welcome the response from ASLEF, expressing its willingness to attend a meeting to discuss a joint campaign against driverless trains. We instruct the General Secretary to ensure that this meeting takes place as soon as practical, and to place a report in front of us.

London Transport Regional Council, branches and London Undergroundrepresentatives to be advised.

We note the correspondence from London Underground Ltd dated 29 October 2013.

We note that this letter does not give the assurance we requested that when LUL orders or commissions new train stock, these will include a driver’s cab, and instead states that the company ‘cannot rule anything in or out’.

We further note that the letter:

• refers to ‘pressure to be more efficient’ and to ‘get the best value for money from everything we get’, indicating that LUL’s decisions on this matter will be driven by a desire to cut spending and save money;

Every driver on the combine needs to get ready to defend the job. LU's plans to slash staffing on stations will effect every grade in every function and will impact directly on our ability to do our job safely and professionally.

• Re-grading of waterloo & city line service control staff – london underground.

We note the correspondence from London Underground Ltd dated 15 November 2013. We instruct the General Secretary to reply, pointing out that our ballot is for action short of strike action, not for strike action as stated in the letter, and that our lead officer will attend the suggested meeting at a mutually-convenient time.

A report of this meeting is to be placed in front of us. London Transport Regional Council and branches to be advised.

We note the resolution from our Jubilee South branch. We share its concern at London Underground management’s attempts to impose a less safe procedure for dealing with defective Platform Edge Doors. Once again, the company appears to be seeking a pretext for cutting staff, regardless of the consequences for passenger safety.

We note the correspondence from London Underground Ltd and the report from our Regional Organiser advising his response. We endorse his call for adequate release to be granted to our representatives to enable us to proceed promptly with the important work of scrutinising the implementation of the S stock upgrade.

Reports and developments are to be placed in front of us.