News, reports and information for London Underground train drivers
Don’t sign away your right to work reasonable hours and finish at a reasonable time.
The RMT is insisting that NO member should be compelled to work longer hours or finish later than is stipulated in our contracts and the Framework Agreement.
Our legal advice backs us in this assertion. We are demanding further talks with LUL to ensure that ALL members of staff are treated fairly.
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Main stories follow:
Ongoing talks at ACAS for working during the Olympics have so far failed to reach any agreement.
The union has been clear all along that we will not agree to alterations or breaches to the Framework Agreements for the Olympics.
We note the request from our Finsbury Park branch, suggesting a joint campaign with ASLEF against the introduction of Automatic Door Opening on the Victoria Line, believing this to be a major component of London Underground’s preparation for the introduction of ‘driverless trains’. We accordingly instruct the General Secretary to contact ASLEF seeking a joint campaign on this issue.
We also encourage our Finsbury Park branch and trains representatives to pursue this with ASLEF at a company and local level.
We note the reports from our negotiating team and welcome the apparent progress in talks with London
Underground, in which RMT is stating and explaining our position: that all grades of staff are entitled to a
decent financial reward for Olympics working without having to compromise our agreements. We await London Underground's response, and will continue to constructively discuss with LU the staffing arrangements necessary to deliver the transport service that London needs for successful Olympic and Paralympic Games.
At ACAS talks today, RMT stated that we wished to discuss with LU management how to deliver the staffing arrangements needed in all grades to provide London with the transport service it needs in order to make the Olympic and Paralympic Games a success. We stated that RMT believes that this can be achieved within the parameters of existing agreements, and would explain to LU management how this could be done, expecting management to consider these proposals and give its views.
At a meeting of the Trains Functional Council today (4/4/12) the RMT rejected the proposed ASLEF/LU "guidelines" for allocatating duties during the Olympics.
The RMT members present made the following statement to the Council:
"The RMT has sought and continues to seek an agreement which provides a successful tube system during the 2012 Olympics where our members are properly rewarded for the extra workload involved.
The RMT’s position is that we are not prepared to break framework agreements and driving parameters.
We note the report from our Regional Organiser. At ACAS yesterday (26 March), RMT made clear that in
order to proceed with talks we need a statement from management that no RMT members will be forced to break Framework Agreements. This has not yet been forthcoming from management, and until it is, all talks are adjourned.
RMT General Grades Committee decision:
We note that a well-attended meeting of our London Underground representatives unanimously recommended rejection of London Underground’s Olympics offer, taking the firm view that any offer should be for all grades and that there should not be any changes to the rules governing working conditions set out in the Framework Agreements. We therefore reject London Underground’s offer.
This is the excerpt from the 2011 London Underground pay settlement relating to drivers working on a bank holiday:
The RMT Executive through the General Grades Committee has issued the following statement and poster for notice boards to reiterate and clarify the RMT's position on members entitlements for the Olympic period.
“We reiterate our stance that all grades of transport employees are entitled to a decent financial reward for their efforts transporting huge numbers of passengers during the Olympics and are entitled to take leave during the summer, and that working conditions and important agreements should not and need not be attacked in order to facilitate Olympic running.”