Attendance and discipline

"Despite an increasing workload this summer as we head towards the Olympics the staff running the London cycle hire scheme are facing a bullying management who are imposing outrageous changes to conditions" - Bob Crow

TRANSPORT UNION RMT confirmed today that it is to ballot staff running the London “Boris Bike’s” for both strike action and action short of a strike over a range of grievances:

1. Imposition of changes to working hours and shift patterns which have been unanimously rejected by our members.
2. No offer of any financial reward for working during the Olympics, despite the big increased in workload and the Games’ organisers’ promotion of cycling during the event.
3. The unfair and draconian attendance policy.

We note the correspondence from London Underground Ltd.

We instruct the General Secretary to obtain a report on the progress of this issue at LU Company Council, and to pursue the other unions for a response to our request for a joint approach.

London Transport Regional Council and branches to be advised.

• Related Stories
  • LUL's Rainbow Procedure For Sickness
  • Nowhere Over The Rainbow
    

We note the report from our Regional Organiser, that London Underground has written to RMT notifying us of its new guidelines for social media use. Once again, LUL has failed to consult us over a policy which significantly affects our members, and only asks for our "questions" after the document is published, not our input whilst it is being drafted.

RMT is fighting against London underground's 'rainbow' procedure for sickness.

It seems an odd choice of name. Rainbows are caused when the sun shines through the rain. If you have a few rainy days, there may well be no sunshine from the bosses at LU - just the sack.

There are many scenarios where you could fall foul of the new procedure and potentially lose your job.

Here are a few:

• You had a few odd days off sick and then needed to care for a sick family member.

We note the report from our representative on file, outlining how London Underground is implementing its Rainbow Attendance policy, the unfairness and detriment this is causing to our members, and advice to representatives. We endorse this report, and instruct the General Secretary to send it by post to all London Underground representatives.

All responses are to be placed on file, and further reports, correspondence and legal opinions are to be placed in front of us.

What is Rainbow, how is it being implemented and what does it mean for our members?

Management are taking action against our members where the following arbitrary ‘triggers’ are reached.

• 10 items or more of sickness in the last three years
• 100 days absence in 3 years
  

Following abuses by management of the drug and alcohol procedure, your RMT reps on the Trains Funcional Council have produced the attached guidance document for your attention.

RMT GUIDANCE ON THE DRUG AND ALCOHOL PROCEDURE

Following recent abuses of the D & A procedure on the Piccadilly Line were drivers
have been routinely tested following a SPAD and in one instance where a driver was
tested for taking a train out of service, agreement has been reached at the Trains
Functional Council on February 10 th 2012. The Trains Functional Council agreed that

RMT General Grades Committee decision:

We note that Sodexo stopped the occupational sick pay of our representative Petrit Mihaj, claiming that a clause in the contract of employment allows the company to withhold sick pay if an employee is under notice of or part of the disciplinary process.

We believe that this clause is deeply unfair, as it causes a detriment to an employee without him or her being found to have done anything wrong, or even to have been charged with doing anything wrong.

RMT General Grades Committee decision:

We note the report from our Regional Organiser. We welcome and accept his view that our concerns regarding return to work interviews and the same manager carrying out fact-finding and disciplinary interviews are now resolved.

44 YEARS SERVICE AND 13 WORKING DAYS ‘TIL RETIREMENT - “HERE’S A 23-WEEK WARNING!”

With 44 years service and only 13 working days until his retirement, Steve Hover, a respected and well-liked Loughton driver, was summoned to attend a Local Disciplinary Interview (LDI) for infringing LUL’s punitive sickness policy, and given a vindictive 23-week warning.