Defending and improving conditions

Tube union RMT confirmed today that train crew members on the Victoria Line are to be balloted for strike action over a range of grievances that amount to a total breakdown in industrial relations:

• Forcing Drivers to work overtime. Drivers being made to start a duty which would result in them working beyond their finishing time.
• Failing to hold meetings requested by members such as flexible working requests, grievance hearings, and disciplinary appeal hearings.
• Trying to conduct meetings without the full level 1 rep in attendance.
  

A meeting took place on August 1st, between RMT Officials, RMT Central Line Representatives and senior LU management in an attempt to avert a ballot of all Central Line drivers due a breakdown in industrial relations on the line.

Relations between management and your industrial and safety representatives have worsened over the past 18 months or so until it has got to the stage where your union firmly believe that the Central Line management is out of control.

Senior Central Line managers seem to believe that LU policies and procedures, the Health and Safety at

That the General Secretary is to write to Stonewall laying out our views that have been raised at the LGBT conference and invite them to address our LGBT Advisory Committee over these concerns.

The motion regarding Pinkwashing is below:

Stop Pinkwashing Employers

Submitted by Central Line East:

“This conference notes that:

1. Every year, Stonewall, the lesbian, gay, and bisexual charity, publishes its top 100 employer in Britain for LGB people, and employers clamber to appear on the list.

That we note this matter originated from the GGC and from a letter from London Underground regarding Parental Leave (EU Directive) Regulations 2013.

The General Secretary is to write to all employers to confirm that they are incorporating the directive into our members’ contracts of employment. We would hope that the progressive employers would pay for our members to have parental leave.

You can read these regulations here

We note the correspondence from Transport for London and the report from our Regional Organiser. These confirm that the long service awards do not keep pace with the cost of living, and that further, the award for 25 years service with TfL has been cut from £350 to £250. Although the company points out that the award for 40 years service increases from £600 to £700, significantly more people reach 25 years service than 40 years, and therefore this is an overall cut.

We note the report from the meeting of our London Cycle Hire representatives and members, who are determined to pursue their fight for better treatment at work.

Accordingly, we instruct the General Secretary to:

• promote to members the mass meeting on Tuesday 30 July at 6pm at the Chapel pub, opposite the workplace, by sending a personal invitation by post to every member involved; and through emails and text message reminders
• ensure that at the meeting, up-to-date reports are given from talks with the employer, and on progress in achieving recognition
  

That further to our previous decision GWW 20 June 2013 we note the report from our lead officer and are appalled at the unjust treatment of our members by STM management. We note from the Regional Organiser’s report that STM has applied over-the-top sanctions for minor misdemeanour's and has not investigated the facts properly nor have not properly considered the evidence.

We instruct the lead officer to arrange a meeting with our representatives who attend the Attendance, Performance and Conduct Joint Working Party (ensuring that all functions are involved), to discuss this and other relevant matters. A report of this meeting is to be placed in front of us.

Reports and developments to be placed in front of us.

TRANSPORT UNION RMT confirmed today that in a ballot of staff running the London “Boris Bike’s” scheme, members have voted 100% for strike action over a range of grievances:
• The imposition of a 2% pay increase for 2013
• The imposition of shift change patterns
• The continuous bullying and harassment of members
• The company’s refusal to reach a formal agreement on travelling time or on travel allowances.

RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said: