Campaigning for better working conditions
Cleaning industry Bosses at Initial, one of the biggest companies on London Underground are asking low paid Cleaners to pay for the London Living Wage (LLW) with the removal of promotional opportunities by trying to get rid of the Supervisor Grades this way ensuring Cleaners cannot get any improvement in their conditions by having some hope of moving from the lowest grade in our industry.
TRANSPORT UNION RMT today slammed Vince Cables attack on workers’ rights and warned that as well as opening the door to a vicious “hire and fire” culture he is also giving a green light to a massive increase in social dumping that will allow companies to hire in workers from abroad to undermine pay and conditions.
RMT General Grades Committee decision:
We note the report from our Regional Organiser, that Initial is paying the London Living Wage to cleaners, but has not met any other demands in our pay and conditions claims. This leaves these cleaners among the most exploited workers in London, working for disgracefully low pay, and without the sick pay, pensions and other benefits enjoyed by other workers.
From General Secretary Bob Crow
I write to advise you that despite London Underground announcing yesterday that a deal has been reached for Train Drivers during the Olympic Games period, RMT has not agreed to this deal; and as such your RMT Representatives’ registered a failure to agree at the Trains Functional Council meeting. I can confirm that RMT reject this deal.
RMT General Grades Committee decision:
We note the report from our Regional Organiser. As staff transfer from the employment of London Underground Ltd to TfL, management are refusing to accept that policies and procedures transfer with them under TUPE. This will lead to a weakening of our members’ rights, exactly the situation that the TUPE regulations purport to prevent.
RMT General Grades Committee decision:
We note the legal advice regarding the problems that our Regional Organiser has experienced in obtaining information about this transfer. As recommended by our legal advisor, we instruct the General Secretary to make a formal request for disclosure of the minutes of all relevant meetings leading up to transfer. We also instruct the General Secretary to obtain from the Regional Organiser a report of any outstanding issues about which our members feel aggrieved.
General Grades Committee decision:
We note the correspondence from London Underground. We now have a little more information on this matter than previously, and note that the physical moves of the affected functions will not now commence until after the 2012 Olympic Games.
We note that discussion will take place at Service Control Functional and Health & Safety Councils this month. We instruct the General Secretary to:
As you are aware management attempted to impose Version 24 of the Stations Framework Agreement even though it had not been fully agreed or ratified by the RMT
At the Stations Functional Council meeting on Wednesday 8th June managenment agreed to withdraw version 24 and re-instate version 22A of the Framework Agreement.
Commenting on Vince Cable’s threat to make Britain’s already draconian anti-union laws even more repressive, RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today:
“Cable is effectively telling us that the right to strike is something we can have only if we choose not to use it.
He is trying to come across as the nice cop of the ConDem coalition, but the truth is that he wants us to sit back and watch as his government destroys our jobs and wrecks our services.
RMT General Grades Committee decision:
That we note the response from Serco Docklands [telling us what facilities they have for bike storage and showers]. We instruct the General Secretary to write to our branch asking whether members believe that these provisions are adequate. The response to be placed in front of us.