TUBE DEAL

www.rmt.org.uk :: february 2006 :: RMTnews 7 R MT Tube station staff overwhelming backed new proposals, recommended by the RMT executive, in a referendum to settle a safety dispute to allow the introduction of the 35-hour week. Station staff, which backed the deal by seven to one, took two days of strike action last month over the introduction of new rosters and staffing levels at London Underground stations. “Tube station staff have overwhelmingly backed a deal that gives us the safety validation we sought and a mechanism for dealing with outstanding disagreements,” said RMT general secretary Bob Crow. “Under the deal, the 35-hour week for station staff, which RMT never sought to re- negotiate, remains in place, with the benefits of 52 days’ leave, enhanced opportunities for promotion and the retention of existing staff numbers,” he said. RMT Tube drivers and signallers also voted by two to one for action short of strike over safety breaches during the dispute. As the dispute has been settled, no further industrial action will be taken. “I would like to pay tribute to drivers and signallers for their solidarity by voting to back action over the crucial issue of safety on London Underground,” Bob said. LUL has agreed to undertake a review of all those displaced under the shorter working week. Functional council reps will be in attendance to ensure that the agreed process is applied in terms of increased travelling time and the suitability of the displacement. LUL agreed to review every appeal submitted by displaced staff and restart the appeals process, to be overseen by functional council. In order to resolve outstanding disagreements, the union has secured a review of all rosters across all groups. The union has secured the release of all level one reps to liaise with the functional council and amend rosters accordingly. LUL has also agreed to a review of all outstanding areas of concern such as lone working and reduced platform staffing. T he growing cost of Virgin Cross Country’s refusal to negotiate a settlement to the dispute over the erosion of Sunday pay rates for guards will be paid for by the public, RMT has revealed. Following a question put by RMT parliamentary group chair John McDonnell MP, the government admitted that it had paid out around £23 million in the last three years in compensation to train-operating companies that lose revenue during industrial disputes. The government has indicated that it intends to continue indemnifying employers with public money. “Virgin Cross Country is cynically throwing huge sums of money at keeping services running on Sundays because they know that the public will eventually foot the bill,” RMT general secretary Bob Crow said. The cost of settling the union’s claim works out at less than £6 per shift, yet the company is paying managers an extra £100 each to cover our members’ jobs on strike days. “They were so desperate they have shelled out for a cab fare to bring a manager more than 200 miles from Plymouth to Birmingham to take charge of a train,” said RMT regional organiser ken Usher. “Anyone in their right mind will wonder why a company is prepared to spend several times more on a dispute than it would cost to settle it. “However,Virgin XC know that the public – including people who never use their trains – will be given the bill, which explains why Virgin board overruled its own management and vetoed the settlement reached last summer,” he said. More than 300 RMT members voted by a margin of more than two to one to strike and have refused to work on Sundays since January 1 after the company turned its back on an offer by the union to talk about the erosion of Sunday pay premiums. PUBLIC PAY FOR VIRGIN INTRANSIGENCE Tube staff back deal on rosters A round 5,000 RMT members on London Underground are being balloted for strike action over the company’s failure to resolve a wide range of industrial-relations issues. Over 1,500 Tube driver members, alongside Aslef drivers, have already voted overwhelmingly for strike action over issues that include policy on signals passed at danger (Spads), health and safety, bargaining arrangements, harassment, discipline, denial of representation rights and imposition of excessive punishments. “London Underground attempts to impose rather than negotiate have undermined industrial relations right across the company,” RMT general secretary Bob Crow said. “LUL is ignoring its own procedures and trying to impose changes and bypass its’ own established negotiating machinery. “The only path left open to us is to ballot our entire Tube membership for industrial action, and we have given London Underground notice to that effect,” Bob said. The result of the latest Tube ballot for station and signal staff will be known on February 23. TUBE DISPUTE ESCALATES