UNION WINS INCREASED LEAVE PAYMENTS FOR NETWORK RAIL NIGHT WORKERS

www.rmt.org.uk :: february 2007 :: RMTnews 7 Network Rail has finally accepted liability that it had incorrectly calculated annual holiday pay entitlement for night workers. This will mean that Network Rail employees from signallers to maintenance staff that engage in night work will now be able to claim holiday pay based on the night rate rather than receiving day rate as is currently the case. General secretary Bob Crow said that it was a “massive victory” for night workers at Network Rail and called on the company to deal with the issue of arrears for staff affected. For some time the union had been pursuing a Employment Tribunal case with Network Rail bought by night shift workers formerly employed by Balfour Beatty over the refusal of the company to pay the rate of pay for nights when members are on annual leave. “The union has always taken the view, in accordance with the Working Time Regulations and backed by legal advice, that members who regularly work nights must receive the enhanced rate of pay when on annual leave,” Bob said. The Working Time Regulations 13 and 16 provide that a worker is entitled to four weeks’ leave per year and that payments for such periods of leave is to be made at the rate of a week’s pay in respect of each week of leave. Reg 16 clarifies that a week’s pay is to be calculated in accordance with the provisions of sections 221-224 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. Payment when attending training courses was also part of the ET claim. This is not covered by legislation but by the terms and conditions of employment. RMT has requested an undertaking that management will pay members in accordance with current agreements and deal fairly with the issue of the amount of the payment and arrears owed staff as a result. The company is presently claiming that it only has to pay the enhanced rate for 20 days of holiday entitlement and will only pay date rate for the remaining days. “This sort of penny-pinching may be within the law but it is not in the spirit of Network Rail’s admission that it has been illegally underpaying staff for some time,” Bob Crow said. A round 6,500 RMT members working in all grades across London Underground are to vote on strike action over the failure to pay a four per cent rise that should have been signed and settled by April 1 last year. The RMT executive is urging members to vote decisively for action after the union spent ten months in fruitless attempts to get London Underground to enter meaningful negotiations. The ballot will be concluded by mid-February. "We have spent months trying to get London Underground to negotiate sensibly with us, but our members have still not received a pay increase that was due on April 1 last year," RMT general secretary Bob Crow said. "We were asked to submit our pay claim in good time and we did so, but LUL did not enter talks at all until after last April's anniversary date. "They have since spent the best part of ten months stonewalling, insisting on a multi-year deal and attempting to link the pay talks with entirely unrelated issues,” he said. LUL could not even give a pledge not to impose new draconian disciplinary and attendance policies over the course of any long-term deal. RMT has made it clear to LUL for some time that failure to pay the four per cent that should have been implemented last April would result in a ballot for strike action. "LUL can avoid industrial action by paying the increase that is due to our members, but they should understand that RMT members are prepared to defend the gains they have made in recent years," Bob Crow said. UNION WINS INCREASED LEAVE PAYMENTS FOR NETWORK RAIL NIGHT WORKERS Network Rail finally accepts liability that it incorrectly calculated annual holiday pay TUBE STAFF BALLOTED OVER PAY