ISS WITHDRAWS REDUNDANCIES ON TUBELINES CLEANING CONTRACT

www.rmt.org.uk :: march 2007 :: RMTnews 7 S trike action planned by 550 RMT senior conductors at Central Trains was suspended last month after agreement reached with the company to resume talks through the conciliation service Acas. The company’s blanket ban on release of RMT reps for union activities and the overtime ban imposed on RMT members by the company have both been lifted, and the company has also re-instated local-application leave arrangements. Central Trains had put a ban on overtime and rest-day working against conductors, who are in dispute with the company over the imposition of centralised rostering, resulting in dozens of train cancellations and curtailed services. Senior conductors had been planning to take strike action on February 24 for the fourth time in the dispute. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said that he was pleased that the company had agreed to resume talks through Acas. “We hope that a settlement can now be reached around the table,” he said. RMT called off a threatened Tube strike last month after management agreed to withdraw strings attached to last year’s pay deal. For the past 14 months, LUL has attempted to link the deal with productivity strings such as on late-night running. But, following a three-to-one vote in favour of strike action by RMT's over 6,500 London Underground members, management has climbed down on the issue. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said that the breakthrough was due to the fact that LUL members had shown they were not prepared to be pushed around. "Management's decision has, at last, opened the way for the implementation of last year's pay deal," he added. "If London Underground management had not attempted to attach strings to the deal in the first place then we could have drawn a line under this matter more than a year ago," he said. Despite recent press speculation, RMT has not reached any agreement on late-night running. No such agreement will be reached until safety concerns are addressed including staff travel, additional police presence, adequate staffing levels and a suitable compensation package for train operators. Bob said that the union was not opposed to late-running but had always made clear that a proper risk assessment must be carried out. “The level of verbal and physical assaults rise late at night so more police would be required as the safety of our members is paramount. “RMT will continue to hold talks with LUL on this matter and a common date will be agreed before any changes are brought in,” said Bob Crow. C leaning contractor ISS has withdrawn the threat of compulsory redundancies against cleaners on its Tubelines contract after last-ditch talks with the union. The RMT executive suspended a strike ballot of members at ISS and further talks with the company will take place shortly to resolve outstanding issues. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said that substantial progress had been made at fresh talks with ISS and the company had confirmed that there will be no compulsory redundancies of cleaners on the Tubelines contract. "That is obviously very good news for our members and their families and a victory for common sense all round,” he said. ISS had wanted to sack 140 cleaners after Tubelines reduced the value of its train-and station-cleaning contract by more than 20 per cent. The union had called on Transport for London to block the sackings pending an inquiry into how the companies have manipulated the PPP contracts to their financial advantage. The union pointed out that at a time of heightened security concerns it was crazy to cut the people most likely to find something on the Tube network that shouldn't be there. Tons of free newspapers are also being dumped every day on the Tube and only a fraction is being recycled. RMT held a number of lobbies and RMT parliamentary chair John McDonnell MP put down early day motion 533 which had been signed by around 40 MPs against the job cuts. ISS WITHDRAWS REDUNDANCIES ON TUBELINES CLEANING CONTRACT STRIKE ACTION SUSPENDED AT CENTRAL TRAINS LUL FORCED TO BACK DOWN OVER LINKING PAY WITH LATE-RUNNING