PARLIAMENTRY COLUMN

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: october 2016 :: RMTnews 9 manage this. However, they have now imposed their own arrangements, which give staff no effective say in where they might end up. As a result of previous strikes RMT has won important protections meaning salaries were guaranteed and management’s plans for flexible working practices were pushed back. We also won over a hundred jobs back. But it is now clear that too many jobs were still cut and staff cannot be expected to keep doing the work of two or three people day after day. Selling tickets on self-service machines takes far longer than in a staffed ticket office. The same Customer Service Assistants are expected to do this at the same time as managing ticket gates and providing assistance to passengers. In response to the growing crisis the new London Underground managing director has ordered an internal review of Fit for the Future while the London Mayor Sadiq Khan has asked the statutory passengers group, Travelwatch, to review the ticket office closure plan and associated impact on passengers. RMT has made a submission to Travelwatch and is calling on the company to bring forward a planned review with the unions to take place now. But RMT is recommending need action and not just reviews and reports and is balloting all station grades for strike action and action short of strikes. An overtime ban will expose the chronic short staffing across London Underground’s stations. RMT IS DEMANDING: - More staff – back to the pre- Fit for the Future levels - All control rooms to be staffed - No more displacements until a transfer policy has been agreed - Reverse the ticket office closure programmes - Make all Customer Service Assistants fully operation- ally qualified CSA1 grade Parliamentary column Labour’s purpose has always been to speak for the workers of Britain. As the world changes, we have to listen and understand those changes. The patterns of work that many grew up with are no longer set in stone. That’s why Workplace 2020 is so important. It’s essential to the wholesale renewal of the Labour Party that we reflect a world where work is less secure for a growing section of the population. The challenges of the next industrial revolution mean that the very definition of a worker may be radically different in 20 years than it is currently. The Tories claim to be the party of working people, to speak for communities up and down the country, but they don’t. They represent division and insecurity for those in work and demonization for those not. We remember the damage they did last time around and we see what they are doing to whole swathes of society now. Theirs isn’t a government that looks to the future for working people. They look to the past; the schools of the 1950s and the Trade Union restrictions of the 1820s. Under their government many people not only don’t have employment rights, they now feel lucky to get any scrap of work offered. They are expected to accept the crumbs from the table, whilst the employers and the shareholders feast on vast profits. Six million people earn less than the Living Wage. Young people are stuck at home unable live independently because they don’t know if they will earn enough from week to week to pay their rent. Almost a million people are employed on Zero Hours Contracts. As the Tories turn their fire on Trade Unions, unscrupulous and exploitative business practices, such as those recently revealed at Sports Direct and BHS are going unchecked. Through recently passing the Trade Union Act they have further shrunk working people’s rights in a country already described as the most restrictive in the Western World. Workplace 2020 is Labour’s response. It will be the biggest discussion with working people and employers in a generation. It underlines how serious we are about creating workplaces fit for the future. Everyone has a story to tell on the world of work and on what it should look like in the future. And Workplace 2020 isn’t about focusing on the negatives. Many people have positive experiences of the workplace. Many people benefit from apprenticeships, training opportunities and additional support. We want to hear from working people and employers about how we can promote good practice and raise standards. We will be travelling around the UK – to our nations, to our regions, to local communities because I want to hear from as diverse a group of people as possible. We want to work with employees and employers to create an environment that is fair to all. But alone I can only do so much, I need your help. We need you to set up meetings in your workplace, your local community centre, place of worship, local cafe, pub or even your front room. You can hold a Workplace 2020 discussion anywhere. Even online - you can visit www.Workplace2020.org.uk We want you to tell us exactly what you think the future world of work should look like. The Labour and Trade Union movement is best when we work together, and this is your opportunity to embody the spirit of generations of men and women who have gone before, who have transformed society. The old adages proudly displayed on trade union banners remain relevant today; Agitate, Educate, Organise. Together we can change can the world of work. You can be part of that. Ian Lavery The MP for Wansbeck, the Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office and a Member of the RMT Parliamentary Group. TELL US WHAT YOU WANT