DLR STRIKE AFTER TALKS COLLAPSE

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: april 2018 :: RMTnews 6 S trike action on Docklands Light Railway went ahead last month after the operator Keolis Amey Docklands (KAD) collapsed talks at ACAS by failing issues at the heart of the dispute. RMT officials made strenuous efforts throughout two days of last-ditch talks at ACAS to reach a negotiated settlement but were met by a stone wall thrown up by the company. The talks were seen by the union as an opportunity to resolve a raft of issues that amount to a comprehensive breakdown in industrial relations on a number of important fronts including: • Outsourcing of jobs through the use of contractors, undermining the job security and pay and conditions of DLR permanent staff • Attacks on rostering agreements that would worsen work/life balance • Abuse of key policies and procedures, including attendance procedures • Payroll and taxation failures leaving RMT members to deal with the consequences RMT general secretary Mick Cash said that the union was bitterly disappointed and extremely angry that KAD had kicked away a golden opportunity to resolve the issues at the heart of the dispute in the ACAS talks. " Our members are standing united and determined on DLR in a dispute that is about ending the undercutting of jobs and conditions through outsourcing, ending the abuse of procedures and defending the basic principles of workplace justice. "The union has serious safety concerns about the ad-hoc and highly limited service that KAD have been able to cobble together through a combination of a few scabs and an under- trained group of managers. Instead of running risks and cutting corners the company should be negotiating a settlement to this dispute. “This dispute is over the fundamental issues of workplace justice, fairness, the outsourcing of key functions and sticking to agreements and practices that Keolis seem to believe that they can trample all over. “RMT members employed by KAD have had enough of being treated like dirt and have made it clear that they are prepared to stand up and fight for their fundamental rights. “Docklands Light Railway is a key component of the transport network in the Capital City and the way that staff are being treated is a stain on London. “The London Mayor, who chairs Transport for London, needs to take full note of the workplace abuses that are happening on his watch and should now step in and help us to achieve a negotiated settlement with the company,” he said. DLR STRIKE AFTER TALKS COLLAPSE