ROCK SOLID PICCADILLY LINE ACTION

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: october 2018 :: RMTnews 6 S trike action by drivers on the Piccadilly Line was absolutely rock solid across all depots last month as the workforce stood firm against an aggressive and bullying management culture that has reduced industrial relations on the line to a shambles. The dispute is over a comprehensive breakdown in industrial relations, abuse of procedures and the reneging on key safety and operational improvements promised by management after previous rounds of industrial action. RMT general secretary Mick Cash said that driver members were fighting for respect and justice in the workplace and a safe and supportive working environment on London's crucial Piccadilly Line. "The shutdown of the service is entirely down to an LU management hell-bent on confrontation regardless of the impact on nearly 800,000 passengers a day on the main tube artery out to Heathrow Airport. "The attitude of tube managers on the Piccadilly Line has been deliberately provocative and obstructive and it is that stance, including the back-tracking on operational, staffing and safety improvements agreed after previous rounds of action on the line that led to the current dispute in the first place. "The ball is firmly in management's court now but our members are sick and tired of being mugged off with bogus promises of improvements to the current dire industrial relations climate that never actually materialises,” he said. R MT has revealed an astronomical waste of nearly £16 million on a system meant to enhance staff rostering but which has left dozens of London Underground stations dangerous and unstaffed. The union learned through a freedom of information request that the system called RCT – Rostering and Coverage Tool – was introduced to replace the method used by which staff were allocated duties. LUL went ahead with the RCT despite strong representations from RMT and many managers who said that it was not cost effective, not needed, and simply wouldn’t work. In August LUL announced that the RCT project was to be permanently withdrawn. This has taken place against a back drop of stations on a daily basis having no staff – sometimes for whole traffic days – because of a general freeze on overtime and farcically slow recruitment of station staff . The RCT was also linked to the mass job losses of vital station administrators. RMT is demanding that the positions are re-instated. RMT general secretary Mick Cash said that despite RMT reps and managers pointing out from a very early stage that the RCT was a waste of money that wouldn’t work, LUL bosses ploughed ahead with this expensive failure. “Instead of wasting public money on useless and unnecessary systems, LUL would be better served investing money – in this case nearly £16 million – on ensuring all stations are staffed throughout the day and ensuring members of the public have the safe service they deserve,” he said. ROCK SOLID PICCADILLY LINE ACTION MILLIONS LOST ON TUBE ROSTERING SYSTEM