The LUEngineering Branch will be discussing whether to ballot all Permanent Way staff over management’s decision to start to mentor Cleshar’s staff to undertake T001 Patrolling at tonight’s branch meeting. In what can only be seen as a pointless exercise and a total waste of tax payer’s money, LUL have waited months since they trained these staff to now, all of a sudden, start to mentor them.
Originally, management had hoped to use these people to help break any strike action over Night Tube. Now it can only be seen as an obvious attempt to undermine the job security, promotional prospects and the ability of staff to work overtime. Furthermore, this is a fundamental breach of our agreements reached at functional council over the use of non-Line based patrol staff.
Questions have already been raised as to why LUL would decide to use these provocative steps at a time when they are stating they are looking to recruit. We believe our members will see this as an act of treachery and we again call on LUL to drawer back from this futile gesture and sit down with the RMT and agree a sensible approach to patrolling and how staff are rostered to be available