Author: Paul

Posted on

Martin Stukin's Dismissal

Martin works for Tube Lines in Lifts and Escalators and like many people has been unwell over the last few year. However, he has been improving and has been productive to the company and his vast experience has been well utilised by the company.

However, Martin was brought in for a meeting last week and told the company were to dismiss him on medical grounds. The truth is the company refused to wait for his consultant’s appointment that is due to take place imminently (3 weeks) and stated that as they had no light duties, that they would move straight to dismissal. They never considered alternatives such as London Underground’s Alternative Duties Department or other areas of the business sufficiently.

The RMT won agreement many years ago that no medical termination or redeployment would take place without a job offer first. This did not occur and management  steam rollered the whole issue through despite rigorous opposition from his reps.

The member that worked with Martin believe this to be the wrong decision and are looking to defend Martin and defend the agreement over sickness. To that end they are organising support for Martin including the below attached petition for his reinstatement (to be used at his appeal).

The matter will be discussed at the next branch meeting and all methods to defend his job will be considered

 

Martin Stukin Petition

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MJ Quinns Update

Dear Colleagues,

Following talks with the company regarding removal of the company fuel card and existing expenses system the company have committed to various actions to assist the introduction of the new system.

The talks have been frank so far and very useful and cordial.

The commitments were put to our members in a conference call and it was agreed that it was insufficient to address the basic issues of trust and whether the system is fit for purpose.

It was therefore decided to request further talks on the matter

Anyone wishing to be a local rep in these talks then please contact me at:

LUEngineering@rmt.org.uk

The email exchange with the company is shown below with the guarantees being offered
From: <luengineering@rmt.org.uk>
Date: 5 September 2015 03:29:53 BST
To: Sonia Burridge <Sonia.Burridge@mjquinn.co.uk>, “Sam Young (HR)” <syoung@mjquinn.co.uk>, Alex Murphy <amurphy@mjquinn.co.uk>
Subject: Consultation

Hi Sonia

I put the below suggestions to our members in a conference call yesterday. So apologies for the hour that I am getting back to you formally

They had a lot of issues surrounding this matter. The issues are issues of:

1) Trust. They are concerned the guarantees below will leave them chasing their money on a weekly basis and ultimately see them out of pocket. They believe that a float of only two weeks and a claim system that takes a week to pay potentially just isn’t enough time. Also, they don’t feel some of the management team would be sympathetic to them and this would further cause them stress

2) Fitness for purpose: They are concerned that the software underpinning the change just isn’t up to it. That it is over complex and given the number of their jobs and the various routes they may go down will mean they just cannot fill out the forms with any meaningful accuracy

3) There is concerns regarding personal use and tax and I am waiting for a form of words on that

They have agreed to further talks and I will send over some names for collective discussions supported by the the RMT as soon as I have them all.

There are some individual cases that may require individual discussions. They can notify you of these particular issues

Many thanks

Paul Jackson
RMT Branch Secretary
LUEngineering (0692)
07810643681

——
The new fuel arrangements are intended to be introduced for all grades on the LUL areas.

MJ Quinns agree that under their proposal that no individual will be expected to pay for business fuel.

To enable that commitment Mj Quinns are happy to implement the below

All other existing terms and conditions remain unchanged except for the method of acquiring and paying for fuel

Staff that are presently allowed to book from home will continue to be allowed to do so

Staff will take photographs of their odometers at the beginning and end of each journey. They will also keep copies of any fuel receipts. This will then enable staff to check the mileage they add onto the GoggleMaps system is accurate and the fuel reimbursement equals the fuel that they are actually using. This information will be used for any reviews

Anyone that needs IT support will be entitled to assurance. Any existing special needs will be honoured. It is accepted by MJQuinns that minor errors may occur and these aw not disciplinary issues but the company may ask staff to amend these errors.

This will enable the correct payment of any monies owed and will allow for any diversions/ idle time/ traffic jams etc.

A float will be calculated for each driver that is equal to their expected fuel usage for the previous two weeks.

Any claims are submitted for 9am on a Monday morningthey will be paid on the Friday of the same week. If a payment is not going to be made that Friday because of an internal error which is not the drivers fault then we will ensure payments are made by BACS or CHAPS, however drivers must inform us of any discrepancy asap.

In the event of a theft of motor issue that is not the fault of the driver, then MJ Quinns will reimburse the driver for any list fuel using the existing expenses system

MJQuinns confirm there is no intention to monitor private journeys and the existing safeguards remain unchanged

MJ Quinns will allow staff to use their tablets/ PCs at Finsbury Circus or Barking to lodge these claims. No one is expected to do this in their own time or on their own pc.

Staff can request a review at anytime if they believe their claims are inaccurate. This review is to ensure that staff are fully paid for business mileage. Any short term errors will be dealt with by the usual expenses claims process. Any longer term issues may result in the fuel rate being altered.

Staff that exhaust their float or have severe financial issues should raise with the management teams at the earliest opportunity. It is envisaged that the float allowance and repayment and constant review of the mileage and fuel used should mean that at no time will the fuel be exhausted

 

 

 

 

 

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Welcome New Starters

 

New Starters Leaflet

 

Branch Secretary Paul Jackson,
Mob: 07810 643 681
Email: LUEngineering@rmt.org.uk,
Email (LUL Addresses): PaulJackson.rmt@gmail.com

Welcome to the RMT.

Dear Colleague,

Our Branch looks after many of the activities of the Infrastructure companies that undertake work on London Underground. We are currently the largest RMT Branch in the country and have very many diverse roles among our membership. These range from the General Secretary of the RMT (who is in our Branch) to high ranking managers, from Permanent Way Staff to administrative staff. We even have a lorry driver! We currently have members from nearly forty different companies and we can proudly state that we are an ALL GRADES union.
As a new member you may well have a few questions about what is going on within the union, who your local representations are, sort out any problems or advice that you need etc. One good place to find these answers is by coming to the Union Branch Meetings. We meet on the first and third Wednesday of every month at the Savoy Tup, 2 Savoy St, The Strand, London. WC2R 0BA. This is only a few minutes walk from Holborn, Temple or Covent Garden stations. You can also just give me a call or email me on the contact details shown above and I will be more than happy assist you. Also please check that your details are correct (this can be done online at www.rmt.org.uk) and you notify your union if you change locations or grades.
Below are also some phone numbers to RMT Helplines that you may find useful:
Criminal Helpline: 07659 118 181
Personal Injury: 08457 125 495
RMT Helpline (non-work related legal): 0800 376 3706 or email info@rmt.org.uk

 

You can also find out more info at www.luengineeringrmt.co.uk
Or join ‘like’ us on facebook www.facebook.com/luengineering.rmt or ‘follow’ us on twitter https://twitter.com/LUEngineering

Many thanks,
Paul Jackson

 

Posted on

Tube Lines Pay and Night Tube

RATES OF PAY & CONDITIONS OF SERVICE AND NIGHT RUNNING – TUBE LINES AP JNP (LUL/0001/TL)

 

Further to my previous Circular (IR/200/15, 20th August 2015), I advised Branches of the dates for the industrial action ballot in respect of the above however, it has regrettably been necessary to withdraw this ballot. This is because the Company challenged the validity of our Notice of Ballot, stating that a number of members that RMT has listed as working for Tube Lines AP JNP have since transferred to work for London Underground or TfL. Our RMT Reps and Branch Secretaries are now urgently reviewing the data and we will serve a new notice on the Company as soon as possible. I will advise you of the revised dates in due course.

It is of course unfortunate that the Company has chosen to use the anti-trade union laws to prevent this ballot going ahead rather than discussing the matter with us in an effort to resolve the dispute. The dispute situation with Tube Lines AP JNP over the pay offer and the offer in recognition of a 24-hour service is still very much in place and we will continue to demand an above inflation pay rise and proper recognition and reward over Night Tube for Tube Lines AP JNP members.

Posted on

Night Tube Suspension

Mick Cash RMT General Secretary

 

“RMT welcomes this move which is what we have been calling for ever since we went into dispute over the Night Tube issue. We warned repeatedly that it would be dangerous and foolish to press ahead with bodged Night Tube plans until the very basics in terms of staffing and safety had been agreed with the unions through the long-established frameworks.

 

“This move by TFL proves that our members were right to strike and were right to warn the public about the consequences of the mad rush to introduce the Mayor’s Night Tube plans without agreement.  The fact that the plans have now been suspended indefinitely to some vague date “in the autumn” is clearly a massive embarrassment to both Boris Johnson and George Osborne but gives us an opportunity to now get the basics that should have been sorted months ago worked out through direct negotiation.

 

“In the meantime, our action scheduled for early September remains on.”

Posted on

RMT suspends LUL action

RMT suspends this week’s action and puts on September strike dates as talks over Night Tube make significant progress

 

TUBE UNION RMT said this afternoon that the strike dates on London Underground this week have been suspended, with new dates announced in September, as talks over pay, jobs and Night Tube have made significant progress at ACAS.

The union has made it clear to London Underground that the union remains in dispute and further strike action will be taken on the 8th and 10th September. RMT has also made it clear that the union will take further industrial action if there are moves to run test trains or if there is any attempt to impose Night Tube operations.‎

RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said:

“Our negotiators have been able to make enough significant progress in talks at ACAS over pay, jobs and Night Tube to allow us to suspend this week’s strike dates. We have still not reached a final agreement and as a result we are putting on additional strike action on next month. In the meantime, the talks process will continue.

“I want to pay tribute to the union members who have remained united and rock solid throughout this dispute. It is their determination which forced LU to begin talking seriously and which has enabled us to make the progress that we have so far.

“Our dispute is not with the working class of London and RMT is not opposed to Night Tube providing it is introduced properly with safe and robust staffing arrangements which recognise the substantial extra pressures that this expansion will inevitably create.”

 

Posted on

RATES OF PAY & CONDITIONS OF SERVICE AND NIGHT RUNNING – TUBE LINES AP JNP

RATES OF PAY & CONDITIONS OF SERVICE AND NIGHT RUNNING – TUBE LINES AP JNP (LUL/0001/TL)

 

Further to my previous Circular (IR/175/15, 23rd July 2015), the final offer which has been received from Tube Lines is as follows:-

 

Year One

  • A 1% increase + a £500 consolidated payment.
  • A £500 non-consolidated payment, which will be paid to all staff covered by collective bargaining in recognition of a 24-hour service.

 

Year Two & Three

  • A 1% or RPI increase, whichever is greater.

 

The Company has now been informed that this offer is unacceptable as it does not meet members’ aspirations over pay and does not include adequate compensation and recognition for members over the introduction of a 24-hour Night Tube service. As a result, a dispute situation now exists and the GGC has taken the decision to ballot all Tube Lines AP JNP members for strike action and action short of a strike. The ballot papers will be sent out on Monday 24th August and the closing date for the ballot is Tuesday 8th September 2015. I will keep you informed of all further developments.

Posted on

LUL Track and Signals Apprentices/ Tubelines

Following the RMT raising concerns that LUL apprentices on Track and Signals who took a job on Tube Lines were being told that they may potentially be made to leave the final salary pension scheme and sign a contract that only allowed them to join the Tube Lines Defined Contribution scheme, LUL have now confirmed that this would not apply.

Any apprentice joining Tube Lines will go on secondment and retain all LUL conditions. The RMT continue to work to get all TubeLines staff TUPE’d back into LUL

——————————————————————–

From: Kallah Satty <>>

Date: 5 August 2015 12:03:01 BST

To: “‘Paul Jackson'” <pauljackson.rmt@gmail.com<mailto:pauljackson.rmt@gmail.com>>, Littlechild Andy <Andrew.Littlechild@tube.tfl.gov.uk<mailto:Andrew.Littlechild@tube.tfl.gov.uk>>, Grant Paul <Paul.Grant1@tube.tfl.gov.uk<mailto:Paul.Grant1@tube.tfl.gov.uk>>, Ashley Peter <Peter.Ashley@tube.tfl.gov.uk<mailto:Peter.Ashley@tube.tfl.gov.uk>>, Harris Mark <MarkHarris1@tfl.gov.uk<mailto:MarkHarris1@tfl.gov.uk>>, Harvey Les <Leslie.Harvey@tube.tfl.gov.uk<mailto:Leslie.Harvey@tube.tfl.gov.uk>>, “‘nialllynch@live.com<mailto:nialllynch@live.com>'” <nialllynch@live.com<mailto:nialllynch@live.com>>, “O’Reilly Paul” <Paul.OReilly@tube.tfl.gov.uk<mailto:Paul.OReilly@tube.tfl.gov.uk>>

Subject: RE:  Track & Signals – Apprenticeship Issues Action Point

 

Dear All,

 

Just a quick update on the above Action Point following the last Track & Signals Functional Council meeting on the 2nd June 2015.

 

The Apprentices that are appointed to roles in Tubelines at the end of their term will go across on a secondments and will remain as LUL employees.  They will also retain their pension benefits.

 

Regards

 

Satty

 

Satty Kallah | Employee Relations Support Manager Employee Relations | London Underground 7th Floor G6, Palestra, London, SE1 8NJ

Posted on

Tube Strike Film

The LUEngineering Branch commissioned a mini-film to explain our side of the Tube Strike. The union is often criticised for not getting our story over. Its not for lack of trying, its purely because the press chooses not to give our side. A press which is dominated by anti-union propaganda and anti-worker stances.

Well here is our side of the story

Posted on

LUL Dispute: Aslef/ Acas Update

Aslef are an independent Union and are fully entitled to make their own agreements and deals. We have no wish to comment on what or how Aslef represent their members.

However, our union believes that you get more together and would appeal to all unions that Unity is Strength and that it is vital to avoid allowing LUL to operate a divide and conquer strategy. That is why we are an all grades union and that is why we have so successfully represented all our members of whatever grade.

This the actual offer from LUL that was made to not only to Aslef and the RMT but all Trade Unions including TSSA and Unite.

Agreement

Below is an Aslef Leaflet suggesting far more than any written undertaking from LUL

Aslef Leaflet page 1Aslef Leaflet page 2

Again, it is for all independent trade Unions to decide their action, however, our negotiators do not see this as satisfying their members. The RMT position and why they have stayed talking at Acas, is that there needs to be a formal offer with regards to Night Tube and acceptance that rosters will not be imposed. LUL have stated that they reserve the right to impose Rosters and that they still intend to go ahead with Night Tube on the 12th September (this despite the private belief from Senior Managers that Night Tube is an unwanted distraction). The RMT Negotiators believe that there needs to be something firmer and not a vague promise and suggestions of draft rosters and that we need a formal agreement and an agreed terms of reference between LUL and the Trade Unions. We believe that that is in the best interests of all our members whatever the grade. We must not also forget that there is still the issue of the annual pay discussions and the two issues are equally important.

Whilst we acknowledge that following the RMT and TSSA escalation to of the dispute to two days, that LUL have at least discussed slowing down the introduction of night tube, we believe that a verbal promise isn’t worth the paper it is written on. Especially as there is nothing concrete to show that Night Tube will be delayed if necessary. Do not believe for one second there are not massive health and safety issues to still be discussed even if agreement was fully reached today because our members and the travelling public’s safety are by far the most important aspect of any settlement..

By the way, it is even more important to have a written agreement rather than an empty and vague promise, when even a Senior Aslef Rep himself expects the need for further action. As we saw in the Aslef Boxing Day strikes, action is far more effective when taken together.

Aslef Strike Tweet

 

The RMT will now continue discussions at Acas and it has arranged a meeting for all its reps this Wednesday to discuss the situation. However, we are fortunate as a union that whilst we wish for unity and solidarity, we also note the anger in many sections of our all grades membership and we will not shy away from taking the action that we have already called if necessary and as LUL will confirm this will have a massive impact on the train service. It is times like this that a cool head is needed because a cool head gets it in writing first, because without doing that, it might easily be perceived to look like panic.

Finally, and I suspect the Aslef member that tweeted the below will be fully criticised by his leadership not least as sometimes it is forgotten that Aslef have some recognition rights in manager’s grades. I am sure that Aslef will equally confirm to its members that we are an independent trade union entitled to make our own decisions as they are and that they will point out the massive RMT victories that we have had for all grades that we represent. The tweet below is especially laughable given, purely as just one example, the way on Metronet (where there was no Aslef recognition), that our members successfully defended their grades from incessant attack to win total success against that private company. D3AN comedy gold

Aslef tweet

Posted on

MJ Quinns Update

MJ Quinns have agreed to meet the RMT on the 19th August in what can only be seen as a positive development.

At this time we cannot recommend electing your own reps and therefore we continue to nominate the RMT to represent you. To do this just enter the details for Paul Jackson onto your nomination form and return to MJ Quinns.

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