Category: News

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TRACK PATROLLING, CLESHAR STAFF – LONDON UNDERGROUND

Our Ref: LUL/14/1

 

10th November 2015

 

 

Dear Paul,

 

TRACK PATROLLING, CLESHAR STAFF – LONDON UNDERGROUND

 

Thank you for submitting your Branch Resolution regarding the above. This matter has been considered by the General Grades Committee, which has taken the following decision:-

 

“We note the report of the Lead Officer and we also note the views of the Branch and Representatives and we therefore instruct the General Secretary to prepare a ballot matrix and to ballot all members that are operational permanent way track staff for strike action and action short of strike action.

 

Relevant Branch and London Transport Regional Council to be informed”.

 

I am currently acting in accordance with the above decision and will keep you advised of all further developments.

 

Yours sincerely

Mick Cash

General Secretary

 

 

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RALLY AGAINST AUSTERITY: 21st November

RALLY – BUILD THE FIGHT AGAINST AUSTERITY

SATURDAY 21 NOVEMBER, CENTRAL HALL, WESTMINSTER, LONDON

 

In advance of the government’s Autumn Statement, the Trade Union Co-ordinating Group has organised a major event in the campaign against austerity. The rally will take place on Saturday 21st November 2015 from 1.30pm to 4.30pm at the Methodist Central Hall, Westminster, London.  Speakers include Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell MP, Yanis Varoufakis, former Greek finance minister, and senior representatives of unions and campaign organisations.

 

Entrance is only by advance ticket.  Register online at http://tucg.eventbrite.co.uk Questions to John McDonnell MP and Yanis Varoufakis can also be emailed in advance to tucg2015@gmail.com

 

Please bring the contents of this circular to the attention of all relevant members.

 

Yours sincerely

Mick Cash

General Secretary

 

TUCG rally leaflet

 

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RMT on transport cuts announcement expected today

“This is just more of the same from this Government – ring-fencing the profits of the private companies while hitting jobs, services and safety and RMT will continue to fight the cuts assault in every corner of the transport sector.

 

“With soaring passenger demand it is ludicrous to be hammering down on transport budgets while services are already struggling to cope and ‎are running right on the knife edge of public safety.

 

“If this rotten Government was serious about efficiency it would kick out the profiteering private operators and‎ bring our transport services back under public ownership and control.”

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EX-UKPN

FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT FOR THE POWER DISTRIBUTION GROUP – LONDON UNDERGROUND (LUL/0005)

 

Following many months of talks with LUL, it has now tabled a new Framework Agreement for the Power Distribution Group which will be applicable to all new staff and for existing staff that choose to take a new grade or accept the new contract. Existing staff can remain on their existing terms and conditions if they wish.

 

Having considered a report received from the Lead Officer and LU Engineering Branch Secretary, the General Grades Committee has noted the views of affected members and taken the decision to inform the Company of our acceptance of this new Framework Agreement.

 

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RMT say NO to Cleshar's undertaking track patrolling on LUL

The following resolution was carried unanimously at our branch last night

“This branch notes that LUL have decided to train Cleshar’s staff to undertake track patrolling. This is a clear breach of agreements and a direct attack on the internal staff’s job security and direct casualisation. We therefore ask the General Grades Committee to ballot all operational permanent way track staff for Industrial Action and action short of staff”.

There is a time to reflect and there is a time to act. Now it is time to act and we will not standby and watch our work disappear

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Section 15 Possessions Resolution

The LUEngineering Branch has asked the General Grades Committee to accept the below resolution.

Emergency Resolution: Section 15 Possessions

“This branch notes that LUL are imposing new possession arrangements under Section 15 of the Rule Book. This branch believes that they are dangerous and that people are liable to be killed. Below is a list of issues associated with this imposition:

  • Consultation with H&S reps and in particular Track and Signals has not finished.
  • There are no banners to define possession limits.
  • There is no protection in place to protect the possession.
  • There is potential for confusion regarding Engineering or traffic hours working as section 15 blurs the lines.
  • There have been eIRFs raised by other trial sites.
  • There is no formal staff training on section 15 possessions.
  • There are no management briefings prior to the section 15 possession trail.
  • There is genuine potential for confusion regarding train movements in the worksite/ within possession limits.
  • There is confusion on 5 minute call back time compared to existing practice and may cause people to rush giving up protection to avoid train delays.
  • Working Risk Assessment is historical and not generic to the new working practices.
  • Potential confusion between TAC and Controller.
  • Success criteria in the DRACCT has not been meet, so trial is already unsuccessful.

We ask the General Grades Committee to Ballot all members that access the track on LUL and Tube Lines for strike action and action short of strike, unless full discussions have taken place with our Health and Safety Reps on both companies and they are satisfied it is safe.

We cannot allow a cost cutting agenda to place the lives and safety of our members in danger.”

Our members are truly worried by this development and we demand one thing, that our members can work safely. So we call on LUL to listen to us. This is not safe

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RMT to ballot LUL Pway Staff

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

 

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RMT/IWCE RESIDENTIAL EDUCATION WEEKEND

Dear Colleague

 

RMT/IWCE RESIDENTIAL EDUCATION WEEKEND.

 

In conjunction with the ‘Independent Working Class Education’ (IWCE) organisation the RMT is hosting at the Bob Crow National Education Centre a residential education weekend entitled:

 

“A World to Win – Learning from the past; Making the Future”

 

You are invited to come and join RMT activists in Doncaster to explore key moments in the working class history – and make connections with the issues we face today.

 

This year we celebrate 100 years of women playing a part in rail and transport unions, but of course, the weekend would hugely benefit from experience and contributions of ALL RMT members on the events in history that shaped our union and our class and how they might be relevant and informative to the struggles of today.

 

The weekend takes place on Friday 20th November (14.00hrs) until Sunday 22nd November (13.00hrs) 2015.

 

Your reasonable travel expenses will be met by the Union and free accommodation is available at the Bob Crow National Education Centre if required. If you wish to attend please complete the attached application form.

 

For further details please contact the National Education Officer at a.gilchrist@rmt.org.uk

 

Yours sincerely

 

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DLR Strike

RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said;

“Our members on DLR are rock solid in their action this morning and I want to pay tribute to their unity and determination as they fight to defend safe operational practices and the basic principles of ‎workplace justice.

“Pickets have been out in force and it’s now time for Keolis Amey to recognise the sheer strength of feeling on the shop floor and to get round the table for meaningful talks that address the raft of serious issues at the heart of this dispute.

“The disruption caused by the shutdown of DLR this morning is entirely down to the intransigence of the KAD management and now it’s time for them to stop the posturing and start talking. “

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Section 15 – A Disaster Waiting To Happen!

LU management have imposed a new rule, section 15 possession protection, which removes the requirement to book out with the Track Access Controller and allows the Service Controller to implement protection in a planned possession in engineering hours.

Although management state that consultation was completed with the trade unions, this is untrue. Consultation of any sort only happened when your RMT Track & Signals H&S representatives forced management to get round the table.

Consultation had not been exhausted and management reneged on the Terms of Reference which had jointly been agreed between the RMT and management. A review of the so called “trials” was still in discussion, when management went and stopped any further review workshops.

The RMT believes these so called “trials” were a farce, which did not even meet the success criteria laid out in the DRACCT documentation. Possession plans were inaccurate, the risk assessment was “historical” and not updated, and many safety incidents were reported within these “trials”. Even a basic request from the RMT reps, to see evidence of staff working within the trial sites were correctly certificated, could not be adequately supplied by management.

Contradictions run throughout this procedure. We believe this will add confusion and lead to serious safety breaches. Longstanding principles of avoiding staff carrying out unrelated activities when engineers trains/mechanised vehicles are working, are ripped up! One example,train movements between worksites and possessions, will happen if so called “planned”. How this will be controlled on the ground is kept vague.

The RMT are constantly calling for management to get back round the table (via the unfinished workshops and then to a joint safety forum), so that we can find a safer solution. Management have refused our requests up to now and we are left with no other option but to prepare to ballot, for action short of strike, all LU and JNP members who work on or about the track.

UNITY IS STRENGTH!

SAFETY BEFORE PROFIT!

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Blacklisting News

  1. Blacklist event at Scottish parliament

6pm Wednesday 4th November

Holyrood parliament building (please get there early as it takes time to get past security).

Speakers: Neil Findlay MSP, Dave Smith (BSG), Jackson Cullinane (UNITE)

Everyone welcome but please contact Jackson.cullinane@unitetheunion.org as soon as possible in order get your name down.

 

Daytime ‘Blacklisted’ book event:

1pm, Wednesday, 4 November at Word Power Books 

43-45 West Nicolson Street
Edinburgh
EH8 9DB
http://www.word-power.co.uk

 

  1. Pitchford public inquiry

Blacklist Support Group and many individuals on the Consulting Association blacklist have been granted core participant status within the Pitchford inquiry into undercover policing. There is now a specific category within the public inquiry.

Reel News video talking to people who were targeted by the undercover police: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8GsY7yM3F8

Full list of core participants: https://www.ucpi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/151021-UCPI-list-of-core-participants.pdf

http://www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2015/10/24/conrad-landin/blacklisting-and-undercover-policing/

http://campaignopposingpolicesurveillance.com/

http://policespiesoutoflives.org.uk/

 

 

  1. Blacklisting at the High Court in December

The next date for the High Court case management hearings is 7-8 December 2015 at Royal Courts of Justice, The Strand.

This is the first court appearance since the major firms admitted their guilt and apologised for their involvement in the Economic League and the Consulting Association. We are yet to hear what the remaining contractors involved in blacklisting decide to do. The biggest construction companies in the UK are falling out with each other and scrambling to protect their corporate brand. On our side, all the legal teams representing the blacklisted workers are united in our desire to see real justice. Blacklist Support Group (BSG) publicly state our desire to continue all the way to the High Court trial. We want to see the directors who orchestrated this unlawful conspiracy give evidence under oath about their human rights violations.

BSG want to make Monday 7th December a big one. It is the first High Court session since the firms have admitted their guilt and we hope to generate some publicity for the campaign. Come with your Blacklisted t-shirts.

 

Monday 7th December

9am – assemble outside the High Court

10am – 4pm – High Court blacklisting trial case management hearing

 

6pm BSG parliamentary meeting (all welcome)

Speakers include: John McDonnell MP (shadow chancellor), John Hendy QC, Chris Stephens MP (SNP trade union spokesperson) and many blacklisted workers.

 

9pm – Pre-Xmas celebratory drinks

 

  1. Michael Meacher R.I.P.

Graham Bowker, blacklisted electrician and constituent of Michael Meacher commented on behalf of the Blacklist Support Group :

“Michael Meacher was a respectful gentleman who put in endless work on behalf of all blacklisted workers since 2004, long before the Consulting Association database was discovered. It was picketlines in Manchester that led to the scandal being exposed and Michael supported us throughout, later raising the issue in parliament, on his blog and was a keynote speaker at the Blacklist Support Group AGM in March 2013. Our thoughts and condolences go out to Michael’s family and close friends at this sad time”.

Obituary from Morning Star: http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-2273-The-Michael-Meacher-I-knew-was-a-giant-of-our-movement-and-friend#.Vi5FP37hDs0

http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-2190-Tributes-pour-in-for-leftwinger-Meacher#.Vi5FUX7hDs0

Michael Meacher at BSG AGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jZegxaljmM

 

 

  1. Carillion admit guilt, apologise and then chase blacklisted worker for legal costs

https://usilive.org/blood-money-blacklisted-worker-stunned-by-legal-bill/

http://www.4-traders.com/CARILLION-PLC-9590144/news/Carillion–Sorry-but-Dave-must-pay-Pounds-35k–INVESTIGATES-21242233/

http://www.hazards.org/blacklistblog/

The story also made the Daily Mirror thanks to Andrew Penman and  Private Eye.

 

 

  1. Ex-senior police officer who attended Consulting Association meetings has the front to criticise John McDonnell in the press. Blacklisted workers stand shoulder to shoulder with John McDonnell.

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/exterror-cop-corbyn-allys-smears-have-put-me-and-my-family-in-danger-a3100071.html

http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-e345-McDonnell-defended-after-attack-in-the-press

To hear a retired senior police officer who actually attended the blacklisting meetings claim that his future career prospects have been harmed because an MP raised the issue somewhat sticks in the throat of the thousands of honest hard working construction workers who were denied employment over decades by this illegal conspiracy.

Detective Chief Inspector Gordon Mills was the liaison officer for the National Extremism Tactical Coordination Unit (NETCU), a police unit tasked with spying on organisations such as CND, trade unions, leftwing journalists as well as activists within environmental and animal rights campaigns. In his official role, DCI Mills attended and gave a Powerpoint presentation at a meeting of an organisation called The Consulting Association. The Consulting Association is the secret body responsible for the illegal blacklisting of 3213 trade union and environmental activists by major construction firms and the audience at the 2008 meeting included senior managers from the following companies: Vinci, AMEC, Skanska, Costain, Sir Robert McAlpine, Emcor, and Sias Building Services. The protest DCI Gordon Mills was so upset about was organised by the GMB and amounted to 6 trade unionists carrying flags and someone dressed up in a furry crocodile suit (photo attached).

 

 

  1. Dates for the diary

Fri 30th October – Benefit gig at Kings Arms in Salford – all proceeds to campaigns against fascism http://kingsarmssalford.com/?id=9#10/30/2015

 

Mon 2nd Nov – Trade Union Bill – TUC mass lobby of Westminster parliament (12 noon onwards)

 

2nd – 14th Nov – United We Stand – the story of the Shrewsbury Pickets at Bussey Building, Peckham, tickets £12 (£10 concessions). http://www.townsendproductions.org.uk/productions/united-we-stand

 

Wed 4th Nov – Holyrood blacklist 6pm meeting & Edinburgh lunchtime 1pm meeting

 

Sat 7th Nov – National construction rank & file meeting – Newcastle Labour Club (12-3pm) – all construction workers welcome

Sat 7th Nov – Socialism 2015, Institute of Education (blacklisting in the ‘Big Brother is watching you’ workshop). http://socialism2015.socialistparty.org.uk/

Saturday 14th November – Unite the Resistance – Defend Our Unions (Blackisting & Teesside #PayTheRate) http://uniteresist.org/2015/08/unite-the-resistance-conference-2015/

15th November – 6th December – Film maker Lucy Parker Blacklist exhibition in Edinburgh http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=1451e9af82bc98b746394f078&id=8ee7960ca1&e=d1d86825e4

 

 

  1. Ongoing victimisation & blacklisting

Reinstate Sandy Nicholl, SOAS Unison Branch Secretary

https://www.change.org/p/reinstate-victimised-soas-unison-branch-secretary-sandy-nicoll?recruiter=20790863&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=autopublish&utm_term=mob-xs-share_petition-reason_msg

 

Glen Hart, RMT rep victimised by London Undergraound for his TU activities

http://www.rmtlondoncalling.org.uk/content/glen-hart-targeted-london-underground-trade-union-activities

 

Peel Ports Liverpool

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/business/row-over-peel-ports-construction-10340532

 

Pay The Rate camapign at Wilton Complex in Teesside is now in its 8th month – follow by searching #PayTheRate on social media.

http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/13879741.Unions_claim__quot_police_intimidation_quot__of_Pay_the_Rate_protesters_on_Teesside/

 

BSG activists at Dismaland https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSY8oYqV4k8

 

http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/blacklisted-birth-letter-langston-hughes

 

  1. Appeal from Reel News

The Reel News collective are an integral part of the Blacklist Support Group campaign, they have been with us for many years and their photos & videos have spread the story around the world. Reel News are currently running an appeal to allow them to carry on their work with the trade unions, environmental campaigns and refugees. We urge all our supporters (especially union branches) to donate to the appeal or better still take out an annual subscription to Reel News.

http://reelnews.co.uk/donationssubscriptions/

 

 

Blacklist Support Group

book: http://newint.org/books/politics/blacklisted-secret-war/

video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlCa8yQmZ70

blog: www.hazards.org/blacklistblog

facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/blacklistSG/

 

 

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