Category: News

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Thales Pay Accepted

Rates of Pay & Conditions of Service 2014/2015 – Thales

 

Referring to our previous correspondence, the referendum has concluded and the result has been considered by the GGC and it has taken the following decision:-

 

“That we note the referendum result is as follows:-

 

Total Votes Cast 67
Number Voting ‘Yes’ 65
Number Voting ‘No’ 2
Spoilt Papers 0

 

We note the result of the referendum and the overwhelming acceptance of members of the offer from Thales. We instruct the General Secretary to notify the Company of our acceptance of the offer.

 

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

 

Please inform the company of our acceptance and send an electronic copy of the revised pay scales to my office.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

 

Mick Cash

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Thales Dispute Settlement

Dear ALL

 

Following intensive talks over the last few months, the RMT and Thales have reached agreement on job losses and rostering. We would like to thank everyone for their support in making sure we could negotiate from a position of strength

Dispute Settlement

 

Furthermore, we have reached draft agreement on how rosters are to be discussed in the future that will be sent to unity house for agreement and signing.

Draft GTS Rostering Rules and guidelines

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LUL Night Tube

LUL have decided to go to war with the Trade Unions by trying to impose Night Tube rather than carry on talking. Quite out of the blue, Unity House was sent the below letters detailing how LUL intended to start local discussions on ‘implementing’ revised rosters. The surprising aspect of this action is that talks had been progressing nicely at Functional Level until LUL decided, and again out of the blue, to refer the matter to company council and link the issue to pay, stopping all talks. Now after stopping discussions they want to move to imposition (a similar letter has gone to unity house regarding Train Drivers). This can only be seen as a challenge to the Unions right to negotiate on behalf of its members and must surely be linked to the new Government and the recent election result.

LUL Imposition Night Tube

LUL re NIGHT TUBE CONSULTATION (Track Signals)

The reality is that this is a totally unnecessary act by LUL which is as provocative as it is counter productive. The instant result was the below resolution being passed unanimously by the LUEngineering Branch and a Track and Signals Reps meeting

“This branch notes that LUL are trying to impose Night Tube talks on Track and Signals at local level. All representatives have been instructed to refuse talks unless Unity House authorize them. This branch believe that this is a direct attack on our machinery of negotiation and agreements based on rosters and Monday to Friday working that was won following strike action. We cannot let this issue go unchallenged. We therefore call on the GGC to ballot all members in our sphere of influence for strike and action short of strike. Furthermore there must be no worsening of terms and conditions”

The truth is this matter could easily have been negotiated. The truth is many of our members are Monday to Friday and wish to stay that way or be adequately rewarded for amending their contract. The bitter truth is that we cannot allow LUL or any other company, to dictate how, when and in what manner they rip up our agreements and tell us that they are imposing anything on our members.

Do not forget we have already been on strike over rosters and Monday to Friday working, reaching the below agreement with Management.

CMO Roster Agreement

We won this through action and it may take action to defend it.

For the time being the RMT are refusing to attend any local meetings about imposing rosters on our members and all matters are being dealt with at the highest level in our union. We therefore also ask ALL our members to NOT volunteer to change any shifts and allow your union to negotiate your terms and conditions of employment and refuse to allow LUL to rip up our agreements

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NETWORK RAIL DISPUTE – SERIOUS AND IMMINENT DANGER

The Secretary

ALL BRANCHES

ALL REGIONAL COUNCILS

 

Dear Colleague

 

NETWORK RAIL DISPUTE – SERIOUS AND IMMINENT DANGER

 

Members of the RMT working for Network Rail will be engaging in industrial action as follows:

 

  • To take 24 hours of industrial action by not booking on for duty on any shift from 1700 hours on 25/05/2015 until 1659 hours on 26/05/2015.
  •  To take industrial action by not working any overtime or additional hours or any extended shifts and by not undertaking any call-outs for 48 hours between 0001 hours on 25/05/2015 and 2359 hours on 26/05/2015.

 

During these periods we believe Network Rail will attempt to run a railway service by using managers to cover safety critical roles and in particular to cover Electrical Control Rooms, signal boxes and signalling centres and train dispatch with managers who we fear may not be fully competent to carry out the safety critical tasks that are so important in protecting staff, passengers and the general public.

 

These cover arrangements will clearly impact on the operational safety of staff working outside of Network Rail but working on the railway infrastructure. Roles that may be affected in this way by the dispute include, but may not be limited to, train drivers, guards, infrastructure workers, other on-board staff and train dispatch staff.

 

Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (MHSW), Regulation 8(1) employers have a duty to establish procedures to be followed in the event of serious and imminent danger to persons at work such procedures are sometimes known as Worksafe Procedures.

 

A guide to your rights in this regard are contained in the following RMT publication:

http://www.rmt.org.uk/news/publications/serious-and-imminent-dangers/

 

Should you, as an individual, feel that as part of your duties you are placing yourself in serious or imminent danger during the dispute you should comply with your company’s policy as required by the MHSW. Attached to this circular is a pro-forma should you wish to record your concerns in writing to your management.

proforma dispute NR 2015

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

 

Yours sincerely

Mick Cash

General Secretary

www.rmt.org.uk/healthandsafety

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Network Rail Dispute: Legal Action against TSSA

General secretary Mick Cash said.

 

“It is highly damaging that instead of focusing on the talks process Network Rail have opted instead to threaten a dash to the courts to challenge the democratic decision of rail worker members of one of our sister unions.

 

RMT will not allow this legal manoeuvring to cloud the real issues in this dispute over jobs, safety and pay justice. RMT will continue to engage in talks while we also finalise the preparations for our national industrial action

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Blacklisting Support Group

There was stunned silence followed by audible gasps in the High Court when Matthew Nicklin QC read out documentary evidence indicating that the blacklisting firms had deliberately set out to destroy evidence of their illegal conspiracy. The unions UNITE, UCATT & GMB plus solicitors Guney, Clark & Ryan (working in association with the Blacklist Support Group) are representing 581 blacklisted union members in ‘group litigation’ against 40 of the UK’s largest construction firms, including Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd, Balfour Beatty, Carillion, Kier, Costain, Laing O’Rourke, Vinci, Skanska, Bam.

 

The procedural hearing yesterday was deciding on case management issues to be put in place before the full trial which is now confirmed to take place on 16th May 2016 and set to last 10 weeks. With directors of multinational firms and former undercover police officers set to give evidence, this will turn into a show trial for the construction industry.

 

The major issue to be decided in this week’s hearing was one of disclosure of documents to be used in the trial. The firms have repeatedly denied holding documents relating to the illegal Consulting association blacklist, despite invoices proving that directors of the companies attending quarterly meetings from 1993-2009. The told the court that to search for the relevant documentation would cost them £27million and that they had already provided a list of documents that they have found on their computers.

 

But Matthew Nicklin QC, representing the blacklisted workers from UCATT, told the court that the pitiful disclosure by the firms was “worse than useless” and that the firms were being deliberately obstructive. Nickiln QC then read out documentary evidence that showed that David Cochrane, director of Human Resources at Sir Robert McAlpine & chairman of The Consulting Association (TCA) when it was raided in 2009 instructed Ian Kerr (chief executive of TCA) to destroy blacklisting documents and to ring round others to tell them to do the same. The document was a hand written record made by Ian Kerr of a series of conversations he had with various industry grandees immediately after the Information Commissioners Office served its warrant. The relevant part of the note read to the High Court states that David Cochrane told Ian Kerr:

 

“Ring everyone – Cease trading – Close down – We don’t exist anymore – Destroy data – Stop Processing”

Later sections of the same note record conversations with other senior managers who say they have already destroyed the documents they held.

(full note attached)

 

Roy Bentham, blacklisted joiner from Liverpool & Blacklist Support Group said:

“The wheels of justice turn painfully slow but we now have a date for the full trial. In 12 months from today, I look forward to seeing those captains of industry being questioned about their illegal blacklist with ruined so many lives”.

 

Dave Smith, BSG secretary added,

“We have repeatedly called for jail sentences for these wretches who violated our human rights. If the destruction of documentary evidence is proved in court, those responsible should be prosecuted for perverting the course of justice and be sent to prison. That would be real justice”.

 

 

Other issues decided by Judge Supperstone

 

20 lead cases decided upon.

Application by defendants for further information regarding DWP and  HMRC records for lead cases regarding schedules of loss.

Length of trial – 10 weeks

2 further hearings scheduled. Next on the 14th July and two to be set in October including a costs hearing.

Expert evidence. Professor to give overview and detailed analysis of earnings and specifically loss of earnings of the claimants.

Defamation, data protection, libel, slander, conspiracy cases are all in the mix for which criteria that will be selected.

Blacklist Support Group

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

video: Blacklisting 2013 – The Workers Strike Back

blog: www.hazards.org/blacklistblog

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

 

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LUL Pay and Night Tube

To all RMT members in LUL, Pay and night tube update

Today and earlier this week on Monday I met LUL directors, with our senior reps to discuss and negotiate on pay 2015 and night tube arrangements.

Once again no new offer was made .

As members will know LUL have so far tabled a offer of
Pay .. This is effectively a pay cut

2015 …0.75%
2016…..RPI

Night tube

£500 ( £750 for track/ signals & Train Ops) non consolidated ” ONEOFF”(in two or three parts) payment for ALL CHANGES EVER to do with the impact of, changes to numerous agreements and adverse working caused by night tube.

I have told Nick Brown LULs C.O.O that our union has spent decades building up our agreements that protect members from the adverse impact of shift working , that provide structure and rights at work …that have been worked to by hard negotiation , by old style managers making joint agreements with the RMT and the other unions, which all parties honour and stick with .These agreements made life better for our members and of course are supported by thousands of RMT members and the other unions in the Underground. It would be wrong beyond measure to throw all that away for a night tube that no ones funded properly or worked out the logistics of … and certainly not at the cost of our members work life balance / rights and agreements … Oh and they want a no strike deal too!

The talks have now been adjourned . We are available. We are not in dispute . Despite that LUL have advised us that they want to go to ACAS to assist them ? How that will help I have no idea . We have told them , as have all the unions have the offer is in both parts wholeheartedly inadequate and fails to address the critical point of sticking with agreements. And we could never agree to a no strike deal . Those points need to be addressed by LUL rather than calling in ACAS

Thanks

John Leach
RMT Regional Organiser
London Transport
Region 11

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TubeLines Travel

Passes and Pension

 

We had a meeting with Tube Lines and LUL on Friday morning regarding passes and pensions following our reps meeting on the 11th May.

 

The first part of the meeting involved the process for our members working for Tube Lines to claim the 75% refund for season tickets. They will be able to do this from tomorrow 18th May using the forms attached to the email that the company is sending out. This is for all Tube Lines Staff including those TUPEd over in 2013 to LUL and TFL.

 

They will all be able to claim for existing annual season tickets even if they are 11 months old.

 

These attachments are being emailed to all staff and hard copies going up in signing on locations etc.

 

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Network Rail

General Secretary Mick Cash said.

 

“It is rank hypocrisy for Network Rail executives to be attacking the pay and conditions of the front line workforce when they themselves are soaking up telephone number salaries and jetting round the world business class at public expense.

 

“RMT is proud that we have secured decent pay and conditions for our members on Network Rail and this dispute is all about protecting and advancing those gains and on the eve of crucial talks it is entirely unhelpful for NR to be rubbishing it’s own workforce in this cynical fashion.

 

“We are talking here about men and women who work round the clock in often appalling conditions, being sprayed with excrement from passing trains, to keep Britain moving and our railways safe. We will take no lectures from the NR Boardroom, or from the politicians about to land salary increases of 10%‎, about pay restraint. RMT’s focus is on talks at ACAS aimed at negotiating a settlement while we prepare ourselves for action from next Monday. ”

 

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Circular Peoples Assembly Demo Against Austerity June 20th

Tuesday 12 May 2015

 

 

National Policy Circular NP/84/15/BO

 

To the Secretary all Branches, Regional Councils,

Council of Executive Members, Regional Offices.

 

Dear Colleagues,

 

 

After the last few days I am sure you all agree that it is now vital that we take to the streets on June 20 and tell the new government to End Austerity Now. With the Tories able to go it alone in government we know exactly what to expect – more privatisation, more destructive cuts, more anti trade union laws and more attacks on our communities.

Now is the time to mobilise, to spread the word and to show the full force of anti-austerity opinion in Britain. Others look to the RMT for inspiration so it’s down to us to ensure we are out in force, in a large visible bloc and that this demonstration is the biggest protest seen in London in years.

Please do everything you can to maximise attendance.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Mick Cash

General Secretary

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NEWCASTLE UNITY FESTIVAL – 23 MAY 2015

TO: THE SECRETARY

ALL BRANCHES & REGIONAL COUNCILS

 

Dear Colleague,

 

NEWCASTLE UNITY FESTIVAL – 23 MAY 2015

 

The union is supporting the Newcastle Unity Festival which is taking place on Saturday 23rd May 2015 at Leazes Park in central Newcastle (1-8pm).

 

The rationale for the festival is to promote unity in the North East community, celebrate diversity in the city and to stand against racism, Islamophobia and all forms of discrimination.  This free festival will comprise of music and entertainment which should appeal to families and diverse cultures.

 

All Regions and Branches are encouraged to show their support with any financial donations made out to Newcastle Unity Festival (Newcastle Unity Festival, 41 Ocean View, Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear NE26 1AL).  Please contact our Equal Opportunities Officer, Jess Webb (j.webb@rmt.org.uk) with any queries.

 

Yours sincerely,

Mick Cash

General Secretary

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