Category: News

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ACAS EARLY CONCILIATION SCHEME UPDATE

Branches, Regional Councils & Regional Offices; Regional Officers

Dear Colleague,

ACAS EARLY CONCILIATION SCHEME UPDATE

Further to previous Circulars. In particular NP/038/14 AND NP/053/14 and the Conciliation Booklet prepared by our Legal Team with an Introduction from me I wish to draw your attention to the following changes.

Members who wish to submit an Employment Tribunal claim cannot do so unless they have notified ACAS of their potential claim and have sought Early Conciliation of the claim. They must do so before they can submit an ET1. They must get a Certificate of Conciliation from ACAS stating that they have tried to settle their case before they can submit an ET1.

Members must complete and submit an Early Conciliation Form (ECF) online.  Please note this is separate form from an L2 (Union form requesting Legal Assistance) and an ET1 (Tribunal Application Form). The best way to register with ACAS is on line at:  https://ec.acas.org.uk

Members who don’t have access to a computer may telephone ACAS to initiate conciliation on:  0300 123 1100.

When registering on line or by phone the member will be given a unique reference number e.g. R002979/15.  If member does not have a reference then the case has in all likely hood not been registered.

Members do not need a certificate to proceed to a Tribunal from the ACAS Early Conciliation scheme in the following certain specified cases only:

  • Some multiple claims where another member has already got a certificate and the issues are the same. Note well the facts must be identical; if different then a claim must be registered.
  • Where the member is dismissed and is seeking interim relief.
  • Where the employer has requested the conciliation.
  • Cases relating to National Security.

It is essential that when completing a form or supplying information to ACAS the member uses the name and address of the employer that will eventually appear on the ET1, otherwise the claim could be rejected on the basis that the information provided is incorrect.

It is important that the Union meets the challenges that this system imposes and uses it to the benefit of our members. Therefore all Branches, Union Officers and Representatives must be vigilant and spot cases at the earliest possible opportunity. Early involvement of the Legal Department is vital if the Union is to avoid any complications.

You must refer the member as soon as practicable to your Regional Office after the member is dismissed and after the event complained of so that an L2 can be completed and sent to our legal team with the supporting paperwork. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE OUTCOME OF AN APPEAL before seeking Legal Advice.

 

Upon contact with the Regional Office the member will be provided with the L2 and associated forms, these will be sent to the Legal Department once signed off by the Regional Officer and he/she will be advised to contact ACAS by our Legal Team except in the case where the original time limit is close (within the week); in which case the Regional Staff will advise the member to do so to ensure that their claim is not out of time.  It is easier to use online facilities wherever possible as there is then proof that ACAS have been contacted.

 

The Legal Department or Regional Office will supply the member with the details of the Union Officer who will be conciliating with ACAS on their behalf. If the member does not wish the Union to do so then they must do this themselves. The member will be required to give written authority for our Regional Officer to handle the conciliation.   Please ensure that only a Regional Officer or person approved by our Legal Team is given to represent the member with ACAS. No other representative has authority to represent our member at ACAS unless approved. Unauthorised representatives should decline to act and if asked to represent must refer the member to the Regional Officer.

 

In response to feedback from users, ACAS have made some important revisions to the ACAS early notification form, both online and hard copy versions. These changes will make the process of notifying Acas faster and simpler.

 

They are:

  • The employer address lookup facility has been removed as it was proving difficult for claimants to give the correct legal identity of their employer. So claimants now have to manually input the correct address. This must be accurate and tally with the address given on the ET1 form.
  • Have introduced a field so the claimant can include contact details of their representative.the member has included representative details on the form, they will contact the Union directly without speaking to the member first. So it is important that if member asks you who should be put down only an authorised RO (see below) or one of our Legal Team can be submitted.

 

The changes to the form have now gone live, and ACA will be posting regular updates on Twitter at @acasorguk (using the hashtag #earlyconciliation).

 

Initially when early conciliation was introduced The Union considered that the best way forward during this initial period was to have a specified team of Relief Officers who would be the Unions Conciliation Officers. Having reviewed the matter with our Regional Officers it has been agreed that with immediate effect our Regional Officers (set out below) will be responsible for conciliation with ACAS in liaison with our Legal Team.

 

No other officer or rep is permitted to do this on the Unions behalf without authorisation from me.

 

The Conciliation Officers are

Wessex; South West and South Wales: Mick Tosh; Brendan Kelly; Phil Bialyk.  

London Transport; London Anglia & South Eastern: Brian Whitehead; Steve Smart; John Leach; Paul Cox.

Midlands; Yorkshire & N.East: Ken Usher; Dave Collinson; Micky Thompson.

Manchester; N.West; Liverpool & Scotland: John Tilley, Daren Ireland; Gordon Martin

 

It is always best to consult our Legal Team before contacting ACAS so that the Officers can ensure that the relevant and accurate information is given to ACAS so as to avoid future problems with an Employment Tribunal. Please note that the details of any ET1 form must match the details given to ACAS; so if a matter is not included in ACAS conciliation the member may have to make a further application for the ancillary matter; if it falls outside the limitation period it may be too late to do so.

 

Conciliation will take please within a month of notification. Our Officers must work closely with our Legal Team who, provided they get the paper work in time, will be able to assist our Officers with advice on the member’s case including its strengths and weaknesses and will be able to assist with settlement agreements and schedule of losses.

 

Should conciliation fail, the member will be given a certificate that conciliation is over. If the case is to proceed to a Tribunal this certificate must be submitted to the Tribunal with the ET1 and Remission form or fee. As soon as the member is given the certificate the limitation clock begins to run again; having stopped for the period of the conciliation.

 

Once a certificate of conciliation has been issued the ET1 must be submitted within 1 month or the period of the conciliation depending on when the certificate was issued. The calculation of this period can be complex and therefore it is important that if the legal team have not given an advice the papers are given to them immediately by the Regional Officer.

 

The primary limitation period of three months less one day stops whilst conciliation takes place. That is, the clock stops ticking for submitting an ET1 but begins again as soon as the certificate is issued.

 

Example 1:

Date of Dismissal /discrimination: 7th April 2015

Original Limitation: 6th July 2015

Date Early Conciliation lodged at ACAS 14TH April 2014 (DAY A): 15th April 2015

Date Certificate issued by ACAS (Day B): 12th May 2015

New Limitation date for ET1 to be lodged: 3rd August 2015

 

Example 2:

Date of Dismissal/Discrimination 7th April 2015

Original Limitation: 6th July 2015

Date Early Conciliation lodged at ACAS 12th May 2015 (Day A): 13th May 2015

Date Certificate issued by ACAS (DAY B):20TH May 2015

New Limitation date for ET1: 13TH July 2015

 

In order for this to work smoothly for the benefit of our members and to avoid problems with time limits and cases being struck out we need full cooperation from the Regional Offices; Officers; Branches and activists to reduce delays in seeking assistance from our Legal Teams.

 

Updated Training will be given to our Officers and Regional Office Staff where necessary. “The Employment Tribunal Process and Conciliation Guidance Booklet in procedure for regions reps and members” will also be amended to incorporate these changes.

 

I would be grateful if you could ensure that all your members and activists know this procedure please.

 

Yours sincerely

Mick Cash

General Secretary

Posted on

Thales DTS Job Losses Update (non-Signals)

Dear Members

Today we again met with Thales HR and management regarding the redundancies announced in December.  Back in December it was announced that up to 14 positions would be removed within JF07 in Field Services and Services.  After the meeting today we have been informed that it has been identified that there were 6 vacant positions which will now not be filled and therefore there are now up to 8 positions that will be removed.  We have not been given any more details on these 8 positions but have been promised that we will receive this at a meeting on Tuesday 13th January.

Last week we were also shown an over view presentation on improving efficiencies within DTS, again there was not much detail but they are looking at changing the organisation charts and also change some rosters for people that currently work 12 hour shifts to 8hr shifts.

The reality is that it appears that Thales wish to recruit more management level grades, at the expense of front line jobs. This is clearly controversial and seems at odd with a drive for making the company more efficient. However, it is very important to stress that we are still very much at the initial stage of these talks, therefore we have stated that we want full details of the proposals before we can even start to fully engage with the employer.

It is also important to recognise that roster changes are very controversial and that our members will not accept compulsory redundancy. We therefore have stressed both this matters to senior Thales management

 

Posted on

Thales RSS Job Losses

Following lengthy discussions with Thales Rail Signals and LUL, we believe it is likely that we will avoid redundancies through inter company secondment for a limited period. However, until any arrangements are finally agreed the RMT have made it very clear to Thales that we will not be accepting any compulsory job losses and that we do not believe that their redundancy selection process is fair. We have also attended every appeal and have made a stringent case for every person affected by the threat of redundancy

Posted on

TubeLines TRACK Rostered Rest Days

Dear Colleagues,

 

The branch is holding a special meeting on Tuesday 20th January to discuss the below agreement with Tube Lines. It is vitally important that those affect try their best to attend so the branch can work and decide together the best way to take this matter forward. So if you are affected then please come and have your say in a democratic union.

————————————————————————————————————

  • From Sunday 4th January 2015; all AP JNP Track and Civils staff will be rostered to work a 35hr, 5 shift working week and will incorporate the use of Hand-held devices within their duties. Although the 15 Rostered Rest Days (RRDs) will no longer be applicable, annual leave will be increased to 37 days per year and an additional 4 lieu days will be provided to existing employees. In relation to these additional lieu days, they must be taken each year between 24th December and 31st March in the following year. This agreement includes all Q grades whose are rostered to work Sun/Mon to Thurs/Fri EHs.

 

  • In relation to the use of Hand-held devices it was agreed that any individual who had difficulty in transferring information onto these devices would receive additional training to fulfil the input requirement. In the event that any individual could not input information on to a hand-held device after the additional training, they would continue to complete the current paper template, and would remain in their current post.

 

  • For the majority of staff rostered nights their normal roster will be Sunday/Monday to Thursday/Friday EHs. This will be implemented by local agreement to suite business needs on each of the JNP lines, rail ultrasonic team, rail lubrication team and civils department with a completion date of 31st March 2015. For any specific individual who has not changed their roster by the 31st March 2015, their circumstance will be reviewed on an individual basis to find a conclusion.
Posted on

CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF WOMEN IN THE UNION

Dear Colleague,

 

CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF WOMEN IN THE UNION

 

This year the union celebrates the 100th anniversary of women first joining the National Union of Railwaymen, one of the predecessors to the RMT.  In 1915, with a backdrop of an increasing call for women’s equality and more women being employed within the industry due to World War I, the National Union of Railwaymen made the decision to recruit women.  It is important that we use this anniversary, not just as a celebration, but to encourage women to progress within the union and to challenge discrimination that still lurks within our industries.

 

Many of our women members have stories to tell of the challenges they have faced being a woman in male dominated industries.  Please do ask if they would share them with our Equal Opportunities Officer, Jess Webb (j.webb@rmt.org.uk), for publication in RMT News.

 

A logo has been produced for this year and I would ask that all activities by the union reference this celebration at every suitable opportunity throughout 2015.

 

Yours,

Mick Cash

General Secretary

 

 

 
Posted on

CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR PAYMENT ARRANGEMENTS, EARL’S COURT MAJOR CLOSURE

CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR PAYMENT ARRANGEMENTS, EARL’S COURT MAJOR CLOSURE – LONDON UNDERGROUND (LUL/7/2)

 

I write to advise Branches of the position reached for LU Signals, LV Power and TDU Operational Staff working on the Earl’s Court Major Closure for Capital Projects on London Underground, which is as follows:-

 

  • Triple normal pay for shifts ending or beginning on 25th December.
  • £700 Completion Payment for shifts beginning on 26th December and ending on 27th December and for shifts ending or beginning on 1st January 2015.
  • £300 Completion Payment for all other shifts in the period 24th December 2014 to 4th January 2015 inclusive.

 

The above is subject to staff completing all their rostered 12 hour shifts with safety paramount and the successful return of the railway to service.

 

The Functional Council Representatives and Lead Officer recommended acceptance of the above and the General Grades Committee has noted the offer appears to have met the aspirations of members and there have been no further issues.

Posted on

John Reid Wins

John Reid has won the election for the post of Council of Executives for the LT Region by a massive majority

John romped to victory by some 1500 to 1000 and immediately thanked those that supported him and promised to serve all our members to the best of his ability.

Posted on

Commuters Ripped Off

Commuters forking out nearly £10,000 as New Year fares hike hits home and rail companies rake in taxpayer subsidies

 

As the new year fast approaches austerity soaked commuters face yet more inflation busting fare rises averaging 2.2%.  It will though see many season ticketholders pushed into the £5,000-a-year price bracket, while those commuting from Cheltenham Spa to London will have to fork out £9,704 – a 2.49% hike on the January 2014 figure.

And commuters are being slapped by a double whammy of fare rises and huge on-going government subsidies to the train operators in the universally recognised privatised railway shambles.

 

Private companies that simply use such subsidies to make inflation busting dividend payments to their shareholders, whether they be individuals or governments.

 

UK Taxpayers subsidy, on top of fares, came to just over £4 billion in 2012/13, of which the four most cushioned companies alone received over half.

 

Three of those companies are already foreign owned (German, French and Dutch) , with Scotrail about to become another part of the Dutch State operations from April 2015.

 

Government funding provided a mouth-watering 68.9% of income for the joint venture of failed outsourcing giant Serco and Dutch government owned Abellio who currently run the Northern Rail franchise (although the average across all train operating companies was a mere 31%).

 

RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said;

 

“As the travelling public gear up for the New Year fares hike RMT is blowing away the myth that the extra cash is invested back into services when in fact it combines with taxpayer subsidies to fuel a £4 billion privatised rail rip-off that is a one way ticket to the bank for the train companies.

 

“The scandal of the British people paying the highest fares in Europe to travel on clapped-out and overcrowded train will be compounded by the New Year’s average 2.2% increase, an increase which dwarfs average pay increases and which will hit the poorest the hardest.

 

“RMT’s New Year pledge is that this union will step up the fight against the privatised rail scandal that shames Britain and for a publicly-owned railway designed to meet demand, free from the greed and exploitation of the train companies.”

 

Ends

 

Note:

 

Net profits and dividend distribution rates for last five years, for the top four recipients of public subsidy in 2012/13

Arriva train Wales Southeastern First Scotrail Northern Top five subsidised totals
Total  operating  profit

(TOC)

2009 – 2013

 £85.3m £61.1m £81m £171.8m £399.2m
 

Total TOC dividends 2009-2013

 £68m £50m £81m £140m £339
 

Total taxpayer

Subsidy in 2012/13

 £340m £348m £682m £713m £2.083 Billion

 

Figures are all taken from April 2014 ORR Railway Financial data and latest Company accounts from Companies House

 

 

Posted on

New Year 2015

The Branch and RMT Trade Union would like to wish everyone a prosperous, healthy and  happy New Year

 

2014 has now passed and it is time to reflect on those friends that sadly left this life, Bob Crow and Tony Benn. Never forgotten, always missed and irreplaceable to the working class movement.

 

However, as 2015 is now upon us and the drive by the bosses and self interest based politicians to further attack our terms and conditions in the name of austerity will continue. We can save the bankers but if you work for City link and thousands of other firms, then you are alone. We are not in it together, the rich are in it for themselves and the poor up to their necks paying off a deficit whilst the rich just get richer. At the same time the gender pay gap has increased which surely after 40 years of the Equal Pay Act, must be a national disgrace. A political system that espouses  equality must also show that it is and has achieved equality, otherwise it is just lip service

 

The only thing we can do is brush ourselves off, roll up our sleeves and get ready to defend what we have, get ready to fight for what we should have and show the ruling classes that they can stick their austerity where the sun doesn’t shine.

Posted on

City Link Outrage

Please see a series of circulars on the disgraceful treatment of our City Link members

City Link Bid

General Secretary Mick Cash said.

 

“Within the past 24 hours RMT has been made aware of what we believe to be a credible bid to take over some or all of the City Link trading operation.

At this stage we have no further details and we understand the matter is in the hands of the administrators with the government and Vince Cable aware of the situation.

With today key in terms of redundancies RMT is urging the administrators to suspend the redundancy process and work with the Government and ‎the administrators to urgently evaluate and act on  any viable options that could keep City Link trading as a going concern. ”

 

Overview from the Morning Star

From today’s morning star.

 

City Link: Set Up To Fail?

 

DEC

2014 Monday 29TH posted by Richard Bagley in Britain ‎ Inquiry calls rise as shady shell firm is registered by former bosses .

 

Claims of murky corporate manoeuvring at bankrupt courier City Link grew yesterday as its owners were accused of asset-stripping and cash grabs while thousands lose their jobs. Business Secretary Vince Cable faced union calls for a “forensic investigation” into the collapse of the company, whose tax-dodging parent Better Capital (BC) stunned workers by announcing they were out of a job on Christmas Day. Taxpayers are now likely to foot the redundancy bill for up to 2,700 former staff who face P45s by New Year’s Day.

Hundreds more “owner-drivers” subcontracted to operate branded vans will receive no compensation at all. Yet corporate records show that three City Link directors lodged papers at Companies House earlier this month for a firm named “City Link B2b.” The Coventry address listed is the site of the courier firm’s current HQ, with all three of its directors listed as senior members of the current management team. Among them are City Link CEO David Smith and Better Capital executive Thomas Wright. An RMT spokesman said revelations that a new company had been set up by current directors was “fuelling concerns about what was going on behind the scenes,” suggesting that the trio could be set to buy back “what’s left from administrators at a knock-down price.”  Questions also mounted over the conduct of Guernsey-based venture capital firm BC, which took over the company for £1 last year and promised a £40 million cash injection before walking away on December 22.

“We want a full, forensic investigation into events leading up to the collapse,” the RMT spokesman said. “It’s a microcosm of everything that’s wrong with business in Britain — it shows how little protection workers have got against this kind of malicious manoeuvring.”

Meanwhile multimillionaire BC founder and Tory donor Jon Moulton, whose outfit specialises in taking over “distressed” companies with the aim of turning a profit, denied that it had stripped assets, claiming: “We have lost a lot of money.” But unlike City Link employees facing the dole he has “more than his fair share of escape options,” according to one corporate magazine profile, with properties in Kent, Belgravia, France and Guernsey. And he snapped up another £3.8 million of BC shares earlier this month.

 

Mr Cable said he would “happily” meet trade unionists in the new year, but Mr Cash said this would be “too late.” “We want to put a plan together for a government-backed rescue that protects the business and the jobs it supports,” said the RMT leader. An online campaign to demand City Link’s nationalisation was gaining momentum yesterday, with thousands signing up overnight. But administrators are already drawing up plans to dispose of the firm’s assets. Some workers would be kept on temporarily to “help return parcels to customers” and wind down its operations, they said.

 

Demo at City Link

City Link

Posted on

Tube Lines Track (Sunday to Thursday)

Tube Lines have confirmed that the new Track Rosters will NOT be implemented this weekend and are still subject to local discussion.  That means existing Monday to Friday staff on track/ civils will continue to work as normal

 

We have requested that Tube Lines send out a circular confirming this to all affected areas

 

————————————————————-

From: “Bailey, Ian”

Date: 31 December 2014 09:03:33 GMT

To: “Edmonds, John”

Subject: Re: Consultation; 35hr Rostered Week and Use of Hand-held Devices

 

No. The change will be before 31/3/15 by local consultation

 

Ian

 

Sent from my iPhone

 

On 30 Dec 2014, at 22:09, Edmonds, John  wrote:

 

Someone seems to think you are implementing new rosters at the weekend, can you please clarify?

Regards

John

 

Sent from my iPad

 

Begin forwarded message:

 

From: luengineering

Date: 30 December 2014 18:30:20 GMT

To: John Edmonds

Cc: Brian Whitehead  Paul O’Brien  Pat Gaskin

Subject: Fw: Consultation; 35hr Rostered Week and Use of Hand-held Devices

 

‎Dear John

 

This is the ‘agreement’ reached at Tier 2

 

I think ‎maybe someone has got it wrong regards the implementation date for the change of roster

 

Can revised notices be sent out urgently please?

 

Many thanks

 

Paul Jackson

RMT Branch Secretary

LU Engineering (0962)

07810 643 681

From: O’Brien, Paul

Sent: Tuesday, 30 December 2014 14:05

To: luengineering

Subject: Fwd: Consultation; 35hr Rostered Week and Use of Hand-held Devices

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone

 

Begin forwarded message:

 

From: “Bailey, Ian” <

Date: 19 December 2014 11:43:05 GMT

To: “O’Brien, Paul”

Cc: “M. Gaskin, Patrick”  “Mc Callum, John”  “Egan, John P”

Subject: RE: Consultation; 35hr Rostered Week and Use of Hand-held Devices

 

Paul

 

Thanks you and have a good Xmas

 

Ian Bailey  CEng, FICE

Head of Track & Civils – AP JNP

Tel: 0207 088 4171

Mobile No. : 07818 046490

 

[cid:image003.png@01D01B80.F35CBF50]  To Deliver an outstanding tube for London

 

From: O’Brien, Paul

Sent: 19 December 2014 11:24 AM

To: Bailey, Ian

Subject: Re: Consultation; 35hr Rostered Week and Use of Hand-held Devices

 

Thanks Ian that seems as agreed

 

Sent from my iPhone

 

On 19 Dec 2014, at 09:52, “Bailey, Ian”  wrote:

 

 

 

Paul

 

 

 

Following our conversation yesterday please see below the amended text for you approval

 

 

 

Following our tier 2 meeting on Monday 8th December 2014 the following was agreed;

 

 

 

  • From Sunday 4th January 2015; all AP JNP Track and Civils staff will be rostered to work a 35hr, 5 shift working week and will incorporate the use of Hand-held devices within their duties. Although the 15 Rostered Rest Days (RRDs) will no longer be applicable, annual leave will be increased to 37 days per year and an additional 4 lieu days will be provided to existing employees. In relation to these additional lieu days, they must be taken each year between 24th December and 31st March in the following year. This agreement includes all Q grades whose are rostered to work Sun/Mon to Thurs/Fri EHs.

 

 

 

  • In relation to the use of Hand-held devices it was agreed that any individual who had difficulty in transferring information onto these devices would receive additional training to fulfil the input requirement. In the event that any individual could not input information on to a hand-held device after the additional training, they would continue to complete the current paper template, and would remain in their current post.

 

 

 

  • For the majority of staff rostered nights their normal roster will be Sunday/Monday to Thursday/Friday EHs. This will be implemented by local agreement to suite business needs on each of the JNP lines, rail ultrasonic team, rail lubrication team and civils department with a completion date of 31st March 2015. For any specific individual who has not changed their roster by the 31st March 2015, their circumstance will be reviewed on an individual basis to find a conclusion.

 

 

 

Please can you respond with your agreement.

 

 

 

Thanks

 

 

 

Ian Bailey

 

Posted on

LUL Christmas working: Earls Court Blockade 2014

Dear ALL,

 

The following offer is due to go before the GGC regarding Christmas Period Working on the Earls Court Blockade:

All LU Signals, LV Power and TDU operational staff who work in the Earl’s Court (and associated works) Major Closure will benefit from;

 

  • Triple Normal Pay for shifts ending or beginning on 25th December
  • £700 Completion Payment; for shifts beginning on 26th December and ending on 27th December & for shifts ending or beginning on 01st Jan 2015
  • £300 Completion Payment for all other shifts in the period 24th December 2014 to 04th January 2015 inclusive

 

The above is subject to staff completing all their roster 12hr shifts with safety paramount and the successful return of the railway to service.

 

For the avoidance of doubt,

  • These arrangements are Project funded and apply equally to CPD and COO AP staff engaged on the works

 

This offer came following intensive talks with LUL. We will be entering into talks hopefully in early January to ensure that all future works are appropriately rewarded and resourced internally

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