RMT TO BALLOT TUBE LINES STAFF FOR STRIKE ACTION OVER PAY AND NIGHT TUBE
Tube union RMT confirmed today that it making the final preparations for a ballot of Tube Lines staff for both strike action and action short of a strike after a meeting of reps overwhelmingly rejected the latest pay and Night Tube offer which mirrors the rejected proposals from London Underground to its workforce.
Tube Lines is a wholly owned subsidiary of London Underground and was taken in-house in the wake of the tube privatisation fiasco, RMT has nearly 1300 members looking after maintenance and upgrade works on the Piccadilly, Northern and Jubilee Lines.
The details of the pay offer, identical to the LU offer which is already in dispute, are:
Pay – 4 year settlement from 1st April 2015 to 31st March 2019
- A 2% average increase for staff covered by collective bargaining, effective 1st April 2015. This is made up of 1% (equivalent to RPI) pay increase on base pay for 2015, plus a consolidated flat rate increase of £500 to recognise the transformation to a 24 hour passenger service operation – Night Tube
- An increase of RPI or 1% (whichever is greater), effective from 1st April 2016
- An increase of RPI or 1% (whichever is greater), effective from 1st April 2017
- An increase of RPI + 0.25%, effective from 1st April 2018
Night Tube
- A £500 non-consolidated launch payment to all working on Night Tube. This will be applied to all AP JNP staff covered by collective bargaining.
- It should be noted that Night Tube Operation will impact on all of our lines and therefore some of our staff will be required to work alternative rosters to enable the business to maintain the infrastructure.
RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said:
“Our Tube Lines members have been offered the same deal on pay and Night Tube as their London Underground colleagues and our reps have clearly rejected it as wholly unsatisfactory and now we move to a ballot of our members for both strike action and action short of a strike. Preparations for that ballot are now underway.
“RMT has made it clear that with growing numbers of tube users, and planned expansions of the service, the staff in all grades who are expected to keep the railway running must be respected and their efforts properly rewarded. The union remains available for talks.”