Transcript
East London Rail Branch News Vol II, Issue 4 January 2010
1
Chair: John Clarke– 07795237318 Secretary: Ed Shine–07940340128
0626 East London Rail
National Union of Rail, Maritime, & Transport Workers’ GENERAL SECRETARY: Bob Crow
Branch News Email: eastlondonrail@rmt.org.uk
NEXT BRANCH MEETING: TUESDAY 17TH JANUARY 2009, 1700 HOURS:
The Railway Tavern Public House (Conservatory room), Angel Lane,
Stratford, London E15… CONTACT THE SECRETARY FOR DETAILS
IN LOVING MEMORY
“ORGANISE!” SISTER AND COMRADE CAROLYN SIDALL
ON THE DEATH OF A COMRADE, WHAT IS ONE TO DO?
ARE WE TO MOURN, TO BOW OUR HEADS, AND TO BE QUIET?
Or are we to celebrate, sing, and praise the fact that we have had the opportunity to know and work with such a person, in advancement the claims of our Un-ion and the future of our class?
We are mourning the passing– the far too early pass-ing– of our Comrade and Sister in our struggle, Caro-lyn Siddal
THE BRANCH SECRETARY SAID:
‘She refused to change to suit the people who oppress, torture, and im-prison those who disagree with them, and make wage slaves of the re-mainder, and those who dehumanise us all. She had a spirit, found rarely, but sometimes, that cannot be quenched, cannot be broken, and cannot be dismissed or ignored.
She cared more for one person on the lowest wage than a thousand peo-ple on the highest wage... But if one person on the highest wage was in trouble, she would dedicate herself to that cause as if that person was on the lowest wage.
She has played her part. It is not over nor will it be forgotten. The one thing we believe she would want us to ask is- ‘will we play ours?’.
The answer must surely be– YES.
East London Rail Branch News Vol II, Issue 4 January 2010
2
NEXT BRANCH MEETING: TUESDAY 17TH JANUARY 2009, 1700 HOURS:
The Railway Tavern Public House (Conservatory room), Angel Lane,
Stratford, London E15… CONTACT THE SECRETARY FOR DETAILS
Following the recent High Court case involving the RMT and EDF Energy Powerlink, this is the current position relating to industrial action ballots and the problems faced by
the trade union movement.
The duties on trade unions to provide employers with notice of ballots and industrial action place onerous, costly and excessively complicated duties on unions. They impose a significant burden on unions to keep meticulous records of their members’ addresses, jobs, and workplaces and often expose unions to applications for injunctions by employers to prevent industrial action taking place, even where a clear majority have voted in a ballot to support the action.
Currently, unions are required to provide information that would help an employer “make plans”. Under Section 226A of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, if the union possesses information relating to number, category and workplace of the employees concerned in the ballot, this information must be provided to the employer. The union must also provide an explana-tion as to how the lists and figures have been arrived at.
The application made by EDF to the High Court concerned a ballot for industrial action over this year’s pay claim. Our members voted in fa-vour of action by a
margin of more than 5 to 1. However, the company
claimed that we had given insufficient information in our Notice of Ballot. In that Notice, the union said that the members who were to be entitled to vote in the ballot were "all those members of this union employed by the company in the category of Engineer/Technician". The members were spread between three workplaces. EDF claimed that it did not recognise the categorisation of "Employee/Technician".
The company described two principal groups of staff:
Craft staff and professional staff. Within craft staff
there were a number of identified trades including
fitters, jointers, test room inspectors, day testers,
shift testers and OLBI fitters. EDF referred to a
previous ballot conducted in 2008 in which the union
had been able to identify a sub-category of staff,
shift testers, and this ballot was confined to individu-
als within that category.
The term "category" is not defined in the legislation
and there has been little case law on the interpreta-
tion of the term "category". However, Section 226A
goes on to provide that the lists and figures supplied
by the union must be "... as accurate as is reasona-bly practicable in the light of the information in the possession of the union at the time when it complies..."
Section 226A then provides that information will be
regarded as in the possession of the union
if it is held, for union pur-
poses:
In a document, when in electronic form or
otherwise;
and In the possession or under the control
of an officer of employee of the union.
The Code of Practice on Industrial Action Ballots
gives further guidance on the appropriate categori-
sation of affected employees. It provides that the
availability of data to the union is a legitimate factor
in determining the union's choice as to categorisa-
tion.
Most importantly in the EDF case, the Judge focused
on the requirement that the lists and figures pro-
vided by the union be as accurate as reasonably
practicable "in the light of the information in the union's possession". The union's main line of defence
was that we had relied upon our membership
database in categorising the affected members as
"Engineer/Technicians", and that no other informa-
tion was in our possession for the purposes of the
statutory notification requirements.
The Judge concluded that the words "in the light of”
did not mean that the union's obligation was
restricted to the provision of information which was
in our possession. In other words, in a case such as
this where the balloting constituency was relatively
small, the Judge concluded that the union was under
East London Rail Branch News Vol II, Issue 4 January 2010
3 NEXT BRANCH MEETING: TUESDAY 20TH OCTOBER 2009, 1700 HOURS:
The Railway Tavern Public House (Conservatory room), Angel Lane,
Stratford, London E15… CONTACT THE SECRETARY FOR DETAILS
NEXT BRANCH MEETING: TUESDAY 17TH JANUARY 2009, 1700 HOURS:
The Railway Tavern Public House (Conservatory room), Angel Lane,
Stratford, London E15… CONTACT THE SECRETARY FOR DETAILS
an obligation to make further enquiries as to the trades of the members concerned. He was not per-
suaded by the argument made on the union's be-
half that it was obvious to EDF Power link that the
balloting constituency was actually all members em-
ployed at the three sites. However, since the High
Court injunction the union has applied once
more for permission to appeal to the Court of Ap-
peal but this was refused. In response to this, and in
order to exhaust all domestic avenues, we have
appealed against this decision and asked for it to be
reviewed at an oral hearing. This is likely to be heard
by the Court at the end of January. If the application
is declined again, there is no further avenue to
progress the issue within the UK judicial system.
However, if our appeal is heard by the Court of
Appeal and is then unsuccessful at that level, it
would be necessary to proceed with an application
for permission to appeal to the Supreme Court, and
then argue that appeal if such permission is granted.
If, however, permission is refused at any stage, then
the union‟s only option would be to pursue an
application to the European Court of Human Rights
in Strasbourg, if we so wish.
Our solicitors are of the view that, bearing in mind
recent positive decisions from the Strasbourg Court,
there are prospects of success if the matter can be
considered by the Court under Article 11 of The
European Convention. There are already decisions of
the International Labour Organisation‟s (ILO)
Committee of Experts which condemn the pre-ballot
notification procedure in the United Kingdom. The
essence of the criticism is that the identification of
the balloting constituency is a matter of internal
union democracy and should not provide an oppor-
tunity for challenge to the validity of the ballot by
an employer. Where there is an existing ILO
Committee of Experts decision criticizing a particular
requirement of national law, the Court is more likely
to find an unjustified infringement on Article 11.
That is the case here.
A national Network Rail Rep‟s meeting was held at
Union Headquarters, Unity House, on the 7th Janu-
ary 2010, and considered, amongst other things,
the ripping up of Terms & Conditions (Rosters and
adherence to PTR&R established agreements), pay,
1500 job cuts, and new T3 Possession Rules.
It was decided to launch one national campaign to
counter this all-out attack by Network Rail on our
members. The Council of Executives will be consid-
ering the views stated from the shop-floor and co-
ordinate action shortly.
LOBBY PARLIAMENT– NETWORK
RAIL: PUT SAFETY FIRST!
Wednesday January 27th 2010
12:30- ASSEMBLE WESTMINSTER TUBE
14:15- RALLY (COMMITTEE ROOM 14,
HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT)
15:30– LOBBY YOUR M.P.
JOIN THE RALLY!!!
EARLY DAY MOTION (80)- TABLED BY LINDA
RIORDAN, MP, IN SUPPORT:
‘That this House notes the decision of Network Rail to an-
nounce the loss of thousands of frontline jobs by Spring
2010; believes that this will mean that in a matter of months
there will be a drop of up to 20% in the number of rail work-
ers carrying out essential inspection and maintenance work;
further believes that these deep and rapid cuts raise genuine
and urgent concerns as to whether Network Rail will be able
to ensure the safe and efficient running of the railway, in-
cluding the adequate inspection and repair of track, signals,
overhead lines and other infrastructure; is deeply concerned
that Network Rail is failing to consult the Trades Unions on
the safety implications of the proposals; further notes that
the cuts are in part due to the fact that the economic rail
regulator , the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR), has asked
Network Rail to make efficiency savings of up to 21% over
the next five years; is further concerned that because the
ORR is both the safety and economic regulator it will be dif-
ficult for an objective view to be taken as to whether the
safety of passengers and workers will be put at risk; believes
the cuts cannot be justified; and calls on the Government to
use its power as primary funder of Network Rail to intervene
to ensure that Network Rail directors put safety first’
East London Rail Branch News Vol II, Issue 4 January 2010
4
NEXT BRANCH MEETING: TUESDAY 17TH JANUARY 2009, 1700 HOURS:
The Railway Tavern Public House (Conservatory room), Angel Lane,
Stratford, London E15… CONTACT THE SECRETARY FOR DETAILS
THOUGHT
FOR THE MOMENT
You will not be able to stay home, brother.
You will not be able to plug in, turn on and cop out.
You will not be able to lose yourself on skag and skip,
Skip out for beer during commercials,
Because the revolution will not be televised.
The revolution will not be televised.
The revolution will not be brought to you by Xerox
In 4 parts without commercial interruptions.
The revolution will not show you pictures of Nixon
blowing a bugle and leading a charge by John
Mitchell, General Abrams and Spiro Agnew to eat
hog maws confiscated from a Harlem sanctuary.
The revolution will not be televised.
The revolution will not be brought to you by the
Schaefer Award Theatre and will not star Natalie
Woods and Steve McQueen or Bullwinkle and Julia.
The revolution will not give your mouth sex appeal.
The revolution will not get rid of the nubs.
The revolution will not make you look five pounds
thinner, because the revolution will not be televised,
Brother.
There will be no pictures of you and Willie May
pushing that shopping cart down the block on the dead
run,
or trying to slide that color television into a stolen ambu-
lance.
NBC will not be able predict the winner at 8:32
or report from 29 districts.
The revolution will not be televised.
There will be no pictures of pigs shooting down
brothers in the instant replay.
There will be no pictures of pigs shooting down
brothers in the instant replay.
There will be no pictures of Whitney Young being
run out of Harlem on a rail with a brand new process.
There will be no slow motion or still life of Roy
Wilkens strolling through Watts in a Red, Black and
Green liberation jumpsuit that he had been saving
For just the proper occasion.
Green Acres, The Beverly Hillbillies, and Hooterville
Junction will no longer be so damned relevant, and
women will not care if Dick finally gets down with
Jane on Search for Tomorrow because Black people
will be in the street looking for a brighter day.
The revolution will not be televised.
There will be no highlights on the eleven o‟clock
news and Jackie Onassis blowing her nose.
The theme song will not be written by Jim Webb,
Francis Scott Key, nor sung by Glen Campbell, Tom
Jones, Johnny Cash, Englebert Humperdink, or the Rare
Earth.
The revolution will not be televised.
The revolution will not be right back after a message
bbout a white tornado, white lightning, or white peo-
ple.
You will not have to worry about a dove in your
bedroom, a tiger in your tank, or the giant in your toi-
let bowl.
The revolution will not go better with Coke.
The revolution will not fight the germs that may cause
bad breath.
The revolution will put you in the driver‟s seat.
The revolution will not be televised, will not be tele-
vised,
will not be televised, will not be televised.
The revolution will be no re-run brothers;
The revolution will be live.
GILL SCOTT HERON, MUSICIAN AND
SPOKESMAN FOR A GENERATION
East London Rail Branch News Vol II, Issue 4 January 2010
5 NEXT BRANCH MEETING: TUESDAY 17TH JANUARY 2009, 1700 HOURS:
The Railway Tavern Public House (Conservatory room), Angel Lane,
Stratford, London E15… CONTACT THE SECRETARY FOR DETAILS
RMT warns of serious risks to safety
over plans to cut tube line inspec-
tions
TUBE UNION RMT today warned of serious risks to
public safety as it emerged that track safety patrols
on the Jubilee Line Extension are to be cut from twice
weekly to just weekly in a move which may be ex-
tended across the Piccadilly, Northern and Jubilee
Lines.
The halving of the frequency of safety inspections on
the line is in contravention of current safety standards
laid out for the whole of London Underground and as
a result Tube Lines, which is responsible for the sec-
tion of track, has applied for a formal concession to
release them from current agreed safety procedures.
RMT are pointing to the move to halve safety inspec-
tions as clear evidence that claims by Mayor Boris
Johnson that the £5 billion black hole facing TfL will
not result in front line cuts are nonsense.
Bob Crow, RMT General Secretary, said:
“We have warned all along that the multi-billion
pound black hole facing TfL, and the financial chaos
at Tube Lines, would result in real service cuts and
would impact on safety and reliability. We now have
concrete evidence that our fears were well founded.
“The shift of policy from twice weekly to weekly track
safety inspections is one that RMT will fight. There is a
very real danger that if Tube Lines are able to rip up
existing safety agreements and standards on the Jubi-
lee Line that the rest of their tracks will follow with
dire consequences for jobs and passenger safety.”
LESSONS TO BE LEARNED...?
Yet again many members, particularly within the
most affected Grade, that of Shift Leader, are greatly
disappointed and feel let down by the fact that no
sooner have they settled in and established them-
selves, that the job they worked hard and long for
has suddenly been withdrawn like a rug beneath their
feet. So: perhaps it should be remembered in future
that however hard you work, however much you give
them for nothing, however much you let them take,
they will ALWAYS keep coming back for a little bit
more. Because they see they can!
THEY WILL NOT BE GRATEFUL FOR IT NOR TREAT
YOU WELL THROUGH GRATITUDE.
If we do not fight for our rights then they are NEVER
guaranteed; give them what they want for nothing
and it will never be enough!!!
IT HAS BEEN SUGGESTED TO THE BRANCH that the true
reasons for the recent NXEA Revenue Protection re-
organisation (the second in eight months!) is the result of a
cynical Public Relations job. This is because, the Depart-
ment having failed to win an Industry-recognised „Investors
In People‟ Award last year on account that staff complained
that managers were „invisible‟ and thin on the ground, the
Department was re-organised last March to create a whole
new tier of 6 Duty Managers and twice that number of Shift
Leaders (Supervisors). This immediately created a far more
„visible‟ management, and lo-and-behold! within the year
the Department had won this IIP Award on the next at-
tempt. Is it, we have been asked, purely coincidence that
within the week of the Award being granted, the latest re-
organisation was announced that then removed the Shift
Leaders that were so crucial to winning the IIP Award, and
the only winners, oddly enough... Were the Managers!!!
CARRY ON REORGANISING!!!
East London Rail Branch News Vol II, Issue 4 January 2010
6
RMT PRESIDENT
THIS BRANCH’S NOMINATED
CANDIDATE WILL BE THE NEXT
NEXT BRANCH MEETING: TUESDAY 17TH JANUARY 2009, 1700 HOURS:
The Railway Tavern Public House (Conservatory room), Angel Lane,
Stratford, London E15… CONTACT THE SECRETARY FOR DETAILS
ELECTED:
ALEX GORDON
TRAIN DRIVER Alex Gordon. Of Bristol rail branch, and Presidential nominee of East London Rail Branch, has
been elected to serve as the President of RMT, Britain‟s biggest specialist transport union, for the coming
three years.
In the postal ballot that closed today Bristol-based Alex, who will take up office in January, beat four other
candidates and replaces John Leach, a London Underground worker whose term of office ends at the close
of the year.
RMT‟s President is the most senior lay official in the union, whose responsibility is to uphold the union‟s rule-
book and to preside over meetings of the union‟s executive bodies, including the sovereign annual general
meeting.
“Alex Gordon is a highly respected RMT activist who has served his union at all levels, from the all-important
local rep to the union‟s executive, and I know he will make an excellent President,” RMT general secretary
Bob Crow said today.
East London Rail Branch News Vol II, Issue 4 January 2010
7
NEXT BRANCH MEETING: TUESDAY 17TH JANUARY 2009, 1700 HOURS:
The Railway Tavern Public House (Conservatory room), Angel Lane,
Stratford, London E15… CONTACT THE SECRETARY FOR DETAILS
Recruitment Officers Report:
Derrick Marr was out on Recruitment week,
four days out of the five.
Figures will be ready for the December Full
Regional Council Meeting. 16 new mem-
bers in Kings Cross Branch Area. Successful
Recruitment for Kings Cross and St Pancras.
LOROL- 29 members left of which 15 were
Guards.
All BRANCHES to select between now and
March for the Recruitment Plan (one day
per Branch). All Branch Recruitment plans
to be emailed to the Regional Council Sec-
retary and Recruitment Officer.
Regional Organizers Report:
EWS Dagenham Dock, Purfleet , and Ripple
Road, the A‟ Grades and B‟ Grades all to be
downgraded to B‟ Grades
Secretary’s Correspondence:
AGM for 2010 is being held at Aberdeen
and 2011 at Fort William, now seeking a
venue for 2012. This is to be discussed at
the Full Regional Council Meeting in De-
cember.
Retired Members Section Report:
New young Retired Members not attend-
ing, delegates not being nominated. Ap-
peal to London Midland Retired Members
Branch Social will take place on Wednesday
16th
December 2009. Posters emailed to all
London & Anglia Regional Council mem-
bers.
Resolution:
General Secretary makes available of all
members receiving Pension Benefit.
Reports from Officers and Delegates:
S Smart; update on Network Rail Phase 2bc
discussions. Phase 2bc meetings will con-
tinue up to mid January 2010
Resolution: D Jabbar; to bring MOM‟s in
the Signalers' Conference as they cover
Signalman.
Comrades, brothers and sisters: The following are “urgent” matters for the information of the Executive Committee:
General Grades
Monday 28th December 2009 – The GGC has had a report that Southern are not going to honour the replacement public holiday in terms of premium payment etc as the actual Boxing day falls on a Saturday. If any other companies are in this position reports will need to be sent up to the General Grades Committee (GGC) ASAP if any action is to be taken.
Network Rail Maintenance Pay – the long running 2009 pay settlement was voted on by members who massively voted in favour of the revised proposals on a scale of 10 to 1.
Network Rail Reorganisation – Members are being updated via text, email and on the website on all of the developments. Our Coordinators and Senior AGS are fully involved in the consultations and negotiations and regular reports are given to the GGC who in turn are meeting regularly with the Reps. My view is that RMT has to crystallise the many and complicated issues into a straightforward policy brief that our members can rally around and defend if we need to go to a ballot.
London Midland Pay – A 2-year deal has been proposed, the offer for 2009 is 1% from April and 1% from November with a £350 minimum. For 2010, the offer is 1.5% or RPI staged again as 1% in April with 0.5% in November, again with £350 minimum. However the Company Councillors have rejected the offer and re-quested a ballot for strike action. The matrix has been prepared and this goes out shortly.
Carlisle Cleaners – Eurostar Contract – we have a new set of proposals that may resolve the dispute. The rate will move to £7.40 in December and 13 months later to £7.68 which is a big step towards the London Living Wage. This will go to the GGC this week and then for consultation to members.
Council of Executives
High Court Judgement - we recently had another negative judgement in the High Court in relation to ballots which may throw into question our balloting practices and procedures. We await the full judgement this week and the CoE will than consider next steps.
This is not an urgent matter but one for the future. Two Regional Councils (Midlands and London Transport) have sent resolutions up asking for a second Regional Organiser due to workload. These are likely to be declined by the CoE on the basis that we can’t review one region in isolation and that resources and workload have to be reviewed on a national basis. But it may pay this R.C. to keep an eye on this issue given our membership and geographical layout. I believe that we too would have a reasonable case and I believe we should look at putting to-gether a brief on this issue to influence the coming debate.
Our Council of Executives’ member, Bro. Michael Lynch’s Report to the London & Anglia regional Council Executive Com-
mittee on the 2nd November 2009
East London Rail Branch News Vol II, Issue 4 January 2010
8
PHONE: 0207 7529 8835
top related