Newsletter: Late April, 2010

East London Rail Branch News Vol II, Issue 8 Late April 2010

1

Chair: John Clarke– 07795237318 Secretary: Ed Shine–07889249392

East London Rail

National Union of Rail, Maritime, & Transport Workers’ GENERAL SECRETARY: Bob Crow

Branch News Email: [email protected]

NEXT BRANCH MEETING: TUESDAY 18th MAY 2010, 1700 HOURS: The Railway Tavern Public House (Conservatory room), Angel Lane,

Stratford, London E15… CONTACT THE SECRETARY (NUMBER/ EMAIL, AT TOP) FOR DETAILS

SPECIAL ELECTION NON-ISSUE!

VOTE: NONE OF THE ABOVE

‘THOSE WHO CHOOSE THE PARLIAMENTARY

ROAD TO CHANGE THINGS, DO NOT MERELY

CHOOSE A MORE TRANQUIL PATH TO THE

SAME REVOLUTION AS US... BUT A COM-

PLETELY DIFFERENT GOAL’

HUNG PARLIAMENT???

THURSDAY MAY 6TH ...

NATIONAL NON-EVENT

VOTE FOR YOUR CLASS

VOTE FOR YOUR COMMUNITY

DON’T VOTE GOVERNMENTS!!!


2

THOUGHT

FOR THE

MOMENT

RELIGION :‘The opiate of the peo-

ple’

-Karl Marx (1848)

‘RELIGION: The biggest con in

history.

Designed to deny people their

birthright and their right to con-

trol their own lives and destiny

and to bullshit them on their own

history.

It is hypocrisy pure and simple.

There is no good God or Dear Lord

protecting your silver-haired

mother or little daughter: only

you; those who claim otherwise

are HYPOCRITES and LIARS who

want you weaker.

Have you noticed that those who

preach tolerance, peace, and for-

giveness are those who are the

first to bully you, pressure you,

and lie to you.

Believe in yourself and yours and

don’t believe a fuckin dicky bird

the hypocrites tell you.’

-Ed Shine, Branch Secretary

‘Managers are particularly prone

to Religion; much as children are

prone to gullibility’

-Ed Shine, Branch Secretary

(1973– to present... For now)


Stratford, London E15… CONTACT THE SECRETARY FOR DETAILS

FOR BOTHER GLENN WALLIS, WE BELIEVE RECENTLY SACKED BY

NETWORK RAIL FOR TRADE UNION ACTIVITIES, FROM OUR

COMRADES IN PERTH #1 BRANCH (SCOTLAND)...


3

The Secretary is dealing with a current Individual Grievance from one of our long-standing members at

Stratford International Station. This is still at an early stage; an Q&A as recently heard at which the

facts were examined. The Network Rail Manager behaved very fairly, accepting the Secretary‟s demand

to speak fully and frankly, and did not flinch from the somewhat personal and damning statements

that had to be made. The Branch was informed that fuller details of the case will be able to be given

later, but suffice it to say that at this early stage the case deals with racial harassment, management bullying, lack of Duty of

Care, and victimisation for Trade Union activities. So even at this early stage, it seems inevitable that this can only be

resolved at an Employment Tribunal; dependant as usual on whether Network Rail have had their gutful of the Courts!

‘I wish to complain in the strongest possible way about the attempts by management to change our rosters ,it would seem that be-cause of the secondment of staff to Over ground House ,and the funding of agency staff to re-place them, has become to much of a burden ,and by chang-ing our shift patterns would save Lorol the expense. In recent weeks the rostering manager has taken it upon him-self to send covering S.t.m staff on duty 15 minutes be-

fore the end of the morning shift which did not al-low a break to be taken ,once again the explana-tion was to save money ,fortunately I was the staff member involved and the ac-tion was nipped in the bud , most recently an at-tempt has been made to change our seven day roster to five day roster , again to save money on agency expenditure and what is most disturb-ing ,it has been suggested that the only way we could keep our exist-ing shifts would be by working until the last train, Surly this then becomes a health & safety issue . I feel that it is time the RMT looked into the situation before matters get out of hand ,as it would seem that management are using the sta-tion staff as scapegoats for there glaring budgetary blunders.’

NEXT BRANCH MEETING: TUESDAY 20TH OCTOBER 2009, 1700 HOURS: The Railway Tavern Public House (Conservatory room), Angel Lane,




· A 3-year deal, effective 1st April 2010, RPI will be based on February preceding the anniversary date which remains

unchanged.

A minimum annual award of £850 for each of the three years for staff paid £17,000 or less as at March 2010.

· In recognition to recent changes to on-call roster arrangement, a one-off payment of £500 will be paid to SDM and

CSM grades in Year 1. A minimum increase of £1,200 to basic pay will be applied in Year 2. This is not additional to

the Year 2 Pay Award but effectively acts as a safety net.

· An increase in Paternity Pay from 1 week at full pay and 1 week at statutory pay to 1 week at full pay and 1 week at

half pay, effective 1st April 2010.

· An increase in Maternity Pay from 6 weeks full pay and 12 weeks half pay to 12 weeks full pay and 6 weeks half pay,

effective 1st April 2010.

· A commitment to separate discussions around the issue of the Olympic Games.

A commitment to continue dialogue regarding the shorter working week including establishing an additional Com

pany Council Meeting.

· Learning Agreement to go ahead outside of pay award.

· An agreed move from Specially Monitored Driver (SMD) to a continued professional development system.

· LOROL will table a proposal jointly with the Trade Unions at ATOC for enhanced travel benefits for retired staff.

Year Ending Award Minimum

31st March 2011 3.7% or Feb 2010 RPI (whichever is greater) 3.7%

31st March 2012 RPI + 0.75% 2.0%

31st March 2013 RPI + 1.0% 2.0%


4

We call upon the European Railways Agency (ERA) to give a clear commitment that

rail safety and jobs will not be sacrificed in the interests of competition and profit.

We note that:

• the ERA is responsible for implementing the rules governing the European inter-

nal

market across national rail systems;

• since 2006 liberalisation of rail freight has led rail unions to raise serious con-

cerns over safety following a series of avoidable accidents involving privatised

freight operators including in the Channel Tunnel (21 August 2006 and 11 Septem-

ber 2008), Montauban (26 April 2008), Livernan (21 May 2009), Viareggio (29 June

2009),

• the Inter-Governmental Commission on the Channel tunnel is examining the

safety regime to prepare the route to meet European Union requirements to open

international passenger traffic to competition from 1 January 2010;

• the UK secretariat of the IGC safety authority has said that in light of European

rail legislation it is time to ask whether current safety rules remain relevant.

• Eurostar is the only passenger train operator that satisfies the current safety regime;

• the current review of safety appears likely to scrap the requirement that passenger trains using the tunnel be able to split in half and

leave in separate directions in the event of an emergency;

• the escape doors from the main tunnels to the emergency service tunnel that runs between them are 375 metres apart -a standard-

length train could find itself stranded some distance from an escape door in a fire, forcing passengers to travel further on foot, possi-

bly through smoke, to reach an exit; We reject any weakening of operational safety rules governing cross-border rail traffic. We are

concerned that the drive to competition contained in the EU rail packages is causing national and international safety authorities to

put the interests of competition before safety.

We call on all transport unions and organisations that defend public transport and the environment to oppose the systematic destruc-

tion of national rail networks, jobs and safety standards brought about as a result of the implementation of European Union rail liber-

alisation packages.

We call for:

• Sustainable development of a publicly-owned, socially-responsible, high-quality, integrated railway;

• Development of a railway with vocational training and occupational health and safety for workers, thus helping secure a high-quality,

safe service for the public;

• Valuing rail workers, by increasing their wages and improving their working conditions, with full, permanent employment rights, rec-

ognising workers as the core element in transport services;

• An improved system of collective bargaining, as a means to solving industrial disputes, based on the assumption that negotiating

working conditions is sign of social progress.

Because EU rail liberalisation packages are not just contrary to trade union perspectives but are having a negative effect on our socie-

ties, on rail users and workers, as a first step, we are calling for a mass protest at the offices of the European Railway Agency in Lille on

Tuesday 13 April 2010.

Signed: RMT; ASLEF; CGT; SNTSF.



RMT, along with transport unions from other

European countries, is calling on the European

Railways Agency (ERA) to give a clear commit-

ment that rail safety and jobs will not be sacri-

ficed in the interests of competition and

profit.

RMT is calling on all transport unions and or-

ganisations that defend public transport and

the environment to oppose the systematic

destruction of national rail networks, jobs and

safety standards brought about as a result of

the implementation of European Union rail

liberalisation packages.

CANE THE EU!!! -THE ‘BOSSES CLUB’


5 NEXT BRANCH MEETING: TUESDAY 18th MAY 2010, 1700 HOURS:

The Railway Tavern Public House (Conservatory room), Angel Lane,


Although the Branch has condemned, and continues to condemn, the use of

Agency labour by the various Pirate companies our members work for as an

excuse to cut jobs and keep directly-employed staff at a minimum, we also

condemn the discrimination faced daily by a large swathe of workers, many

of whom we work alongside every day.... Agency Workers.

Thousands of agency workers

across the UK face discrimination at

work. They are frequently paid less

and have worse terms and conditions

than their directly employed

colleagues, even where they work

alongside them, doing exactly the

same job. Employers have been able

to do this because discrimination

against agency workers is currently

legal.

20% of agency workers are from ethnic minorities and

particularly from Asian/ Asian British or Black / Black British

backgrounds compared with just 9% of all employees (Labour

Force Survey, Winter 2009)

Young workers. According to Labour Force Survey data

(Winter 2009), agency workers are most likely to be under 30

years of age, accounting for just under half of all agency

workers, (48%).

According to TUC analysis of the LFS 2009, agency workers

earn 70.5% of that of permanent staff

In a survey of more than 2,700 individuals conducted for the

TUC by YouGov in 2009, 33% of agency workers reported

they had faced pay discrimination as compared with directly

employed staff doing the same job.

According to the LFS Microdata Service (Winter 2009), nearly

40% of agency workers are paid £6.00 or less per hour, as

compared to just 15.6% of all employees. This is particularly

worrying when a third of agency workers are in households

with dependent children (LFS Winter 2009).

46% of respondents to the 2009 You Gov survey reported

they had received less favourable holiday entitlement as

compared to staff employed directly by a hirer.

47% of respondents to the 2009 YouGov survey reported less

entitlement to childcare facilities provided by the hirer com-

pared with permanent staff.

The TUC and affiliated trade unions have

campaigned for equal treatment rights for

agency workers for many years. In 2008, the

EU Temporary Agency Worker Directive was

finally adopted. Agreement on the Directive

was in part facilitated by an agreement

reached in the UK between the CBI, the TUC

and the Government. This agreement now

forms the basis of the Agency Worker Regu-

lations which were laid before Parliament in

January 2010. It is expected that the Regula-

tions will be adopted before the General

Election although the new rights would not

come into effect until October 2011. The Di-

rective must be implemented in the UK by

November 2011.

The Agency Worker Regulations 2010 seek

to implement the Directive in the UK.

The Regulations will create new rights for agency

workers including:

Equal treatment after 12 weeks on pay, holi-

days and working time as compared with staff

employed directly by a user employer.

Equal access to collective facilities and ameni-

ties such as canteens, transport

services, childcare from day one in an assign-

ment.

An agency cannot with-

hold payment from you

simply because they

have not received pay-

ment from the hirer, or

because you cannot

produce a signed time

sheet. Where the hiring

company refuses to

sign a time sheet, it is

the agency‟s responsi-

bility to establish the

hours that you actually

worked. You should be

paid for these.

It is unlawful under the 1973

Employment Agencies Act

for an agency to charge a fee

to workers seeking place-

ments in other industries

and occupations. The new

regulations prevent agencies

from requiring work-seekers

to pay for additional services

(such as CV writing, training,

or the provision of personal

protective equipment) as a

condition of using the work-

finding services of the

agency. Yo

u a

re a

llo

wed

to

jo

in a

un

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. Y

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als

o h

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he r

igh

t to

be

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ork

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iscip

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ith

er

a t

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nio

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nta

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r a c

oll

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.

You should receive 5.6 weeks paid

annual leave.

You should receive maternity and

sick pay.

http://www.worksmart.org.uk/jargonbuster/jargonbuster.php?id=250&eny=711&channel=rights


6

In just a few weeks’ time the British National Party could achieve its biggest breakthrough

to date by winning control of its first council, with a £200 million a year budget, and even a

parliamentary seat or two. It would herald a massive breakthrough for a party that only ten

years ago had just a thousand members and was largely irrelevant.

Alternatively, in just a few weeks’ time the BNP could have been defeated in its electoral bid

and end up with fewer councillors than it has now.

The outcome of these elections will go a long way to determin-

ing the extent of the BNP threat over the next few years.

HOPE not hate co-ordinator Nick Lowles looks at the 2010 elec-

tion campaign and highlights what needs to be done.

On the streets of Barking and Dagenham you can sense a mood. Few people remain unde-

cided and most have a view. Over the past few weeks I have accompanied a succession of

journalists around the Becontree estate and the shops on Dagenham Heathway. Few have

left unshocked.

The overt racism, the fear and the anger. Everyone can sense it. As we give out leaflets out-

side Dagenham Heathway station men, and they are usually men, shout “BNP” from their

cars. Some young women refuse to take our leaflets. They complain about a shortage of

housing, too many immigrants and jobs being taken by eastern Europeans.

“This isn‟t our area any more,” is a regular response. “They” – the word is pronounced in a

heavy and derogatory tone – “are being given houses”.

It can be depressing and even demoralising to hear these views. You just hope that the jour-

nalist is too busy talking to shoppers to hear the worst of the abuse, knowing full well it will

get reported.

But there is another side to Barking and Dagenham, one that is rarely recorded in the media.

People are beginning to stand up to the British National Party.

On a cold but bright January morning the HOPE not hate (HnH) campaign kicked off its 2010

campaign with a well attended Day of Action. Over 80 people took part, most from the bor-

ough itself. Most encouragingly, about 30 local people were new to the campaign and for

some it was their first political activity.

A month later, in a plush room at the Royal Society Arts in central

London, Sandra Vincent, a GMB organiser from Barking, gave an

impassioned speech on the need to support the HOPE not hate

campaign. A working-class mother of two, who has lived in the

borough for 20 years, she told the suited and well-heeled audi-

ence at a HOPE not hate fundraising event how scared she would

be for her children if the BNP took control of the council.

“I need you to help them [HnH] to help me to help my children to

help our community,” she concluded.

It brought the threat we are facing into clear perspective. In just a

few weeks the BNP might take control of Barking and Dagenham

council. If it does then the floodgates for further success for the

racist party will be open.



Extinct Species; then and now:

The Dodo... The Dinosaurs...

The Quagga... The Griffin...

RMT rally outside The

Broadway Theatre, Barking.

"The BNP are like winter potholes. They slide into a gap in our

communities and wait for bad weather."

www.hopenothate.org.uk Tel: 020 7681 8660


7

Four cases have arisen.

CLEANERS ATTACKED AT

LIVERPOOL STREET

It was reported that new Train Presentation

Team Leaders have been posted at Liver-

pool Street from Orient Way and Ilford

Yard for the purposes of implementing

cleaning improvements.

It is alleged that staff have been getting

pulled off a train and then getting put back

on which unnecessarily stresses staff and

affects their performance and well-being at

work. Viz, if ,managers do not know what

trains are being cleaned or should be get-

ting cleaned, should they actually be man-

aging?

Or can‟t they manage?

One member removed their blue vest

whilst on PNB and left it on the cleaning

trolley. Was then disciplined for not wear-

ing it, and is possibly suspended.

A member had a heated discussion with

the Team Leader and was supposedly in-

vestigated. Returned to work pending a

Form 1. Then sent to work at Shenfield,

notwithstanding that Liverpool Street is

their contracted place of work. The mem-

ber is part-time and books-on/ off at Liver-

pool Street; therefore a quarter of the shift

will be taken up by travelling, not including

PNB. Due to child-care issues, there is a

proviso that mobile-phone sign off is avail-

able in the event of service disruption. It

was reported that with a Form 1 pending

(due to the alleged argument with a Team

Leader) another one may now be pending

on a charge of disobeying a direct verbal

instruction; the member queried with man-

agement and the RMT why they should go

to Shenfield as their place of work was Liv-

erpool Street and they were not in a Relief

post. Worked at Shenfield today; did not

have time yesterday through discussing

issue with the Union, and told by another

Manager to stay at Liverpool Street until

sorted with the RMT. Therefore: was actu-

ally obeying a direct instruction from a

Manager.

A full-time member had a confrontation

with a Team Leader over whether a toilet

was not cleaned properly. Now suspended,

presumably pending a Form 1. This mem-

ber is very quiet and does not get into ar-

guments lightly which shows how serious

it was.

Another part-time member was possibly

given an instruction to clean an InterCity

toilet at rush hour when this is not booked

to take place until after 09:30. The member

is only booked-on until 10:00 which makes

the time to clean any toilets slim.

It appears that a fifth of the Liverpool

Street Train Presentation link has been sus-

pended within the week. Is this whole

Department under attack?!



NEW RMT REPRESENTATIVE BRO.

MANSFIELD ‘DOES THE JOB’

Bro. Mansfield, Local Rep at Chingford De-

pot, reported on the successful conclusion,

in a recent very serious and potentially ca-

reer threatening case for one of our loyal

and long-serving members. He had 6½

years unblemished service and therefore

management in their supposed role of cus-

todians of care should have noticed a

change his work behaviour pattern. His

personal situation was extremely serious

but none of this came out until the Hear-

ing. However in a rare demonstration of

some understanding the Award of Punish-

ment was relatively light, bearing in mind

an offence had been committed

(although with major mitigation). We con-

gratulate Bro. Mansfield on his perspicacity

and perseverance in bringing this delicate

and serious matter to a conclusion satis-

factory to our member.

A member was threatened with

being placed on a Stage 3 MfA re-

garding an issue with Sundays. He

was unable to attend work for per-

sonal reasons and informed the

Company at a days notice. It was

noted that on any other day of the

week he could have applied and

undoubtedly received Emergency

Annual Leave but due to the fact

that Leave cannot be booked for a

Sunday, some Lame-brain threat-

ened to put him down as sick. Luck-

ily a slightly more compos mentis

Depot Manager knocked that on

the head by NOT holding a RTW.

AWOL? - CAN THEY SPELL IT?!

THE Branch Secretary is currently

progressing a Legal Claim on behalf

of a member who may have been

deducted wages in conflict to the

Statutory Rules laid down in the

Employment Rights Act 1996

(Section 13).

A manager took it upon himself to

re-write the Company Procedure on

„Absence without Leave‟.

Perhaps the Board would like to

have a word with him for over-

ruling their own Agreements?!

If he had obeyed his Manager‟s

instruction, he would have been

breaking the law, and the Manager

was guilty of encouraging him to

break the law. So he is nailed

immediately.

NEXT MEETING: ON THIS MATTER

44, BROADWAY, STRATFORD, E15.


8

NEXT BRANCH MEETING:

TUESDAY 18th MAY 2010, 1700 HOURS: The Railway Tavern Public House (Conservatory room), Angel Lane,

Stratford, London E15… CONTACT THE SECRETARY FOR DETAILS.

PHONE: 0207 7529 8835

Newsletter: Late April, 2010

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