Newsletter: August, 2008

East London Rail Branch News Vol I, Issue 6 August 2008

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CHARLIE CICIRELLO This branch is deeply concerned at the continu-ing suspension without charge of Brother Charlie Cicirello, Revenue Protec-tion Company Council Representat ive and Safety Representative at London Eastern Railway. The continuing suspen-sion of our loyal brother is robbing our Revenue Protection members at LER of effective represen-tation to the benefit of the company and the det-riment of our members, many of whom are mem-bers of this branch. This branch calls upon the General Secretary and the Council of Execu-tives to take all steps necessary to win Bro Cici-

rello's immediate rein-statement. REPRESENTATION OF MEMBERS, LOROL This branch is concerned at the continuing lack of collective bargaining rep-resentation of mem-bers, mostly of this branch and nearly all new to the industry, appointed to the new posts (established 11/11/07) of Station Assistants (RO2) on the Gospel Oak - Barking Line (Upper Hol-

loway-Wanstead Park). LOROL shows no interest in formally agreeing a constituency or arranging the election of Local Rep-resentation for these members by amending the existing Silverlink Collective Bargaining or agreeing a new one. This branch therefore has elected Brother Lloyd Simpson and Sister Mary Osunde to act as co-opted Local Representa-tives until such time as agreement is reached with LOROL on a minuted constituency for these staff and a method of election which will be car-ried out and asks the General Secretary, Coun-cil of Executives and Company Council Staff Side to note the situation.

Chair: Glenn Wallis – 07789791224 Secretary: Ed Shine– 07940340128

0626 East London Rail Branch News

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

Email: [email protected]

NEXT BRANCH MEETING: THURSDAY 18th SEPTEMBER 2008, 1700 HOURS: The Railway Tavern Public House (Conservatory room), Angel Lane,

Stratford, London E15… CONTACT THE BRANCH SECRETARY FOR DETAILS

They think they can INTIMIDATE half of us... They think they can IGNORE the other half...

THE FOOLS


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BRANCH MEETING THURSDAY 21st AUGUST

2008 RAILWAY TAVERN HOTEL

STRATFORD

The Chair, Glenn Wallis (Network Rail) welcomed the 9 Branch members and Guests present. They were, from LOROL, Arnold Randall (Gospel Oak), Rosa-Lee Watson (General Purpose Relief, Gospel Oak– Barking), Christine Quammie (Leytonstone High Rd), Lloyd Simpson (Wanstead Park), Mary Osunde (South Tot-tenham). From NXEA at Liver-pool Street came the Secretary, Ed Shine, Dave Nubley and Ron Smythe. Also welcomed was guest Derrick Marr from the RMT Council of Executives and Pauline Akrill from the Industrial Relations Dept. at RMT Head Of-fice. Apologies for absence were noted and accepted from John-Paul Healy and Danny Rouse (Liverpool Street), Ray Tatum and S. Sharma from LOROL, and Acting London Transport Re-gional Organiser, Brian White-head. With the exception of P. 3. (for ‘ManGuard’ read ‘Magenta’), Bro. Randall proposed and Bro. Simp-son seconded the approval of last meetings’ Minutes and this was Agreed as a true record. We urge ALL members who have not yet attended a meeting to do so. It is YOU who make the agenda; it is YOU who lead the discussions and debates; and it is YOU who ultimately make the decisions!

THOUGHT FOR THE MOMENT

First they came for the Com-munists, and I didn’t speak up, Because I wasn’t a Commu-nist. Then they came for the So-cialists, and I didn’t speak up, Because I wasn’t a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I didn’t speak up, Because I wasn’t a Trade Un-ionist Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up, Because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up, Because I was not a Catholic. Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me.

Pastor Niemöller (1892-1984)


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ON MON-DAY 25TH AUGUST 2008, the B r a n c h Secretary attended the picket lines at the Euro-s t a r M a i n t e -

nance depot at Temple Mills in Strat-ford, and at St Pancras International station, where cleaners employed by OCS– contracted by Eurostar– were on a 24-hour strike for a London Living Wage of £7.45. When ba l lo t ed the

cleaners re-turned a %100

response and a %100 vote in fa-vour of strike

action. RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said:

‘OCS spends a fortune sponsor-

ing a stand at the Kennington Oval and Eurostar trades on its ethical reputation, but it seems they share a common con-tempt for cleaners who are paid a pit-tance. ‘Cricket is supposed to be about fair play, but while OCS bosses are glad-handing it at the Oval, their grubby little secret is that they are happy to pay wages their staff cannot live on’. The secretary told pickets that East London Rail branch was fighting a simi-lar struggle for cleaners at Liverpool Street (employed by Initial and con-tracted from N e t w o r k Rail) and presented a letter of soli-darity to the E u r o s t a r Branch Sec-retary, Bro. M i c h a e l L y n c h (below).

CLEANERS

CLEANERS

CLEANERS

FIGHT BACK

FIGHT BACK

FIGHT BACK

SOLIDARITY GREETINGS

Brothers, Sisters, Friends, and Comrades. East London Rail Branch sends greetings, support, and thanks to all RMT. mem-bers at European Passenger Services, OCS Cleaning Grades, and all strikers mak-ing a stand today. In solidarity we stand along-side you in your struggle. This struggle is not just to achieve the ‘London Living Wage’ and a decent standard of living for cleaners in the Railway industry; it is about more than that. This struggle is about achiev-ing dignity, respect, and due recognition for the role you play in the work place. East London Rail Branch as recently stepped up the cam-paign to improve working

practices and conditions for all our Cleaning Grade mem-bers. You who stand here today are demonstrating the value of what many will in-sist are old-fashioned, out of date, and outmoded values. It is values such as these- solidarity, unity, and the strength of your convictions- that will win the day for you today and set a shining ex-ample to Railway workers everywhere. You are employed by a pri-vateering low-wage high-turnover sub-contractor, and are among the worst-treated workers in the industry. Your employer is one of the worst offenders for treating staff in a slovenly and disre-spectful fashion whilst paying a bare minimum in wages. Yet you do one of- if not the- most important job on the

railway, as both OCS and Eurostar will soon realise; the impact of your struggle today is not just one of full bins and littered platforms, but health, safety, and hy-giene. The potential for OCS losing their contract and Eu-rostar losing passengers is today highlighted to all. The value of standing to-gether, in unity, in a com-mon cause, for a common end, is highlighted to all of us. EAST LONDON RAIL BRANCH REAFFIRMS ONCE AGAIN OUR COM-RADESHIP WITH ALL OCS GRADES AT EUROSTAR AND WE STAND UNITED WITH YOU IN YOUR STRUGGLE. YOU SET AN EXAMPLE TO US ALL! STAND TALL, COMRADES. IN UNITY- IS VICTORY!



Temple Mills (Stratford) picket line

St Pancras International picket line


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SAFETY BOOTHS These are still awaiting installation at Willesden Junction and West Hamp-stead (already installed at Acton Cen-tral, paid for by TfL) for the safety of Gateline staff.

INCENTIVE SCHEME The proposed Revenue Protection in-centive scheme has been withdrawn by LOROL following RMT. objections.

‘MANDOWN’ POLICY The Consultation Document on the ‘Mandown Solo Protect’ device (providing visual/ audio information regarding a member’s security and position to a Control room) has been received. It is a useful tool for front-line personal protection, it was noted that the letter sent to the Union (8th August 2008) from Peter Stan-dring, Head of Revenue Pro-tection, stated that ‘It is designed for lone work-ers’; Bro Randell rejects this on the grounds that this Union does not, and never should, accept the principle of lone-working a n y -where.

BANK HOLIDAYS LOROL have agreed to pay Time + ½ for the Notting Hill carnival weekend, compared to normal time which was

RESTRUCTURING There has been- to the surprise of ab-solutely no-one present at all- no movement on this whatsoever.

EXISTING PROCEDURES A request has been placed for all exist-ing Company procedures and policies (e.g. MFA, IGP, Family-Friendly), none of which have been re-negotiated which means that the agreements made un-der Silverlink must still stand. However it appears that many LOROL managers do not know what these are as mem-bers get various replies when making simple requests. KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATOR

Finally published YESTERDAY after eight months. It is at last being consulted; the Company assume it will be ac-cepted- not necessarily correctly, as this Branch will not stand for existing Contracts or Job Descriptions being changed just because of a franchise commitment.

ASSAULTS LOROL management claim the vicious and damaging assault at Walthamstow Queen’s Rd last month (reported soon after at last months meeting and min-

uted as such) is NOT THEIR RESPONSI-BILITY as the member of staff assaulted was out

of the station buying food during his

booked PNB at the time. The Secretary will provide this member with Forms L2 () and F21 () regarding his claim. The Branch agreed this was an outrageous abrogation of responsibility on behalf of this Company and the question of Supportive Action on the matter of Staff Safety will be considered at the next meeting.

However, to the surprise of no-one, no date has as yet been set for the next Com-pany Council meeting.


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STAFF FACILITIES DESIGN There have been no drastic changes in design to these booths but they ap-pear to be less transparent and slightly more private for the staff in them.

FACILITIES Some ‘quick-fixes’ have been intro-duced, e.g. petty cash for buying tea, milk etc; also fans, bins, sanitary equipment.

WANSTEAD PARK As has been reported for at least the last three months, the facilities there must among some of the worst on the line. There are STILL no lights in the toilets which are therefore difficult to clean and maintain. Staff currently use the toilets in a doctor’s surgery across the road which is both ridiculous and possibly dangerous (bearing in mind the Company’s attitude to staff being assaulted off railway premises (re: staff assault at Queen’s Road, above). Even a visiting manager, Richard Gar-land, appeared disgusted by these conditions (although that was about three weeks ago) yet nothing has been done since. It was suggested that the Branch contacts the HMRI (Her Majesty’s Railway Inspectorate- responsible for Health & Safety on the railways) to carry out an inspection and force action on the part of the Company. The Joint Safety Committee appears not yet to be involved, so this should be brought to their notice. The Secretary suggested a resolution from the Branch regarding the health and hygiene implications working there

which will be discussed at the next meeting pending any immediate action from LOROL. This action however is probably unlikely since LOROL are re-sisting regenerating these facilities now as they plan to do them at some (unspecified) point in the future- which the Branch considers not good enough.

REPRESENTATIVES The Chair advised Bro Simpson, Stage I Local Rep (GOB Line) to contact Bro Derek Crago (LOROL Retail Company Councillor) re: arranging an LDC meeting involving them, local manag-ers, and Sister Mary Osunde (also co-opted into the remaining GOB Line constituency, Upper Holloway- Woodgrange Park). ADVERTISING OF VACANCIES

As discussed last meeting, vacancy lists are still not making their way all down the line which is of course a dis-criminatory practice. It is usual prac-tice for General Purpose Relief staff to deliver internal mail but this unreliable due to the nature of their role, and ex-tremely unsatisfactory. The Secretary questioned whether G.P.R. staff are also Postman and if so is it in their Job Description; an issue considered over the page.

And th

e toilets are not th

e on

ly crap at Wan

stead Park…

!


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RISK ASSESSMENTS Risk Assessments are currently be-ing done at Liverpool Street station without the inclusion or participa-tion of Bro Dave Nubley, a qualified Risk Assessor, and as such without the involvement of RMT. The man-ager concerned, Malcolm Bletcher, is NOT authorised to carry out Risk Assessments without involving anyone else. The Secretary pointed out that Risk Assessments carried out under these conditions are not Assessments, they are opinions. It was suggested that these facts are taken to Bro Ken Lake, Retail Company Council, prior to taking it to the RMT. General Grades Com-mittee via a Resolution from this Branch (to be discussed next meet-ing in the light of any progress in the meantime). In the meantime an urgent meet-ing should be convened with the Head of Safety to state plainly the R.M.T.’s position, viz that the Risk Assessments so far carried out by this manager are null, void, and ir-relevant, and that whatever he has Risk Assessed so far should be considered to have NO NEW SAFETY CASE: therefore previous ones still stand. Regional Organ-iser/ Lead Officer Bro Bob Rayner will be advised and kept informed of any changes due to his position on the Joint Safety Council.



G.P.R. JOB DESCRIPTIONS

Strictly the General Purpose Relief retail role does not ex-ist as it was not required un-der the Silverlink franchise (due to these stations being unstaffed) and have not been negotiated since. They have no minuted Job Description. This is an outrageous state of affairs since they can be asked to do effectively any-thing and not be in breach of contract. The branch de-manded Job Descriptions to be negotiated immediately, with fixed ‘home/ base’ sta-tions, as at the moment they book on/ off at whichever station they are booked to work. This means they are travelling in their own time whereas they should book-on and then travel to their post, and vice versa. At the least, either that or a G.P.R. Travel-ling Allowance should be paid due to the unsettled nature of the work.

PERSONAL NEEDS BREAKS

A G.P.R. staff-member gives breaks which effectively mean that the further down the line a member is, the longer it will take to get his required PNB, putting them beyond the legal limit of a Break to be taken within the third- and fifth-hour.


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INFORMATION DISCLOSURE

Bro Shine, as LDC Rep Liver-pool Street Revenue Protec-tion has written to Mr Alan Perry, Head of Revenue Pro-tection, requesting details of the staffing, performance, and establishment of the Depot. • PAY AND BENEFITS:

Structure of the payments system and costs as ana-lysed per member of staff.

• EMPLOYEE NUMBERS: Number of staff employed, by age, gender, turnover, and absenteeism. Origins of staff from previous TOC’s (WAGN/ GER/ Anglia etc) and depots.

• PERFORMANCE: Produc-tivity, Sales, and efficiency data.

• FINANCIAL: Profit, as-sets, liabilities.

There can be no grounds of National Security to reject this request on, and likewise the information requested has not come to the Company in confi-dence, or relates specifically to an individual, or that re-vealing this information would cause any substantial injury to the Company’s undertaking. The Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 states this information is useful in enabling the Local Rep. to collectively bargain, and is in accordance with good Industrial Relations practice.

INDIVIDUAL GRIEVANCE (STAGE 1)

The LDC Rep believes his basic Human Rights have been deliberately violated by the actions of the Company in deny-ing him the right to peaceful assembly and right of association with his own Stage II Rep, Company Councillor, and Health & Safety Rep, Bro Charlie Cici-rello, currently suspended without charge for what this Branch believes are purely vengeful motives. A Griev-ance under Stage I of the formal IGP has been lodged. UNETHICAL/IMMORAL MANAGE-

MENT PRACTICES The Branch was informed of the case of an RPI at Liverpool Street who has been marked down as Absent Without Leave and thus possibly lost a days pay: he attended duty at Manage-ment’s own request and was then sent home. Bro Shine condemned unequivo-cally this behaviour and informed the Branch that whilst a letter has been written on the members’ behalf in an attempt to resolve this informally, little hope is held out (due to the current management pol-icy of attempting- Ostrich style- to ignore this Union), so this case too will doubtless be forced to the formal Individual Grievance Pro-cedure through managements’ own inactivity.

PROMOTION AND FILLING OF VACANCIES

The Advertising of Vacancies policy (LER, December 2004), Equal Opportunities & Di-versity policy (LER, September 2005), and PTR&R agreement (NUR, May 1986) have all been breached at the Depot by the selection (NOT appointment) of a Team Leader when in fact no vacancy exists. A letter stating the Rep’s position has been entered but appears to be being ignored (note Ostrich policy); so doubtless will have to be entered through the formal channels.


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News & Politics

Newsletter: August, 2008