Tell LU: The Clock Is Ticking! Count Down To More Action!

Posted in Tubeworker's blog on ,

Talks between LU and the unions on our disputes over pay/Night Tube and job cuts (and other issues relating to "Fit for the Future - Stations") are ongoing. Negotiators say they are making progress, and significant concessions, such as LU's commitment to retain fixed-term contract station staff on a permanent basis, are being welcomed across the job.

But no-one wants talks to plod along indefinitely. If LU appears unlikely to concede much more than it has currently, we need to either give up, or step up. Tubeworker believes we should do the latter!

As talks continue over the next month, union reps and activists should get out around stations and depots to prepare members for the possibility of more action. The message must be: the disputes are not over, and if we don't get further concrete commitments from the company on stations jobs, no increases in weekend working, proper compensations for station staff forced into unpaid promotions (or the option not to be forced into a supervisorial or managerial job!), and other issues, we will take more action.

We reckon that if we're no further on this time next month, we should look to resume action. For starters, the overtime ban could be reinstated on stations and in fleet depots, where it was hurting the company.

Negotiators say we may be close to getting an offer from the company on many of those issues. Members will have to assess it against their own willingness to take further action to win more. But that isn't a fixed quantity; a strong campaign of propaganda and information by unions (all unions!) to galvanise members to take more action could embolden us and inspire us with the confidence needed for another push.

We must also avoid a situation where getting our pay rise means having to sign up to "Fit for the Future". We can never accept any "settlement" that involves job cuts, ticket office closures, and unpaid promotions and regradings. Not being strong enough to force LU to abandon "Fit for the Future" is one thing, but we don't have to agree to a settlement that institutionalises it. Any deal that links pay and "Fit for the Future" in this way, and requires us to sign up to or endorse it in order to get a pay rise, should be rejected.

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