So London Underground has made an "offer" on the claim for a guaranteed job for anyone who becomes medically unfit to do their current job. But the "offer" is a joke. The unions should laugh at it and chuck it out of the window.
It will be portrayed by those who want to big it up as progress on the claim, but read it (click here) and you will see that it has more holes than a sieve.
Firstly, it only applies to drivers, and only to 25 of them. Other grades are justifiably furious about this. It is a straightforward act of discrimination and injustice. We must not fall for management's pathetic attempts to privilege one grade above others in order to divide the workforce against each other. RMT has demanded more talks on extending this offer to other grades and lifting the maximum number.
But there is a second problem. The offer is not a guarantee of an alternative job even for those lucky 25 drivers. It is merely an offer to help them get into the CSA grade, and then only if they meet the requirements. Surely, the majority of medical conditions that make you unfit to dirve a train also make you unfit to work on a station?! So it's the dole office for you ...
Of particular interest is the sentence "LUOH will assist with advice on reasonable adjustments, permanent restrictions and will clarify, prior to any offer being made, that the person's medical conditions will enable them to meet all the attendance and performance expectations of the job." The whole point of reasonable adjustments is that they include the possibility of not requiring someone to meet all the attendance and performance expectations of the job!
Further, there is no logical reason for the offer to specify that staff may be deployed into the CSA grade. What about other grades?! Someone who becomes medically unfit to drive a train may actually find an admin job, or ticket-selling, or some other job much more suitable than working on gatelines and platforms. As we already have people sent into the CSA grade as a punishment, CSAs are beginning to resent the implication that their grade is some kind of easy ride that anyone can do. In fact, it is a demanding and professional job that deserves more respect from our employer.
LUL already has a policy (known as 'redeployment'!) that assists people into alternative positions if they develop medical problems but does not guarantee them such a position. It seems to Tubeworker that this "offer" goes no further than that, and by restricting it to just 25 drivers, is actually a step backwards.
Our unions spent a large part of this year haggling with London Underground management about whether an agreement which was crystal clear ("no compulsory redundancies ... applies to all employees") actually means what it says. We have had to fight to defend agreements that give specific guarantees to staff. So no way should the unions accept an offer than gives no concrete guarantees to anyone, even if it does get extended to an unlimited number of staff in all grades.
PS. Also, the money on offer is still crap.
Letter from a reader
Dear Tubedog
The more I hear about humans the less I understand them. It seems that being ill is almost a crime in the human world. Unless you are one of the lucky tube drivers which is the same grade as Dog Guard First Class if for no fault of your own you find yourself unable to do your old job you will not be guarenteed to get a new one.I know the canine world is not perfect and we used to have problems in Grandfather Greyhound's day at least we dogs have moved on.
Maybe we should have a meeting with a police and guard dogs, with show dogs, running dogs of all types even with family and house dogs and work out how we can help these humans. As good socialists we must not be too doggist.
Just think what would happen if all human transport workers and all dogs went on strike at the same time. It would cause utter chaos. I'd love to be on the picket line. So maybe you could ask Barking branch about a possible ballot.
Yours in solidarity Sapdog