For the first half of this year, those of us who work on stations have been thinking about the location we'll be working at after LU's cuts come in.
LU allowed us to nominate a location and called this process 'Location Matters'.
This was always a little ironic as the process meant that most of us would be displaced against our will.
But LU has now added another twist. LU's proposal for the new 'Framework Agreement' for station staff, which it is negotiating on with the trade unions at the moment, contains a clause that says we will be required to work 45 minutes from the centre of our new groups. Travelling in our 'own time' shall not exceed 45 minutes, says LU! LU does not require our agreement before sending us anywhere up and down our line, only to give us 24 hours' notice.
It feels like LU is mocking us. It put us through the stress of nominating our 'location preferences'; we got our location outcomes; but now the small amount of stability that we had obtained through that process is being snatched away from us. LU really doesn't care that we have families that we want to see, elderly parents to care for.....a life outside work!
We know it would be easier for LU if it employed machines instead of people; we know LU is working its hardest to pursue this goal with driverless trains and ticket machines. But until LU can invent a machine that can deliver customer service one minute, evacuate a station the next, then deal with a medical emergency, or go onto live track to help keep the service moving.....until LU can invent a machine that can do all the complex tasks our jobs entail, it will have to face up to the fact that it employs people. And people have lives. To add potentially 1.5 hours of travelling time onto our working day at the drop-of-a-hat is not compatible with a life outside work.
LU has been taking too much from us for too long now. If you'r'e in RMT, it's time to vote 'yes' in both ballot papers that are coming through our doors soon. All LU workers need to unite - from all grades and unions - against a management that is taking more and more from its workforce.