Several issues from our recent dispute will now be discussed in ‘joint working parties’ between unions and management ie. kicked into the long grass. Meanwhile, management have set up another discussion forum to talk about their plans for even nastier attendance and discipline policies.

Rather than sitting back and waiting for the outcome – pretty much guaranteed to be further attacks – we need to ensure that we are combing through the long grass, then mowing it down!
Union reps need to go to the talks with a clear mandate, and to report regularly to members. We also need negotiations to be backed up with campaigning, alerting both staff and the public of the dangers of cutting night-time station supervision, cutting ticket offices, messing up the internal promotion system, cracking down on discipline and other issues.

Many union members have acknowledged that the unions need to learn from mistakes made during the dispute. Let’s start by getting this right.