RMT/ASLEF announce strike action on LU (suspended)

[Dstock7080]

ASLEF to strike:
www.aslefdistrict8.org/post/aslef-members-on-london-underground-will-strike-in-november

rejecting LU offer of:
3.8% +£450 one-off payment

following strike ballot result of:
turnout 67%
98.81% in favour of industrial action.

Train Operators / Instructor Operators.
Do not book on for duty between 00.01 and 23.59 on the 7th of November and 00.01 and 23.59 on the 12th November.

Management grades.
Do not book on for duty between 00.01 and 23.59th on the 7th of November and 00.01 and 23.59 on the 12th November.
Overtime ban in place from 00.01 on November 3rd to 23.59 on November 16th . ONLY work rostered shifts. No voluntary overtime.

APD - Transplant members.
Do not book on from 18:00 on November 1st untill 17:59 on 2nd November.
Overtime ban in place from 00.01 on November 1st to 23.59 on November 8th. Only work rostered shifts. No voluntary overtime

 

[Thirteen]

TSSA's ballot ends on the 18th October so there's a chance they'll line up their strike days with ASLEF.

Strange that train operators aren't having an overtime ban but the management and Transport members are.

 

[Mojo]

TSSA's ballot ends on the 18th October so there's a chance they'll line up their strike days with ASLEF.

Strange that train operators aren't having an overtime ban but the management and Transport members are.

Train Operators do not work voluntary overtime already.

 

[bramling]

TSSA's ballot ends on the 18th October so there's a chance they'll line up their strike days with ASLEF.

Strange that train operators aren't having an overtime ban but the management and Transport members are.

It isn’t possible for train operators to ban overtime, as LU drivers don’t do voluntary overtime. It only applies for late running / service disruption, and as drivers aren’t allowed to walk away from their train outside of a proper relief point or stabling location then it wouldn’t be practicable to have a ban.

 

[riceuten]

It isn’t possible for train operators to ban overtime, as LU drivers don’t do voluntary overtime. It only applies for late running / service disruption, and as drivers aren’t allowed to walk away from their train outside of a proper relief point or stabling location then it wouldn’t be practicable to have a ban.

Or perhaps recruit enough staff, including spares to run the service?

Just a thought...

 

[Russel]

The strike on the 12th November, will this have much of an impact on the service the following day?

 

[bluegoblin7]

There will likely be some disruption to start up for trains covered by night turn drivers, but this will differ from line to line.

Of course, this assumes that other unions don’t also announce strike action for the same day.

 

[Russel]

There will likely be some disruption to start up for trains covered by night turn drivers, but this will differ from line to line.

Of course, this assumes that other unions don’t also announce strike action for the same day.

It would be mid-morning I'd be using the tube so hopefully any residual disruption will be minimal by then, thanks.

 

[rebmcr]

Am I correct in remembering that ASLEF do not represent a great many LU employees?

 

[ainsworth74]

Or perhaps recruit enough staff, including spares to run the service?

Just a thought...

Steady the heck on! We can't be trying to actually have enough staff to run the service, that way lies madness!

 

[Mojo]

Am I correct in remembering that ASLEF do not represent a great many LU employees?

I wouldn’t say that. Obviously these numbers are out of date and membership / employee numbers would have changed since then, but from a brief Google search, an Aslef ballot from last August of passenger train operators returned 1,487 votes on a 74.6% turnout, which means at the time they must have had circa 1,993 members. A 2018 FoI response said TfL have a total of 3,946 passenger train operators.

This doesn’t include Test Train Operators, Engineering Train staff or Managers/Service Control.

What is fair to say however is that the numbers are not particularly evenly split - some lines like the Piccadilly have an above-average proportion of RMT members for instance, whereas the Northern has a higher number of Aslef.

 

[Mawkie]

Worth remembering that RMT have just renewed their mandate too.... I imagine strike dates will be announced soon - hopefully using a collaborative approach with our sister unions.

On the face of it, the actual pay deal is fine - someone good at maths will let me know, but is it 4.4%?

But the real dispute must be with LU trying to introduce "Job Families" - a banding system where LU decides who will be entitled to a pay rise based on their insistence that LU, and LU alone, will determine when the top banding level will increase, or not.

Am I correct in remembering that ASLEF do not represent a great many LU employees?

Being an all grades union, RMT represents circa 16,000 staff on LU.

 

[Goldfish62]

Steady the heck on! We can't be trying to actually have enough staff to run the service, that way lies madness!

If you read the above posts it sounds like there are enough staff to run the service. As stated, LU drivers don't do voluntary overtime. This isn't the national rail network!

 

[Dstock7080]

On the face of it, the actual pay deal is fine - someone good at maths will let me know, but is it 4.4%?

ASLEF themselves say: "This value is equivalent to 4.5% for a train operator".

 

[Mawkie]

ASLEF themselves say: "This value is equivalent to 4.5% for a train operator".

Thanks, didn't spot that in the announcement.

 

[bluegoblin7]

RMT action now announced. There’s been some conflicting information given in different sources, but the following is broadly correct:

1-2 November - Transplant/Engineering train staff
3-4 November - Track Access Control, Power Control and various other London Underground Control Centre grades
4 November - Emergency Response Unit
5 & 7 November - Stations and Trains grades
6 & 8 November - Service Control grades

I would anticipate little to no start up most of the week, with early shutdowns/late start ups either side as necessary.

 

[Meerkat]

RMT action now announced. There’s been some conflicting information given in different sources, but the following is broadly correct:

1-2 November - Transplant/Engineering train staff
3-4 November - Track Access Control, Power Control and various other London Underground Control Centre grades
4 November - Emergency Response Unit
5 & 7 November - Stations and Trains grades
6 & 8 November - Service Control grades

I would anticipate little to no start up most of the week, with early shutdowns/late start ups either side as necessary.

I’m surprised the law allows strike spreading like that, or were those grades independently balloted and voted to strike?

 

[Dstock7080]

I’m surprised the law allows strike spreading like that, or were those grades independently balloted and voted to strike?

A separate ballot of RMT members on LU was undertaken, figures not available:

London Underground staff secure 6-month strike mandate

Tube union, RMT has won the backing from members for a strike action mandate on London Underground while pay negotiations continue.

www.rmt.org.uk

Tube union, RMT has won the backing from members for a strike action mandate on London Underground while pay negotiations continue.

No strike dates have been announced but the union is keen to secure an improved offer on pay and to make sure all members are entitled to the same percentage increase.

 

[Mawkie]

I’m surprised the law allows strike spreading like that, or were those grades independently balloted and voted to strike?

A separate ballot of RMT members on LU was undertaken, figures not available:

Conscious this is an aslef thread, but RMT figures are available in a different part of the RMT website .
[Edit, no longer an aslef only thread.]

Number of individuals who were entitled to vote in the ballot: 10190


Number of votes cast in the ballot: 5653


Number of individuals answering “Yes” to the question: 5446


Number of individuals answering “No” to the question: 203


Number of spoiled or otherwise invalid voting papers returned: 4

 

[Goldfish62]

RMT action now announced. There’s been some conflicting information given in different sources, but the following is broadly correct:

1-2 November - Transplant/Engineering train staff
3-4 November - Track Access Control, Power Control and various other London Underground Control Centre grades
4 November - Emergency Response Unit
5 & 7 November - Stations and Trains grades
6 & 8 November - Service Control grades

I would anticipate little to no start up most of the week, with early shutdowns/late start ups either side as necessary.

Personally I think there'll be some sort of settlement or at least a suspension of action before then. London's economy, nor TfL's still doing very dodgy finances, could take a week without the tube.

 

[londonbridge]

Personally I think there'll be some sort of settlement or at least a suspension of action before then.

Of course there wil, Starmer will pay them off, followed by more tax-grabbing measures in the budget and further accusations of Labour chucking money at their union paymasters.

 

[Goldfish62]

Of course there wil, Starmer will pay them off, followed by more tax-grabbing measures in the budget and further accusations of Labour chucking money at their union paymasters.

So there were no last-minute suspensions of tube strikes over the past 14 years? My memory must be failing me.

 

[londonbridge]

No of course there were, however if there is another offer made and accepted, “Starmer paying them off again” will be the line used by some sections of the media.

 

[Goldfish62]

No of course there were, however if there is another offer made and accepted, “Starmer paying them off again” will be the line used by some sections of the media.

I certainly agree on that, and apologies if I misunderstood the context of your comment!

 

[Meerkat]

A separate ballot of RMT members on LU was undertaken, figures not available:

I wasn’t very clear.
Different grades are striking on different days. I was wondering if there had to be a separate vote for each grade to be allowed to do that.
Kind of curious whether a union could rota strikes, say a different fifth of the drivers out each day of a week so that the strike disrupted five days for the loss of one days pay.

 

[bluegoblin7]

There are no issues with having different groups of staff out on different days under the same ballot. This method has been used before on London Underground, and historically several disputes that have balloted the entire membership have only called out specific grades for targeted action - the current Jobs, Pensions and Conditions mandate being used for several local job and condition-related disputes.

It would not be permissible to only call out a part of each grade in the way you suggest (although it could be done on a line by line basis) - at any rate, it would have less of an impact than the method chosen (strikes are meant to disruptive).

Anyway, further pay talks in the morning, so who knows what tomorrow will bring?

 

[Cross City]

Going slightly off piste, is the cable car strike, slated to be every Saturday until next year, still ongoing? I know they suspended the first Saturday but no word on if it's still happening.

 

[Goldfish62]

Going slightly off piste, is the cable car strike, slated to be every Saturday until next year, still ongoing? I know they suspended the first Saturday but no word on if it's still happening.

Would anyone notice anyway?

 

[Cross City]

Would anyone notice anyway?

Literally nobody

I was just curious!

 

[bluegoblin7]

Going slightly off piste, is the cable car strike, slated to be every Saturday until next year, still ongoing? I know they suspended the first Saturday but no word on if it's still happening.

Action currently suspended following a new pay offer. https://www.rmt.org.uk/news/london-cable-car-staff-suspend-strike-action-after-new-offer/