LUL has two 'resourcing' plans that cause RMT concern. Your reps met with LUL management on 7 May to discuss them.

1. 'Worklessness' scheme

   The company is co-operating with the Mayor's 'worklessness' scheme. Under this scheme, people who have been unemployed for six months or more go on a 12-week course which teaches them basic skills, during which they shadow a CSA for several days. The course takes them through the application process for CSA, and if they successfully complete it, there will be a CSA job for them.

   We asked for the guarantees that, as trade unionists, we would need. ie. no-one is coerced onto this course under threat of having their benefits taken away; there is a proper job at the end of it; the CSA who they shadow is a CSA Coach grade and therefore paid at a higher rate for the coaching; and that the whole process will be safety-validated. All this was confirmed. Although we stated that, as trade unionists, we thought that these people should be paid a wage during the course rather than just their benefits plus travel costs, given the other guarantees, I think we can accept this.

2. Offer of RPI work on buses

   Astoundingly, LUL has written to staff on the RCI training list offering them the opportunity to work for London Buses as an RPI. We told management that this was a staggering indictment of the failings of its own internal recruitment system - LUL can think of nothing better to do with capable, ambitious, successful staff than to give them away to another company! Obviously, management didn't see it like this at all.

   Whilst not agreeing to this policy, we asked for, and got, the following guarantees:

   • all rights and length-of-service benefits would transfer;
   • pensions contribution levels and benefits would not change;
   • the staff could come back to LUL whenever they like (management said that if this was within four weeks, to their current rostered post, after four weeks, to the same group);
   • they will remain on the training waiting list;
   • they will keep their staff pass;
   • the staff can still apply for promotion within LUL;
   • the letter will be accompanied by a detailed briefing addressing all these points and more.

   Management stated that they would send the letter only to those on the training waiting list who currently earn less than a London Buses RPI.

   We raised the issue of FairShares, which operates within TPED, the revenue department of TfL, and insisted that if any of our members take up this strange 'offer', we will not accept them having money taken out of their wages to be given to another union. Management appeared unaware of this issue, said "surely that's illegal", and said they would get back to us about it.