From Jared Wood, RMT Industrial Relations Rep, to all RMT members on Rickmansworth Group
8 CSA’s Remain Under Threat of Transfer
Management Pushed onto Back Foot but Fight Goes On

At a Level 2 (functional council) meeting this week management stated their intention to issue notices to the eight CSA’s under threat of transfer to move from Sunday 6 July. I and your RMT functional reps challenged this as there is no policy or procedure in place for such compulsory transfers. After extensive discussion management agreed not to issue any notices of transfers but they still intend to force the transfers through, if they can establish a valid procedure.

This issue has arisen because LU resourcing have sent new CSAs to Ricky group “over establishment”, that is over the normal staff level. On 10 April 2006 RMT met with management at Level 2 and made it clear that any staff going to a group on a temporary basis must be told IN ADVANCE that they are temporary. Management did not oppose this at that time.

Now management are claiming that a letter is issued to all new staff that tells them they could go to a temporary location. There is some doubt that this letter was ever issued to the members affected on this group but more importantly the letter would have been invalid in any case. Any change to the contractual terms of employment of our members must be consulted on with the unions before it can be introduced and no such consultation has taken place. If management think they can change our terms and conditions according to the whims of LU’s resorcing department they need to think again!

I sincerely hope that management now see sense and realise there is no justification for compulsory transfers. In case they do not I have asked the General Secretary, Bob Crow, to raise our situation with the RMT Council of Executives. No-one would want to see this dispute escalate into a strike but if that is what is necessary to protect our members then I will not hesitate to recommend such action.

In will keep you informed of any developments.

All the best,
Jared

You can download this letter as an A4 PDF by clicking on the file name below.