RMT press release, issued today

THE ASTONISHING decision by Transport for London to dock the pay of Tube workers unable to get to work because of last Monday’s bad weather has been slammed as unfair, illogical and discriminatory by the network’s biggest union.

RMT has been trying to convince Tube bosses that the decision flies in the face of reason, not least because it was TfL itself that suspended bus services across the capital due to the heavy snow, but also because it discriminates against people who live further away from work.

The edict has provoked a flurry of grievances from staff told they must either book a day’s leave or lose a day’s pay unless they can prove they did some ‘meaningful work’ from home

“Anyone who followed the news that TfL suspended bus services because of the snow last Monday will be baffled by its decision to stop the pay of those who couldn’t get in,” RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today

“The decision smacks of doubles standards, but it clearly discriminates against people who live a distance from a Tube station or who rely on other modes of transport – like buses – to get to work.

“How a signaller who might live in a snow-bound town outside the capital can be expected to do some meaningful work from home is beyond me.

“People were being advised not to travel, and the fact that a large number of Tube workers got in to work speaks volumes for their commitment, but that is no reason to discriminate against those who could not.

“Losing a day’s pay is no laughing matter for the victims, and we will be looking very closely at every case, but the most sensible thing TfL can do is accept that it has made a mistake and reverse it,” Bob Crow said.