Despite assurances, managers are insisting on deducting pay or leave from staff who could not get to work on day of heavy snow in early February. RMT is not going to tolerate this, and will not - as LUL seems to expect us to - let the issue go. Regional Organiser Steve Hedley has sent the following letter to Gerry Duffy, Director of Employee Relations.

Dear Gerry

On Friday 6 February, Oliver New and I spoke to you about our members who were unable to attend work on Monday 2 February due to the heavy snow, and presented you with a collective grievance on behalf of nearly 50 members.

You assured us that your employing managers had discretion to dock neither pay nor leave from staff who were genuinely unable to attend work.

Three days later, on 9 February, a TfL spokesperson told 'London Lite' that: "If staff are not able to provide a good reason for why they were not at work, they will be expected to take annual or unpaid leave for that day", clearly implying that staff who are able to provide a good reason should not be expected to take annual or unpaid leave. Boris Johnson was quoted in the 'Evening Standard' on the same day that he had "absolutely no intention of penalising anyone who failed to get to work due to last week's
exceptional weather."

So it is with great disappointment that I am having to write to you to complain that many of your employing managers are refusing to even consider paid special leave for staff, however genuine their inability to attend work, and are insisting that the staff take either unpaid or annual leave. These employing managers state that in taking this position, they are following company orders. Some even say they would give paid leave if they were allowed to, but are not. To my great shock, I heard today of an employing manager who was willing to award paid special leave but was over-ruled by a Line Performance Manager.

The practice of your employing managers is at odds with the verbal assurance you gave to myself and Olly and with the quotes given by TfL and the Mayor to the press.

I request that you urgently advise your employing managers that they do have the discretion to award paid special leave and should do so when they are satisfied that the member of staff was genuinely unable to attend work. Some of our members spent several hours attempting to reach work only to be forced to turn back, but despite this, have had pay or leave docked. I remind you that TfL cancelled the buses, and that the Mayor advised people not to travel to work.

Should you be unwilling to do so, I trust that you will reply to the nearly 50 members of staff about their grievance. Should our members continue to have their pay and leave deducted in such a grossly unfair manner, I will have no choice but to approach the Mayor and the media to press the case for just treatment of our members.

Yours
Steve Hedley
Regional Organiser, RMT