You may remember that earlier this year, we achieved an important victory for station staff by getting management to agree that a member of staff's rostered position should be held open for them until such time as they fully complete promotional training. Previously, management had been 'backfilling' these posts in breach of our agreements and peviously rostered staff were finding themselves 'busted' onto the reserve if they failed or dropped out.

However, this does now mean that the staff at the top of the waiting list are delayed in moving to fill the post when the strong likelihood is that the member of staff will in fact achieve promotion. We discussed this situation at the recent Strategy & Development forum, and TSSA have drafted a proposed policy which management have indicated they might accept. I told management that RMT would consult our reps and branches before agreeing to this proposal - hence this email!

Please read the wording below, discuss it with your members, and let me know your views as soon as practical.

Thanks
Janine Booth
Staff Side Secretary (RMT)
Stations & Revenue Council

The member of staff on leaving a Rostered Position to go for Promotional Training is promised that, if for any reason they fail the training or find that it is not what they want, they will return to continue in the Rostered Position they have vacated.

While that member is on training, the position that they have potentially vacated, is offered to the next liable member of staff with the proviso that it is fully explained to that member of staff that they are filling a position that is vacated because of training for a promotional position, and if that person does not successfully complete that training they will return and get their rostered position back and the member of staff who had, as it turns out, temporarily taken up that rostered position will then go onto the group reserve staff list and, although be expected to cover any station on that group, will mirror the Rostered Pattern of the position they unfortunately had to vacate. If the member is successful in his promotional training then the Rostered Position will then become permanent for the transferee.