RMT don't offer a public statement of their case for the strike on their web site. I did find
BREAKDOWN IN INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ^ KEOLIS AMEY DOCKLANDS (
DLR▸ /14/2)
Further to my previous Circular (IR/224/15, 23rd September 2015), and following further correspondence from the Lead Officer and Branch Secretary, the General Grades Committee has taken the decision to inform the Company that we are in dispute and to organise a ballot of members working for KAD for strike action and action short of strike action over a catalogue of issues, which are outlined below.
Agency Staff
Agency Staff Undertaking PWay Tasks. Breaches of our long standing agreement that agency staff will only be used as a last resort.
CATO Staff. Despite the fact that these staff were supposed to be temporary, they are increasingly carrying out more tasks and duties.
SCCM Trained Staff. On a number of occasions, the Company has refused release for these members, citing PSA sickness levels. A new approach from KAD is that these members of staff have not had the adequate time shadowing SCCMs to bring them to a competent level however, recent opportunities for shadowing have been missed.
Undermining of Staff
Undermining of Stores Staff. The stores staff have in principle agreed to work a new roster that better suits KAD. Members have asked that all four shifts are staffed as the roster dictates however due to cost cutting measures KAD has refused. As a result, and as the roster does not take annual leave cover into consideration, later shifts will be left understaffed during periods of annual leave.
Undermining of CCS Grades. Control Centre Supervisors are being overlooked when a CCS shift needs covering. CCCs are stepping into the role before all CCSs have been asked if they are available to cover.
Undermining of
CRT‡ Grade. KAD are training their managers to be competent and carry out the role of CRT.
Staff being used for duties outside their responsibilities. Recently recruited staff are being used to cover SCCM roles at the expense of their grade duties.
Bullying of Staff
KAD managers bullying staff. A PSA has been harassed and bullied by KAD managers despite being off with stress and taking some quite strong medication. This kind of intimidatory behaviour is unacceptable.
Accident/Assault at Work. Members who are absent from work following an accident or assault at work are being penalised and the Company is using draconian measures to send a message of non-tolerance to other staff. While we appreciate the need for consistency when implementing policies, a separate policy is needed to cover these types of absence.
Breaching Agreements
CCTV▸ Agreement. An agreement on how CCTV will be used in the workplace has been ignored leading to the dismissal of a member and the potential discipline of another.
Recognition Agreement
Circumnavigation of the Recognition Agreement. It is agreed that any changes that require consultation will not be implemented until this consultation has taken place. However this has not been the case with the training of the CCDM and this training must be halted until the consultation process is concluded.
Recruitment Process. This is being bypassed by Rolling Stock Management. A position was recently advertised that was eventually filled without any interviews taking place and instead decided purely on the submitted CVs.
Bargaining Agreement Grades. There are currently bargaining agreement grades that are being made into Management Contracts.
The Company has been informed accordingly, ballot papers will be posted to affected members on Thursday 8th Octoberand the closing date for this ballot is Thursday 22nd October 2015. If you know of a member who has not received their paper, please ask them to call the Freephone Helpline on 0800 376 3706 or e-mail
info@rmt.org.uk.
I will keep you informed of all further developments.
No doubt that makes more sense if you understand all the abbreviations, but even without that is seems clear that it is mainly about demarcation and other staffing issues, some of which may genuinely impact safety.
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