RMT members working on the Docklands Light Railway are to go on a 48 hour strike from 28th January it has been announced. Following the takeover of the contract to operate the network by KeolisAmey Docklands Ltd at the start of December a number of changes were made to terms and conditions and it is these changes that RMT members are objecting to leading to their strike action.
Mick Cash, RMT General Secretary, said: “Following feedback from well-attended branch meetings and the ballot result, the company should be under no illusions about RMT members’ determination to fight against detrimental changes to terms and conditions. These include secondments without members’ consent or agreement, new and inferior policies on maternity and paternity leave, longer waiting period for entitlement to full sick pay and a failure by the company to deal with a list of outstanding health and safety issues. RMT has no doubts that our members will stand together and support this strike action as they continue the demonstration of unity and solidarity shown by all this dispute so far.”
Talks are said to be ongoing in the hope of stopping this strike action but if it does go-ahead Transport for London have said services will be affected although they will try to run as many as possible.
Docklands is a strange system! From my visits there the vehicles appear to be totally autometed apart from a guy standing at one of the doors who puts a T-key in a slot to open and close them. I’m sure it wouldn’t be beyond the wit of man to automate to doors as well, as they are on every other modern vehicle, negating the need for on train staff entirely. Perhaps the staff should consider that possibility before they decide to strike?
I’m very anti-strikes and anti-unions. If you don’t like your job then why do it? A few years ago I was seasonally employed in Blackpool at a time they were having a seriese of one-day (and sometimes just a few hours) strikes over pay. But why should I be expected to strike when I’ve just accepted the terms of the job as they stand? Unfortuinately I had no choice but to strike, which meant no income, which put me in serious financial difficulties.
Unions who call for strike action are often very misguided if they truely have their members best interests at heart.
Whatever one’s view of unions and strikes, this dispute highlights the extent to which intermediaries make a very healthy living from nothing more than being intermediaries. One must wonder to what extent the development of UK light rail is held back by such arrangements as ‘Keolis-Amey Docklands operating the Docklands Light Railway on behalf of Transport for London seeking to outsource…’ It is a wee bit alarming, methinks.