On Wed, 10 Jan 2007 01:05:32 GMT, "Richard J."
wrote:

Steve Fitzgerald wrote:
In message , d
writes

We are awaiting our pay rise from April 2006, there have been no
strike ballots yet so nothing is imminent, the sticking points
are the extra 30 mins friday and saturday night.

Pay rise? Safety I can understand, but pay rise? How much pay
and time do you think it's going to cost the general public? Was
that factored in to the strike discussion?

Maybe you should direct those comments at the Management who are
dealing with this too?

Staff have patiently waited for 9 months now for their 2006 pay deal
with no mention of a strike. How long do you consider they should
continue to wait?

Hang on, I think there's some spin here. On the one hand, there's talk
of staff patiently awaiting their pay rise from April 2006, as though
this was something that was agreed but the management haven't yet chosen
to pay it. On the other hand, there's talk of "sticking points"
concerning hours worked.

It sounds to me as if the pay offer was conditional on some other
changes which the unions haven't yet agreed, which is why the offer (not
"deal" if it's not yet agreed) hasn't been implemented. Is that right?

You would be entirely correct. LU have improved the offer three times
and now the final offer is on the table. Two of the smaller unions -
TSSA and BTOG - have accepted. RMT have not and ASLEF have (just)
changed their stance in respect of one key issue. The proposal is for a
3 year deal and the RMT are now demanding a one year deal with the
negotiation for a longer deal being restarted for the 2007 pay round. [I
suspect this is so they can formulate a different approach to LU's
requests that have come forward in the 2006 round and also so they have
more flexibility to use the threat of strike action.]

The later running at weekends is a key issue that remains outstanding.
[Obviously there is some merit for the TUs in delaying a settlement in
the hope that political pressure from the Mayor would force LU's hand as
the later running is an election pledge with a defined implementation
date.]

The above is from an internal (LU) comms notice. The TUs will obviously
have a different view of the negotiations and their status. My own views
are in the [] brackets.

--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!