1. ISSUE 1
BRANCH NEWS FEBRUARY
2008
NATIONAL UNION OF RAIL, MARITIME, & TRANSPORT WORKERS’
GENERAL SECRETARY: BOB CROW
BRANCH MEETING
FEBRUARY 2008
Welcome to the first edition of East London Rail Branch
News, a monthly newsletter designed to keep all those who
were unable to attend their RMT Branch meeting in touch
with what went on.
Many thanks and fraternal greetings to all those who did
attend the last meeting on Thursday 21st February 2008.
They were from LOROL (London Overground Rail Opera-
tions Ltd, the ex-’Silverlink’ franchise) Arnold Randall (RPI,
Gospel Oak), Pauline Wilson (Station Assistant, Leytonstone
High Road), Terry Pope (Station Assistant, Leyton Midland
Road), and the Branch’s Assistant Chairman, John Clarke
(Conductor, Stratford Depot); from LER, the secretary, Ed
Shine (Revenue Protection Assistant, Liverpool Street), and
from Network Rail, Glenn Wallis (Signaller, South Totten-
ham box). Bro. Eric Cato represented our retired members,
and our guests were Pauline Akrill, Industrial Relations Offi-
cer at RMT Head Office, and our Council of Executives
EDITORIAL member Derrick Marr. Apologies were received from Bros.
THIS WAS ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL Branch meeting, reasona- Ron Smythe (Revenue Protection Assistant, Liverpool
bly well attended, especially by our comrades in LOROL, who Street) and our Chairman, Dave Nubley, and Mushi Ali
gave the Branch a lot to discuss, including issues over uni- (both Platform Staff at Liverpool Street).
forms, local messing facilities, and management negotiation–
all of which should be familiar to London Eastern Railway The minutes of the last meeting were agreed as a true re-
(’one’) staff. However, it was difficult to look at Liverpool cord. Arising from the minutes, it was noted that Bro. K.
Street/ Stratford issues in the depth and breadth which they Patel (Platform Staff at Liverpool Street) who had previ-
deserved as the Secretary was the sole member from LER!
ously shown interest in an RMT-sponsored trip to Cuba has
Yet there are many issues facing LER staff which need to be since left employment with ’one’; Bro. Daniel Rouse (RPA
resolved, and the Branch is the perfect platform to raise Liverpool Street) had successfully entered an IGP1 against
them AND resolve them. Anyone raising an issue or a prob- his transfer to Shenfield depot; Bro. Cato was rejected as a
lem will be in friendly and supportive company, and the ad- delegate to the Black & Ethnic Minority Conference due to
vice given will be the product of tears of experience of differ- his retired status; and Bro Wallis had been accepted as the
ent companies, different managements, and different ways Branch’s delegate to the Annual General Meeting 2008.
of dealing with things.
THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO SPEAK YOUR MIND ABOUT NEXT BRANCH MEETING:
YOUR WORK– WHERE YOU SPEND HALF YOUR WAK-
ING LIVES!- IN FRIENDLY AND COMFORTABLE SUR- THE RAILWAY TAVERN, STRATFORD
ROUNDINGS. BEING IN THE UNION IS ONLY HALF OF THURSDAY 20TH MARCH 2008:
IT– KEEPING THE UNION INFORMED IS THE OTHER
HALF! YOUR REPS’ CAN ONLY DEAL WITH WHAT THEY 18.30 HOURS
KNOW ABOUT. SO COME AND TELL THEM!

2. 0626 EAST LONDON RAIL– BRANCH NEWS FEBRUARY 2008
CORRESPONDENCE
LONE-WORKING ~ AGENCY STAFF
Items of particular interest to the Branch received in ~ REVENUE PROTECTION ~ MESS ROOM FACILI-
February included both the receipt of our nomination TIES ~ UNIFORM ~ RESTRUCTURING
of bro Glenn Wallis as the Branch’s delegate to the
RMT’s 2008 Annual General Meeting and subsequently Station Assistant Terry Pope (LOROL, Leyton Midland Road sta-
a confirmation of his being accepted. So congratula- tion) requested that Risk Assessments be done regarding the
tions to Glenn, and of course the Branch expects a 12-hour lone-working shifts currently rostered for Sunday work-
full report back of the main event of the year where ing. This is a recent introduction, and there are serious Health &
the democracy of the union is in action!
Safety implications: the line (Gospel Oak to Barking) runs
We were officially informed that the Branch’s pro- through some extremely deprived areas of north and east Lon-
posed name change from Great Eastern Rail to East don with all the social problems that stem from that; the
London Rail was passed by the General Grades Com- Branch agreed that at these stations two-person working,
mittee having been already approved by the Regional whether through shift over-lap or otherwise, should be the
Council. We did this to reflect the inclusive nature of
norm. It is an anomaly in that many of these staff were re-
the RMT in covering different workplaces and the fact
cruited under Silverlink (with Silverlink contracts), but were not
that we represent all Grades in the Branch regardless
of employer or TOC franchise. on the list of TUPE’d staff; the Branch felt that, similarly to the
Sunday working issue, these members of staff are not being
A circular was received from the General secretary treated fairly or equally with existing employees due to merely
keeping us up-to-date with the proposed introduction
being new, which is unacceptable.
of a LER-run Revenue Protection Depot at Cambridge.
The Company has been trying to introduce new The issue of employers’ continuing use of agency workers
grades which were not agreed under harmonisation
arose, and a good point was made that since LOROL has pro-
(which pretty clearly shows that their commitment to
vided them with the same uniforms, but a much poorer stan-
that document is only when it suits them!); the RMT
have provisionally agreed this so long as there is no dard of training (on average three to four days for agency staff
on-train working. So all members should immediately rather than the three to four weeks given to employees), this
make their Rep or local Officer aware if they know of can get regular staff into confrontational situations with the
any Meteor staff doing on train work. public. For example, if an agency worker has misinformed or
poorly treated a passenger, the passenger may ‘take it out’ on
Invitations were received to the RMT Political School
6-11 July 2008 in Doncaster. Guest speakers and the the next staff member they see, assuming they are the same.
RMT Parliamentary Group will be there speaking on Bro. Arnold Randall made a similar point regarding the
various topics of interest to trade Unionists, such as ‘Magenta’ Revenue Protection agency used by Silverlink/
international solidarity, the European Union, Political LOROL. Management have called this– in the words of a LOROL
Parties, the far right, and local campaigning. There Customer Services Manager spoken to by Bro. Randall- a
are only 12 places available so anyone who wants to
‘quick-fix’. In this case, to ‘fix’ the fact that they need to ‘staff’
attend– and definitely can! -should contact the
previously-unstaffed stations to fulfil their contract with TfL
Branch Secretary on 07940340128 ASAP.
which they cannot do with existing staff. It was suggested that
We were informed that Network Rail Op’s , Customer perhaps the company– like so many TOC’s– should be concen-
Service, Project, and Engineering staff may shortly be trating on recruiting well-trained, professional, full-time, and
in dispute over rates of pay and conditions ; and in
directly-employed staff rather than resorting to ’quick-fixes’
Lincoln, Signallers are to strike in support of a col-
which just so happen to be ‘on the cheap’ too. Which means
league’s treatment and to defend PT&R agreements,
so watch this space! that TfL is happy because the franchise obligations are being
met; LOROL’s bean-counters are happy; the only losers are the
A complete list of all the secretary’s correspon-
staff whose professionalism and conditions are being eroded
dence received is available at every Branch
Meeting or by emailing the secretary at: and the long-suffering travelling public who are getting half a
eastlondonrail@rmt.org.uk service.
2
NEXT MEETING: THURSDAY 20th MARCH 2008—RAILWAY TAVERN, ANGEL LANE, STRATFORD–
18.30 HOURS. PHONE 07940 340 128 FOR DETAILS OR EMAIL eastlondonrail@rmt.org.uk

3. 0626 EAST LONDON RAIL– BRANCH NEWS FEBRUARY 2008
Continuing with Revenue Protection issues, Bro Randall said they are still chasing their claim for a Time+¾ Sunday
rate, on account that the existing Time+½ was never agreed or written down (no document even now exists) and
therefore never superseded the original, higher, rate. Bro Wallis said that ticket issuing facilities have been re-
moved from RPI’s (agency and in-house) and Guards. This seriously reduces the number of options available to
RPI’s and leaves them with very little discretion– and such discretion is an integral part of following the Inspectors’
Handbook. It was noted that the company must have far more faith in the infallibility of their Oyster equipment
than experience suggests it deserves… If RPI’s are unable to issue tickets and passengers are unable to touch-in or
out, presumably they will deducted five pounds and risk a Penalty Fare: a situation which is as bizarre as it is pos-
sible.
Regarding ‘Magenta’ agency staff, LOROL claim they are committed to bringing these posts in-house; the Branch
agreed that if this was not resolved by the 22nd March 2008, a resolution would be proposed to take action on this
issue of fundamental importance.
Whereas Revenue staff used to work under the auspices of the Railway Act 1994 and associated legislation, now
they also issue Penalty Fares under TfL statutes too (e.g., the Greater London Authority Act 1999) but so far with-
out the necessary training in the new regulations. We have been unable as yet to ascertain how, if National Rail
Conditions of Carriage apply on LOROL services, how can TfL’s regulations run parallel? These are things that
LOROL management need to explain as without clarity there will be an increased risk of confrontation.
Messing facilities at these newly staffed stations are also outrageously limited for the number of people now ex-
pected to use them. For example– no hot water at many stations, and one example was given where, the micro-
wave being switched on. it blew the power supply! And at Wanstead Park there are no lights working in the toilet
so a hand-held torch is required by users; likewise, the staff had to have their own whip-round in order to buy a
heater! These are almost Monty Python-style situations which would probably be funny if they were not so serious
by showing the contempt with which staff (both new and old) are held in by LOROL management.
A risk assessment was carried out on the GOB line on 21st January, as well as the above lack of messing facilities,
there was a lack of passenger information on ticket issuing facilities, and the Portocabins in use either are or will be
a health & Safety risk; Bro. Randall to raise this with management. Along with questions over the limited staff
travel facilities available and the shoddy uniforms, Bro Randall also raised the fact that the GOB and North
London Line needs Local Reps urgently– anyone interested should contact him 07961257608.
LIVERPOOL STREET GATELINE STAFF
The Branch has managed to obtain a copy of the Automatic
Gateline Safety Case which the Company for some years now
a
have been prevaricating on discussing (at at times, even deny-
ing its existence!). The Branch feels this can only be that if no-
TICKETS £18–
one knows what is in the safety Case, LER cannot then be
FREE BAR
BUFFET proved to be in breach of it. Your Branch and Local Officers
MUSIC and Local Reps will be going through this document with a fine
GUEST toothcomb, and any breaches will be automatically dealt with
SPEAKERS
at a higher level of this union. The Branch has already had
many reports– and complaints– about staffing levels on the
gateline; the frequently changing rosters; use of badly-trained
Agency staff; and the general profit-above-safety culture which
pervades throughout the running of this department. On the
latter issue (one of the most important) the main point is that
according to the safety case, if a number of the gates are out
of use, the whole array must be opened to prevent overcrowd-
CONTACT THE BRANCH SECRETARY FOR TICKETS: ing and congestion. This is regularly over-ruled by local man-
ED SHINE– 07940340128; EMAIL eastlondonrail@rmt.org.uk agement. Rest assured, these matters are being taken further.
3
NEXT MEETING: THURSDAY 20th MARCH 2008—RAILWAY TAVERN, ANGEL LANE, STRATFORD–
18.30 HOURS. PHONE 07940 340 128 FOR DETAILS OR EMAIL eastlondonrail@rmt.org.uk

4. 0626 EAST LONDON RAIL– BRANCH NEWS FEBRUARY 2008
‘one’ RE-BRANDING ~ AGENCY
STAFF ~ RPI PROMOTION ~
LIVERPOL STREET GATELINE
THE WEEK AFTER THIS BRANCH MEETING direct attack on our members’ right show their
sees the ‘launch’ of National Express’ re-branded ‘one’ franchise as membership with pride. NXEA now insist that
‘National Express East Anglia’, an exercise, in the view of the RMT lanyards (neck-cords for I.D. badges,
Branch, in cosmetic surgery if ever there was one. As usual in such whistles etc.) are not to be worn; many mem-
things there is plenty of money to be spent on re-liverying trains bers of staff seem to object to advertising a
and changing sign posts etc; but the Branch wondered whether the bus company on their shoulders and as such
same liberal spending would be shown when it came to dealing with very few lanyards of any design are now
pay claims and improvement in staff conditions? It was considered, worn… however there has been an explosion in
of course, unlikely, and demonstrates the poverty of privatisation: the number of key rings, tie-clips, and badges
the only ‘job for life’ left on the railway nowadays appears to be for on show. East London Rail Branch congratu-
Uniform designers and train decorators who are guaranteed work lates all members on their refusal to be told
every few years purely in order to replace what they did a few years how they can show off their membership of
before! In any other business of course this would be considered this proud Union. Well done. It was also pro-
madness; but welcome to Railway Wonderland and keep an eye out posed that research is done into the feasibility
for a new board of directors… including the March Hare, a Mad Hat- of producing cravat-clips for our female mem-
ter, and probably a Humpty Dumpty or two there as well! bers.
On a more serious note, the new uniform regulations– which funnily The company have demonstrated time and
enough have not been agreed or negotiated with this Union– are a time again how they will lie to this Union and
NEXT BRANCH MEETING our’ members and will ride roughshod over
agreements. So far they have not introduced
the NVQ Qualification which should be the
right of all members who wish to progress
themselves, and incidentally a requirement for
promotion, under the so-called
‘harmonisation’. And although keen enough to
create a new grade at their proposed Cam-
bridge Revenue Protection depot that was NOT
agreed under harmonisation and would have
created a lower starting rate for Revenue staff,
they have consistently refused– and seem
proud of their refusal– to adhere to what they
agreed in introducing the Level Two RPI Grade
which would be a seamless promotion struc-
ture. They are of course happy to have the
duties of this grade carried out by Level one
RPI’s at the lower rate. The only grades above
RPI’s as we speak are Team Leader and then
Prosecutions Officer (a managerial post), ef-
fectively a denial of prospects (as there are an
extremely limited number of these positions.
Likewise it can be argued that staff have been
recruited/ retained on false pretences and the
promise of promotion which does not exist.
Promotion prospects for RPI’s are thus slim as
in theory to be promoted they must do an
NVQ course which is NOT offered in order to
reach a Grade which does NOT exist! This is
4
hypocrisy and a breach of faith and will be dis-
cussed in depth at next months’ meeting.