Metronet strike suspended after eight hours of talks

RMT: September 5 2007

STRIKE ACTION by more than 2,300 Metronet maintenance workers was suspended late last night after more than eight hours of talks between RMT, the failed company, its administrator and TfL yielded progress on the issues involved in the dispute.

The union's planned action for next Monday remains on, pending the outcome of today's pension trustees board meeting, and pending consultation with the union's reps on Friday.

"We now have in writing from the employer that the originally proposed pension-scheme rescue is withdrawn, and that a full scheme rescue will be placed before the TfL pension trustees board today, and is expected to be in place by Thursday," RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today.

"This means that our members will now actually have their pensions restored to them, which is rather different than promises from a man in an expensive suit.

"Further to the existing assurance that there will be no job losses or transfers during the period of administration, we also now have written commitments that any subsequent proposals will be subject to proper discussions through the existing negotiating machinery and the code of practice agreed at the time the PPP was introduced.

"This means that the threat of 691 job losses, tabled before Metronet's collapse and postponed by the administrator, has been withdrawn entirely.

"As a result of the detailed talks last night, the RMT executive suspended the current industrial action, although the action scheduled to begin next Monday remains on, pending the successful outcome of today's pension meeting and consultation with our reps on Friday.

"Our members are to be congratulated for their rock-solid action, and can return to work with their heads held high after sustaining their strike in the face of enormous pressure and hostile media.

"It is their unity that has given their union the strength it needed to hold its position in this difficult dispute.

"The dispute has underlined the need to bring the maintenance of London Underground back into the public sector, and that is what our members and the vast majority of Londoners want," Bob Crow said.

See also:

London Underground Resuming Service After Strike Ends

Bloomberg: Sep 05
By Brian Lysaght

London Underground, which carries 3million passengers a day, has almost resumed a full train service after a U.K. union called off a strike late yesterday.

Trains on all of the railway's 12 lines except for the Circle Line were running normally, according to a statement from Transport for London this evening.

The Rail, Maritime & Transport union ended a strike by 2,300workers over jobs and pensions that began on Sept. 3 after nearly nine hours of talks with Transport for London, the city authority that runs the railway. Union leaders will meet this week to review a pension deal hammered out by negotiators and to decide whether to proceed with a 72-hour walkout scheduled for Sept. 10.

The biggest strike in three years on the railway forced 2million daily passengers to find alternative routes to work. Buses and taxi lines remained busy today. Prime Minister Gordon Brown yesterday urged the strikers to return to work saying the dispute had caused "enormous'' trouble.

Commuters agreed. "It's a nightmare,'' said Ricky Cichon, a National Health Service senior manager, who was trying to catch a train. "They haven't thought about the travelers -- they're just thinking about themselves.''

The strikers maintain tracks, trains and signals and are employed by Metronet Rail, the largest contractor on the Underground, known as the Tube. The union is seeking guarantees of jobs and pensions after Metronet ran out of cash and collapsed in July.

Pension Rescue

The pension rescue plan agreed to by union and city negotiators was approved by the Transport for London pension trustees today, a spokesman for the agency said. Union officials meet on Sept. 7 to review the proposal and next week's strike, said Bob Crow, the union's general secretary, in an e-mailed statement.

Crow hailed the deal as meaning "our members will now actually have their pensions restored to them.'' Union members "can return to work with their heads held high after sustaining their strike in the face of enormous pressure and hostile media,'' he added.

Mayor Ken Livingstone yesterday said he had promised the union that workers won't lose "a penny'' of their pensions. Yesterday's agreement reiterated earlier assurances to the union, which should cancel next week's strike, said Hendy.

"There is absolutely no reason why this action should recommence,'' said Transport Commissioner Peter Hendy in a BBC interview, referring to the second possible walkout.

Cost of Strike

The last major strike in 2004 cost London businesses 60million pounds ($120 million) a day in lost sales and employee disruption, according to London First, a business lobby group. The organisation hasn't calculated the cost of this week's strike, spokesman Graham Capper said.

Metronet was put under the control of administrators Ernst &Young LLC on July 18. The company ran out of cash and ran up extra costs of 2 billion pounds. Transport for London has said it plans to make an offer to buy Metronet and take over its contracts for two years.

The union wants the city to absorb Metronet permanently and demanded unequivocal guarantees that whoever buys the company won't cut jobs or pensions.