Comrades in the RMT union have asked us to circulate these suggested wordings.
This [body] notes:
1. The Tories’ abolition, from 2018, of the central government operating grant to Transport for London (TfL), making TfL the only transport system of its type not to receive regular state funding for its operations.
2. That TfL relies on fare revenue for around 75% of its income, compared to less than 40% for equivalent transport systems in New York and Paris.
3. That the short-term financial bailouts the government has paid to TfL throughout the pandemic have come with numerous strings attached, including that TfL raise fares, identify opportunities for staffing cuts, and attack staff terms and conditions, including the TfL staff pension scheme.
4. That London Underground (a wholly-owned subsidiary of TfL) has announced plans to cut up to 600 jobs from Tube stations across London [including: name local stations if possible].
5. That members of the RMT, the majority union amongst LU workers, have voted by a 95% majority for industrial action to defend jobs, conditions, and pensions; ASLEF has also voted for industrial action.
6. That RMT driver members on the Central and Victoria lines are currently striking on Friday and Saturday nights until June, to demand the reinstatement of hundreds of part-time driver positions which have already been slashed.
This [body] believes that:
1. adequately-funded, safe, accessible public transport is a social good, and is essential to reducing pollution and protecting the environment;
2. it is not right to make transport workers, who have worked throughout the pandemic, to pay for TfL’s funding crisis with cuts to jobs and terms and conditions;.
3. neither is is right to make working-class Londoners and passengers pay for TfL’s funding crisis through cuts to services or rises in already-expensive fares;
This [body] calls for:
1. public transport to be socially provided and publicly funded, rather than being forced to be “self-financing” by heavy reliance on fare revenue.
2. the Labour administration in City Hall to stand with workers and communities to tell central government to restore regular funding to TfL.
This [body] resolves to:
1. support London Underground workers in their struggles to defend jobs and conditions.
2. write to the RMT London Transport Regional Council and relevant bodies of other TfL/LU unions to convey this support.
3. mobilise our members to support LU workers’ picket lines.
4. to approach LU unions and other local labour movement bodies to discuss a joint protest at [local station] to oppose plans to cut station jobs.
This [body] notes:
1. The outsourcing of cleaning on Transport for London (TfL) and London Underground (LU) to the private company ABM Ltd. This cleaning contract is one of the largest outsourced cleaning contracts in Europe, employing over 2,000 cleaners.
2. That although TfL/LU cleaners are paid the London Living Wage, unlikely directly employed LU staff they have no contractual sick pay and no travel passes, despite being as much a part of the permanent, core workforce as station staff, drivers, and others.
3. The TfL cleaning contract with ABM expires in September 2022 and will likely soon be put out to tender.
This [body] further notes:
1. Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan is on record, in an LBC interview from August 2021, as saying that he “will consider an in-house option” when the contract is up for renewal.
2. The United Voices of the World union has recently pursued a successful legal claim arguing that the practise of outsourcing represents an indirect form of racial and gender discrimination, as it leads to situations in which outsourced workforce, with a higher proportion of BAME and women workers than the directly-employed workforce, has substantially worse terms and conditions. Other unions, including PCS and RMT, are preparing similar legal claims.
3. The RMT’s ongoing campaign for full contractual sick pay, staff travel passes, and direct employment for TfL/LU cleaners.
This [body] believes:
1. It is scandalous that a transport authority overseen by a Labour administration continues the exploitative and discriminatory practise of outsourcing.
2. The TfL/LU cleaning contract must be brought in-house, with cleaners guaranteed the same terms and conditions as other TfL/LU workers, including sick pay, travel passes, and access to the TfL staff pension scheme.
This [body] resolves:
1. To write to the RMT London Transport Regional Council to express our support for their campaign.
2. To write to the City Hall Labour Group and the Mayor’s office to convey this position.
3. To contact the RMT and other local labour movement bodies to propose a demonstration at City Hall to demand the in-housing of the TfL cleaning contract.