{"id":28547,"date":"2021-04-23T10:28:43","date_gmt":"2021-04-23T09:28:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=28547"},"modified":"2021-04-23T13:03:21","modified_gmt":"2021-04-23T12:03:21","slug":"no-remote-sign-on-full-stop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=28547","title":{"rendered":"\u00e2\u20ac\u0098No remote sign on. Full stop\u00e2\u20ac\u2122"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

London bus operator Metroline has until 10 May to permanently drop its controversial \u00e2\u20ac\u0098remote sign on\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 policy \u00e2\u20ac\u201c or it will face a summer of strikes, Unite warned today (Friday 23 April).<\/p>\n

Unite said if Metroline dug in its heels, it would face a rolling programme of strikes by over 4,000 bus drivers which would seriously disrupt its services in north and west London. At present, the dates for strike action are being kept under wraps.<\/p>\n

Unite has health and safety concerns about this policy for its members and also the travelling public.<\/p>\n

London\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Mayor Sadiq Khan has instructed the bosses at Transport for London (TfL) to introduce an immediate moratorium, which will not be lifted until detailed research into \u00e2\u20ac\u0098remote sign on\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 is completed. Metroline\u00c2\u00a0has stated it is only pausing the introduction of \u00e2\u20ac\u0098remote sign-on\u00e2\u20ac\u2122.<\/p>\n

A total of 96 per cent of Metroline West\u00c2\u00a0and\u00c2\u00a097 per cent of Metroline\u00c2\u00a0Travel\u00c2\u00a0members have voted for strike action on Metroline routes. The company employs about 16 per cent of all bus drivers in the capital.<\/p>\n

Unite regional officer Mary Summers said that Metroline bosses were \u00e2\u20ac\u0098drinking in the last chance saloon\u00e2\u20ac\u2122, as the union had a massive mandate from its members for strike action.<\/p>\n

In a letter to Metroline\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s managing director Stephen Harris, Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Mary Summers said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bMy purpose in writing to you now is to give the opportunity to the employer to reconsider its position prior to the union issuing notice for industrial action.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe are, of course, aware of the moratorium. We have seen the terms under which this is to be conducted. Therefore and for clarity, let me make it very clear – we are not asking for a temporary suspension of implementation. Our members have made clear that they do not want remote sign on \u00e2\u20ac\u201c full stop.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

She added, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe are asking that the employer now confirms that \u00e2\u20ac\u0098remote sign on\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 will not be implemented. This is what is required to prevent industrial action. We will need to have this confirmed by the employer by 10 May.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0098Remote sign-on\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 means\u00c2\u00a0drivers do\u00c2\u00a0not report to a depot, but meet their bus at an alternative\u00c2\u00a0location, such as a bus stop. It forces\u00c2\u00a0drivers to start work away from the depot, reducing costs and boosting the company’s profits. The policy raises concerns over lack of toilets and canteens; increased driving hours; and waiting for the bus in unpredictable weather.<\/p>\n

Unite has also said there is no benefit to passengers as \u00e2\u20ac\u0098remote sign on\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 could well cause disruption to services used by the hundreds of thousands\u00c2\u00a0of people who use buses every day\u00c2\u00a0to get to work and school.<\/p>\n

By Shaun Noble <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

London bus operator Metroline has until 10 May to permanently drop its controversial \u00e2\u20ac\u0098remote sign on\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 policy \u00e2\u20ac\u201c or it will face a summer of strikes, Unite warned today (Friday 23 April).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19110,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[176,211,202,1404],"wps_subtitle":"Metroline warned to jettison London \u00e2\u20ac\u0098remote sign on\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c or face summer of strikes","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28547"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28547"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28547\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28549,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28547\/revisions\/28549"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}