RECRUITMENT
Rail agency boss stopped in her tracks
The director of a recruitment firm supplying rail workers has been banned from running an employment agency for seven years following action taken by the Employment Agency Standards inspectorate.
The hearing at Norwich Employment Tribunal follows an investigation by the EAS, which is part of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
The tribunal heard how Christine Lewiss, from Trimmingham near Norwich, withheld wages from workers totalling over £11,000. The offences were committed by two companies she operated, Rail Recruit UK Ltd and Rail Recruit UK Projects Ltd.
The tribunal banned Ms Lewiss from running or being concerned with the running of an employment agency or employment business for seven years.
EAS brought the case having successfully prosecuted Ms Lewiss in June 2009 at Great Yarmouth magistrates court. This resulted in her being ordered to pay back withheld wages as well as £1,000 costs.
Edward Davey, the minister responsible for employment relations, said: “This verdict should act as a warning signal to agencies who exploit their workers. We will take action against rogue recruiters in Norfolk, and across the country, who flout the law and undermine the vast majority of agencies who play fairly”.
EAS brought this case under the Employment Agencies Act 1973.
90 rtm
account means we will have some 3,000 staff at our Derby site, which in turn means that around 8,000 jobs within our supply chain are also being supported.”
Leader of Derby City Council, Harvey Jennings, said: “The contracts being undertaken by Bombardier for London are bringing around £3bn into the East Midlands economy.
“Many people have said that London receives more than its fair share of investment but this proves that investment in London benefits other regions and helps sustain the UK’s
manufacturing industry.” TfL is in the process of a multi- billion pound upgrade of the capital’s underground and rail network. This is key to the future growth and recovery of the entire country, given the wide-ranging economic benefits that will be delivered.
The Tube upgrades which will deliver faster, more frequent and more reliable train services. Many of the Tube’s assets are in urgent need of replacement, and 40 per cent of Tube trains have exceeded their intended life span.
The upgrade is progressing well
- the first of the Victoria line’s new trains entered passenger service in July 2009 and nine others have since followed, with more being delivered all the time, while the first of the new air-conditioned, walk-through ‘s-stock’ trains for the sub surface (Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan) lines entered passenger service on 2 August 2010.
In 2009/10, London
Underground carried more than one billion passengers for the fourth year in succession, almost as many as the entire National Rail network.
Network Rail secures changes to maintenance as RMT votes to settle dispute
N
etwork Rail’s dispute with the RMT over changes to Network
Rail’s maintenance function which threatened a national railway strike earlier this year has now been resolved.
The RMT has claimed that it has secured a 7% pay increase whilst Network Rail has said that with the greater flexibility it will have in how it deploys its people; the company will save £1m a week and unlock the potential to run even more trains on the network. This is paid for in productivity improvements.
Network Rail currently employs around 16,500 people to maintain the railway but is increasing productivity through improved technology and a newer asset base - track, signalling systems and power supplies. This combination of new infrastructure which needs less maintenance, together with the elimination of over-manning and outdated working practices, is allowing the company to reduce its employee numbers and costs while still maintaining a safe and efficient railway.
Around 1,000 people have
already left, taking voluntary severance in the last six months. The voluntary severance scheme remains open. Those who stay for the long-term will be part of a flexible and more skilled workforce who can deliver better value for money.
When the new organisation structure is finalised there will be around 1,800 people currently working in maintenance who will be attached to new work delivery units. These will compete with outside contractors for capital expenditure projects. This will have the further benefit of providing a benchmark for capital project costs.
Network Rail inherited dozens and dozens of separate terms and conditions throughout its maintenance function. Often these dated back decades and severely restricted the company’s ability to use its human resource most cost-effectively. The new settlement simplifies and standardises these terms and conditions. Significantly, Network Rail will have flexibility over the sizes of teams for specific tasks and the ability to deploy its people elsewhere on the same route.
There will be a significant increase in weekend and night- time working. For passengers, this will mean less disruption and more train services running.
For Network Rail, by paying our people only when they can have safe access to work on the track, this will give the company the ability to more effectively plan maintenance at times when trains are not running and achieve major cost savings.
Network Rail is asking its maintenance workers to fundamentally alter the way they work and they will have to work more anti-social hours. To recognise this, a one-off taxable payment of £2,000 will be made to maintenance workers.
In addition, if Network Rail secures a national productivity increase of 5% in maintenance it will trigger a 1% increase to basic rates of pay. A further 1% will be triggered if Network Rail secures a further 5% maintenance productivity gain, nationally, on the proviso that each delivery unit has achieved at least a 5% increase as well.
Oct/Nov 10
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