A trade union has ordered frontline staff not to load railcard discounts onto London Overground passengers’ Oyster cards.
The RMT union said the move was because “errors” by members had led to “disciplinary action”.
The move by the RMT – seen as one of the
more militant unions – will see passengers forced to pay higher off-peak fares unless they travel to stations not on the London Overground.
It comes after warnings that the UK faces a “summer of discontent” from unions following the
long-running bin strike in Birmingham that has left rubbish piled high on the city’s streets.
Labour offered billions of pounds worth of pay rises to unionised public sector workers last year, forcing Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, to raise taxes in the Autumn Budget.
A copy of
the RMT London Overground branch members’ magazine, called Orange Is The New Black, revealed how the ban on loading discounts came about.
“We are aware that some members, including agency colleagues, have been performing this task in isolation. Unfortunately, some have faced disciplinary action for errors made while carrying out a duty strongly advised against by the union,” it said. “Our stance remains clear: this is not part of the roles we do.”
It went on to claim that Arriva Rail London, the Overground operator, had told staff to “apologise and inform [passengers] that you are unable to do that activity” if asked to add discounts to Oyster cards.
This, the newsletter said, only came about following pressure from RMT shop stewards who said it was not part of unionised staff’s jobs to help passengers obtain discounts, although a company spokesman denied that such an instruction had been given.
Rail union militancy has soared
Adding Railcard discounts to an Oyster card is only possible if a staff member does it for you, according to the Transport for London (TfL) website. Railcards, such as Two Together or the Network Railcard, typically offer a one-third discount that applies to off-peak train travel.
They can be loaded onto an Oyster card so the discount is applied to pay-as-you-go daily fare caps as well as Oyster Travelcard fares.
A spokesman for Arriva Rail London said: “London Overground employees have not been instructed to avoid applying discounts to Oyster cards. It has been acknowledged that this is not part of their job description, therefore we do not expect or request that colleagues undertake this task.
“We know that several colleagues are willing to perform this task for the benefit of our customers. We are therefore making training available for colleagues who wish to undertake this task at certain locations.”
Rail union militancy has soared in the past few years, with the Government handing train workers 15 per cent pay rises last summer in an effort to quell ongoing strikes.
That move backfired after train drivers, typically the highest paid staff in the industry, banked the backdated pay increases and stopped accepting overtime shifts, triggering cancellations over the winter.
Hull Trains has been beset by strikes organised by Aslef, the drivers’ union, after one of its members was sacked for falling asleep while driving 125mph long distance services. Internal letters seen by The Telegraph revealed that the individual had a history of doing so, and had been supported by bosses previously.
Although a 56-day strike was called by Aslef over the sacking, the effect has been confined to minor disruption to the company’s timetables.
The RMT did not respond to a request for comment.
