ELECTRICIANS employed by EDF Energy working on the London Underground as “tester” technicians staged the first of two 36-hours strikes last Monday in a dispute over pay.
The technicians, who are responsible for finding and fixing faults on the network, are members of the RMT transport union, which reported the strike as “100 per cent solid”.
And it warned that if employer EDF Energy Powerlink is to avoid a second strike in two weeks’ time the company should negotiate seriously over their claim for pay parity with non-shift colleagues.
The union also raised concerns that managers, some of whom have not worked “on the tools” for many years, were being left to deal with power-supply faults on dozens of different types of high-voltage equipment involving currents of up to 22,000 volts.
The strike, by 25 highly skilled technicians who voted for action by margins of more than ten to one, began at 17:59 on Sunday night (16th November) and finished at 07:59 on Tuesday 18th November. A ban on working beyond scheduled duties also began on Sunday night.
“Our members have shown EDF Energy Powerlink very clearly how they feel about their claim for pay parity, and it is time for EDF to get off its high horse and talk,” RMT general secretary Bob Crow said.
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