Health and safety

RMT has sent the following circular to all the union's branches.

Dear Colleague

FIRE BRIGADES UNION (FBU) DISPUTE

The FBU have announced that a dispute between them and the Fire Service Employers will take place on Wednesday 25th September 2013 between 12:00 and 16:00. I know many of you are extremely concerned at the health and safety implications for your members, your colleagues and the travelling public should the Fire Brigades Union take strike action. RMT are fully supportive of the FBU stance in this dispute.

We note the correspondence from London Underground Ltd regarding inner inter-car barriers. We also note the appalling incident at Holland Park station during the Notting Hill Carnival, during which distressed passengers escaped from the train by breaking through these barriers.

This incident - together with others, including the escape of a boy from a train in Queens Park depot on the Bakerloo line - completely discredit LUL's claim that these barriers prevent passengers escaping from trains when the doors are closed.

We note that London Underground Ltd has advertised (internally) posts for mobile Station Supervisors covering several stations. We further note that we referred this issue to ACAS several months ago, and that LUL has finally agreed to hold discussions at ACAS, and to not fill these positions until these talks are concluded.

This is a 'red line' issue for this union; we oppose mobile station supervision and insist that every London Underground station must have a

Earlier in the year a survey of station staff was carried out about working in cold temperatures, over 700 people responded.

I’m sure we’ve all welcomed the news that London Underground is taking the issue of Thermal clothing seriously...but, can we rely on them to take it seriously enough?

RMT Regional Organiser for London Transport John Leach has been interviewed on BBC London News following reports of a 9 to 1 ballot for strike action on London Overground.

London Overground guards have voted overwhelmingly for strike action and action short of a strike in a ballot following the announcement by Transport for London of their plans to introduce 'Driver Only Operation' on the whole of the London Overground network.

Your RMT local and Tier 2 Reps have now met with management twice regarding the ‘Mexican stand off’ incidents at Mill Hill East. Senior signal engineers were also in attendance at this meeting.

These incidents occurred as Northern Line trains were routed in such a way that they were brought to stand, facing each other, on the same single line section of track.

A meeting took place on August 1st, between RMT Officials, RMT Central Line Representatives and senior LU management in an attempt to avert a ballot of all Central Line drivers due a breakdown in industrial relations on the line.

Relations between management and your industrial and safety representatives have worsened over the past 18 months or so until it has got to the stage where your union firmly believe that the Central Line management is out of control.

Senior Central Line managers seem to believe that LU policies and procedures, the Health and Safety at

We note the correspondence from London Underground Ltd and the report from our Regional Organiser. We are totally opposed to LUL’s stated intention to reduce night station supervisor cover, and introduce mobile or remote supervision of stations. We share our RO’s belief that this is an all-out attempt to de-staff and weaken our agreements for all LUL station grades, which we must resist.

From RMT General Secretary Bob Crow

The General Grades Committee has considered this matter and has taken the following decision:

We note the resolution from our Central Line East branch, which we understand is also supported by our trains representatives in Central Line West branch. We share our branches’ alarm at the deterioration of industrial relations on the Line, including abuses of procedures, safety concerns, and an authoritarian disciplinary regime.

In line with our branches’ request, we instruct the General Secretary to contact London Underground Ltd as a matter of urgency demanding a line meeting, to include all our Central line trains representatives (health & safety and industrial relations).