Campaigning for higher health and safety standards at work, and opposing the employers' shortcuts
TUBE UNION RMT confirmed this morning that London Underground fleet maintenance staff have voted by 88% in favour of industrial action short of a strike over safety-critical cuts that have ripped up tube maintenance schedules leaving brakes and other equipment in a lethal state of disrepair.
The following letter was put on the noticeboards at Elephant & Castle by, Brian Munro, newly appointed and co-opted health and safety rep:
To: All drivers, Elephant & Castle Dear Brother / Sister HEALTH & SAFETY REP - ELEPHANT & CASTLE
Following the suspension of Eamonn Lynch from London Underground premises the Bakerloo Branch agreed that I would stand in as the health & safety rep on an interim basis. RMT head office duly informed LUL on September 2nd. Unfortunately management refused to recognize the RMT’s appointment.
AS WORKERS across London Underground prepare for a further 24 hour strike over safe staffing levels starting this Sunday evening, RMT have today released pictures of worn-away brake blocks on trains that with finance-driven maintenance changes would be forced into service, a move that the union says demonstrate that financial cuts are ripping to shreds safety and maintenance schedules with lethal consequences for passengers and staff alike.
OEP: Good news to report on this one.
LU management have produced a document which waters down safety checks for trains. Your reps believe that this is a disaster waiting to happen. The document states that during special circumstances, special timetable operation, abnormal service patterns, failure of trip-cock testers, there is no requirement to test trip-cocks every trip. Every 48 hours or so seems good enough for LU.
As far as RMT is concerned, trip-cocks must be tested every trip regardless of other circumstances.
Click here for a useful guide to what the law say about stress at work.
Some good news for a change! Over the past 6 months the Trains Safety Council have been reporting on LU’s proposal to introduce a series of safety critical changes to the role of driver, the Operational Effectiveness Programme. These have included: reversing 'blind' back into a platforms after an over-run, drivers self-dispatching at category ‘A’ platforms with defective OPO, checking signal aspect after SPAD and carrying on etc.
The strike on Tuesday September 7 was magnificently supported by Train and Station RMT members.
The few and infrequent services that did run on the Bakerloo Line offered little by way of “a world class tube service.” The LU managers supposedly running the railway also decided to throw out tried and tested safety mechanisms put in place following the Kings Cross fire disaster.
Tube union RMT confirmed this morning that support for strike action amongst both TSSA and RMT members’ remains rock solid as the two unions continue their fight for tube safety and safe staffing levels.
RMT are also filing reports this morning with the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) detailing clear breaches of safety regulations:
TUBE UNION RMT today accused London Underground of “playing fast and loose” with safety in the run up to strike action starting later today as the union revealed that tube management have issued a call volunteers to try and run services regardless of whether they have the necessary Operational Licences.