News, reports and information for London Underground train drivers
Attached is the October edition of 'RMT Stratford North Greenwich News' which is complied for train drivers in these locations.
We note the correspondence from London Underground Ltd dated 13 September and 1 October 2013, and the discussion of this item at the Company Council meeting on 26 September 2013. This correspondence confirms that the LUL/ASLEF agreement traded changes to the Train Operators Resourcing Agreement (TOPRA) for the £350 bonus for working on Boxing Day.
This is our Council Of Executive Member Janine Booth's report to the regional Council meeting for September. This is just a brief overview - many of the items will be on this site, but you can find out more by attending regional council held on the last Thursday of each month at the Exmouth Arms near Euston Station. EQUALITIES REPORT 
Women • Advisory Committee meeting today; verbal report to be given
You may find it useful to read, should you be concerned about carrying out a job or particular task, and want to know the procedure for refusing to work on safety grounds.
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 signed an agreement to extend the validity of our ballot mandate. We therefore suspend the strike action due to start at 2100 today (24 September 2013) and conclude at 0300 tomorrow (25 September 2013).
We affirm that our strike action due to commence on 8 October 2013 is not suspended, and remains in place. We instruct the General Secretary to provide all necessary support and advice to members taking part in this industrial action.
We note that London Underground Ltd has signed an agreement to extend the validity of our ballot mandate. We therefore suspend the strike action due to start at 2100 today (24 September 2013) and conclude at 0300 tomorrow (25 September 2013).
We affirm that our strike action due to commence on 8 October 2013 is not suspended, and remains in place. We instruct the General Secretary to provide all necessary support and advice to members taking part in this industrial action.
The underground railway (Metro) in Finland's capital city Helsinki is due to go 'driverless' in 2016. I discussed this with Finnish trade unionists Jussi and Satu, and heard a story that has important lessons for London Underground workers and passengers trying to prevent the same calamity happening in London.
The proposal to introduce driverless operation on the Helsinki Metro was first raised in 2007. The trade unions opposed it (note that as city council employees, the Metro workers are members of the public sector trade union rather than a transport union).
We note that ASLEF has resolved its dispute with London Underground Ltd, reaching a settlement that drivers who work on Boxing Day will receive a £350 payment and that this is financed through amendments to the Train Operators Resourcing Agreement (TOPRA). These amendments cause some detriment to drivers, particularly newer drivers, who may find themselves unable to move to the depot of their choice for a longer period of time. RMT is not party to this agreement, and does not accept that working conditions should be sold in this way.
We note the correspondence from London Underground Ltd responding to the seriousissues raised by our representatives in this dispute. We instruct the lead officer to obtain the views on our Central line drivers’ representatives on this response, and instruct the General Secretary to place a report of these views in front of us.