Bakerloo branch

Thirty-three agency staff working on London Underground, some for as long as five years, were told just before Christmas that the contract with their agency, Trainpeople, had been ended, and that they would lose their jobs in January.

The workers had joined RMT and campaigned successfully for equal pay with permanent staff, but the contract was then terminated without warning and London Underground told them that applications for direct employment would not be considered, making a mockery of Agency Worker Regulations that are supposed to protect their rights.

That we note the result of the ballot for strikes is as follows:-

Total Votes Cast - 17
Number Voting ‘Yes’ - 17
Number Voting ‘No’ - 0
Spoilt Papers - 0

We congratulate our members on their willingness to take action and for their tireless campaigning alongside their many supporters. We instruct the General Secretary to continue to support campaigning events organised by our Bakerloo branch, and to obtain and place in front of us a report on appropriate industrial action following the branch's next meeting on Monday 4 February.

TUBE UNION RMT said today that in a ballot of staff working on London Underground’s “Trainpeople” agency contract members have voted unanimously for strike action over the termination of a deal which will dump dozens of staff on the dole and which makes a mockery of regulations which were supposed to protect the employment rights of agency staff.

From Tuesday 15th of January 2013 until further notice, RMT and ASLEF train drivers are taking action for safety.
Drivers in both Aslef and RMT unions are taking action, not over pay or hours, but because serious safety concerns have been ignored by London Underground management.
Since the introduction of a new procedure last year to clear trains of passengers before going out of service there have been thousands of incidents in which passengers have been ‘over-carried’ into sidings.

Click on the attachment to download the Bakerloo Trains news. Main story follows:

DETRAINMENT DISPUTE Report from Acas

As we move into week three of our safety dispute over LU’s unsafe detrainment process we are happy to inform drivers that our action remains solid. Drivers are to be congratulated for standing strong in the face of LU’s ambivalence to the problem.

We note the correspondence from London Underground Ltd, outlining its refusal to offer employment to the redundant Trainpeople employees, and containing a list of spurious excuses for denying the legal and moral rights of these workers.

We condemn London Underground’s refusal to offer permanent employment to people who have been working on its stations for up to five years or more

We instruct the General Secretary to:

1. continue to demand that LUL fulfil its obligations and offer employment to these workers
2. continue to support campaigning and protests in pursuit of this
   

TUBE BOSSES today stood accused of “lying through their teeth” over the effect of industrial action being taken by train drivers to protect passenger safety on the capital’s Bakerloo line.

Since January 15, Bakerloo drivers in RMT and Aslef have been physically checking that trains are empty of passengers before moving into sidings, after LUL stopped station staff checking carriages.

As we enter week two of RMT`s and ASLEF’s dispute with London Underground over their unsafe detrainment procedure we are happy to inform you that the action on the ground by drivers remains solid. Drivers are united and determined to force Bakerloo management to introduce a safe procedure for detrainment at terminus locations.

Week two of our dispute has generated a letter from Mr Lance Ramsey, the General Manger of the Bakerloo Line to drivers expressing his view that “the safety of our staff and customers is our top priority.” Let’s take a closer look at this claim.

Tube drivers on the Bakerloo Line enter second week of industrial action for safety.

Angry Bakerloo passengers have tweeted:

“Bakerloo line has been just an appalling service all week. I leave my house earlier and earlier each day and appear to get to work later!!”

“I would rather hop everywhere than have to get on the Bakerloo Line again.”

“Is there any refund procedure for continuous delays to your service? Bakerloo line is an absolute joke at the moment.”

With over 3000 passenger overcarries into the Queens Park sidings last year, culminating in the near fatality of a 12 year old boy in October, drivers are physically checking that trains are empty of passengers before moving trains into sidings.