London Underground Ltd

Latest Newsletter from RMT Stations Functional Reps

Everyone knows that London Underground is woefully inaccessible to disabled people and others. A major programme of physical improvements to stations would increase access and create jobs. But access also means staff.

For example, RMT supports the continuing use of boarding ramps to enable access for mobility-impaired passengers to London Underground trains. This must be properly risk-assessed and have a safe and effective system of work, and requires adequate numbers of staff on every station to use the ramps.

TUBE DRIVERS involved in a five week dispute over staff and passenger safety on the Bakerloo Line will take their campaign out onto the streets this Friday as the union ramps up public support and pressure on London Underground.

The drivers and their supporters will be outside Queens Park station from 7.30am to 9.00am this Friday – 22ndFebruary – demanding an end to the spin and lies from LUL and serious talks to resolve the bitter dispute which continues to disrupt Bakerloo Line services on a daily basis despite a barrage of misinformation from Transport for London.

TUBE DRIVERS involved in a five week dispute over staff and passenger safety on the Bakerloo Line will take their campaign out onto the streets this Friday as the union ramps up public support and pressure on London Underground.

The drivers and their supporters will be outside Queens Park station from 7.30am to 9.00am this Friday – 22ndFebruary – demanding an end to the spin and lies from LUL and serious talks to resolve the bitter dispute which continues to disrupt Bakerloo Line services on a daily basis despite a barrage of misinformation from Transport for London.

We note the report from our Regional Organiser, and that LUL has agreed to place telephones at 60m intervals through the relevant section of the Jubilee line during the tunnel relining, to enable the discharge of traction current in an emergency. This is similar to the arrangement on the Heathrow loop, and is acceptable to our representatives.

We note the report from our Regional Organiser. We also note that a further meeting is to take place on 28 February, and instruct the General Secretary to place a report of this meeting in front of us.

London Transport Regional Council and branches to be advised.

We note the correspondence from London Underground Ltd, and note that pressure applied by this union appears to be making the company take this matter more seriously.

However, we do not accept that mitigations make this situation safe or acceptable, and insist on it being rectified.

Having spoken with our representative, we note that Thales is due to carry out a new ‘software drop’ over the first weekend in March. If this does not resolve the problem to the satisfaction of our representative, we will ballot our members for industrial action.

London Underground wants Bakerloo line drivers to drive out-of-service trains into depots and sidings without checking first that all passengers have got off the train.

This has resulted in over 3,000 passengers being carried into depots and sidings, many times more than on all other London Underground lines put together. On other lines, staff physically check the train is empty first.

Further to our decision Gww 8/1/13, we note the report from our representatives' meeting held on 25 January.

We note that London Underground's Upgrades programme has a significant impact on many of our members, including providing a pretext for LUL management to attack jobs and conditions. It is therefore essential that we mobilise all our relevant representatives to work together in unity to secure the best possible outcome for our members and for the future of London Underground.