Dear Colleague

RMT members have been expressing their concerns regarding possible violent demonstrations in the capital over the coming week in relation to the G20 summit and I am writing to all employers and the British Transport Police on your behalf. It has been suggested in some parts of the national press that some of these demonstrations may be violent in nature. It is highly possible that the transport infrastructure could well be targeted as part of these demonstrations.

I have asked employers and the British Transport Police to advise the RMT as a matter of urgency of the steps they will take to ensure the safety of all staff and protect the security of the infrastructure. I am advising you of your rights and responsibilities under ‘serious and imminent danger’ as laid out in the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (MHSW). Under Regulation 8(1) employers have a duty to establish procedures to be followed in the event of serious and imminent danger to persons at work and such procedures are sometimes known as Worksafe Procedures.

Should you, as an individual, genuinely feel that as part of your duties you are placing yourself in serious or imminent danger or that your safety is threatened owing to the demonstrations, then you should apply the policy as required by the MHSW. If you cannot reasonably avert the danger yourself, you are entitled to take yourself and others, including members of the public, away from the harm.

Yours sincerely Bob Crow