OEP: Good news to report on this one.

Checking signals following a SPAD then carrying on: we have argued all along that this proposal teaches drivers bad habits and would lead to drivers who were on final warnings covering up and not reporting SPADs. Strzelecki agreed with the unions and ordered the withdrawal of this unsafe proposal immediately. This is actually the 2nd time that the Operational Standards team have tried to get this change through. They first raised it 18 months ago and Strzelecki kicked it out then also, for the same reasons, it is unsafe. What are the chances of it coming back again?

Detraining of stalled train’s with no comms: This proposal would have seen train driver, with no comms, stalled in tunnels, detraining after 30 minutes with no assistance from station staff. Drivers would have been responsible for getting up to 1000 passengers off the train, on their own (children, people with pushchairs, people in wheelchairs, people who didn’t speak English) and walking them to the next station. Strzelecki agreed with the unions that this was a ‘dog’s dinner’ and ordered that this unsafe proposal was withdrawn.

Carrying passengers over shunt signals: There were 3 parts to this proposal but the union’s biggest concern was drivers taking passengers into sidings at terminus stations. Unions argued that this would increase the risk of assault to our members. The proposal was also seen as a way for LU to get sick passengers who were incapacitated off the running lines by sending them into siding to await medical assistance. What a joke. Strzelecki agreed and ordered that this CAP be re-written and re-presented at the beginning of the consultative process with driver taking passengers into sidings element removed. Another unsafe proposal kyboshed.

Driver’s self-dispatching at Cat ‘A’ platforms with defective OPO: the unions pointed out the folly of using this method at busy locations across the combine. The problem we had is that on the Bakerloo Line and District Lines running over Network Rail, there is a similar process in operation for the first train only; afterwards the train non-stops or we have assisted dispatch. This proposal would have given LU freedom to use self-dispatch at Cat ‘A’ platforms train after train after train. Again, Strzelecki agreed with the unions that this method of work was wholly unsafe and ordered that the CAP be re-written and re-presented at the beginning of the consultative process with only the first train self-dispatching and assisted dispatch or no-stopping afterwards. There is no guarantee that we will accept even this watered down version but we will wait to see the CAP when it is re-written

The meeting run over by 2 hours due to the length of the arguments. We were discussing ‘reversing blind after over-runs’ when the meeting ended. We feel we were winning this argument also. The meeting will be reconvened within the next 3 weeks.

Trip-cock Testing:

LU appear to have introduced a document covering the provision of trip-cock testing. 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.

At no time have the Safety Council every been consulted on this very dangerous practise. There is no paperwork, it has just appeared. Rubber stamped by the same people who tried to bring you the Operational Effectiveness Programme. As far as the RMT are concerned, trip-cocks must be tested every trip regardless of other circumstances. We have passed this matter on to our Head Office to take up as a matter of urgency at the highest level of LU but we also need an urgent discussion amongst ourselves to see where we go from here.

Safety Amnesty during Industrial Action: We currently have a number of concerns about the safe operation of the railway. As a result of the industrial action and lack of staff, management are having to apply for, and usually obtaining, concessions to how we normally run the railway.

On the Met Line, concessions have been obtained removing the requirement to test the trip-cocks on out stabled trains; on the District Line, concessions have been obtained relaxing the requirement of 14 day exam of trains. These changes could, in our opinion, compromise the safety of the system. This bad practise is sure to be rolled out more often over the coming months.

Training Issues:

Five separate meetings taken place so far to discuss Operational Learning’s proposed approach to improve driver training. Main issues raised so far include : - Training for new recruits will be reduced from the current  17 weeks ( minus 2 weeks A/L) to 12 weeks ( minus 1 week A/L ) despite the fact that operational learning admit the quality of driver being produced is far from perfect. The proposal to reduce the training has been referred to the Comp Assurance JWP for discussion. - The road handling training will consist of 70 hours handle turning and each trainee will not have more than four Instructor Operators during that period. - Operational learning  have aspirations to identify best practice for Instructor Operators and strive for a consistent approach to I/Op training. - Not all I/Op’s are licensed to carry out hiking and there still remains a culture of I/Op’s specialising in certain aspects of training i.e. stock, classroom etc. We believe that all I/Op’s should be able to deliver the same quality training to trainees. - Trainee drivers will be exposed to 4 hours continuous driving as part of initial training, prior to job training, in order for them to opt out if not suited. - Stock training will consist of POTE ( principles of train equipment ) and the new S stock will be used for this. Assessments will be undertaken on the trainees learning. The POTE will not go into too much detail as the majority of new train drivers will be going to non S stock lines and therefore the training will be irrelevant. - Trainees will be informed of the importance of correct posture in order to avoid back complaints at a later date. - Trainees will be sent information packs prior to starting training and optional to review paperwork prior to starting assessments. - Proposal that drivers sit spare on their initial driving day. - I/Op’s must be given flexibility with individuals training requirements during the final week of training. - Not all routes will be practically driven over and audio visuals/ simulators will be utilised to support training. Any new driver who’s unsure of any particular route, once passed out, still has the option of a pilot man to conduct them over the route.