LUL Trains

Tube Union RMT today demanded a full investigation after it was revealed that the doors opened between stations on a packed Piccadilly Line train heading towards Heathrow on Sunday afternoon. Fortunately, the driver was alerted to the fault by a signal in the cab and was able to bring the train to a halt and ensure the safety of all passengers. The seriousness of the incident is reinforced by the fact that a baby in a buggy was close to the door that partially opened at the time.

We note the report from our Regional Organiser and the correspondence from London Underground Ltd. Although the experience of the last two years has proved beyond any doubt that detrainment is only safe and effective when carried out by staff on the platform, the company appears to be preparing to make a fresh attempt to withdraw these staff. It seems again to be attempting to use some technical devices as a pretext to return to the ‘flash and dash’ procedure, which endangers passengers and is held in contempt by our members.

We note the reply from London Underground Ltd regarding inner inter-car barriers. We note that this letter does not address the request in our previous letter for an assurance that LUL has abandoned all plans to remove detrainment staff from the Central Line (or any other line) and all plans to reduce the number of staff on its stations. We do not accept that this can wait until after the Formal Investigation Report, and instruct the General Secretary to write to LUL again specifically on this matter, insisting on a reply, which is to be placed in front of us.

We note the resolution from our London Transport Regional Council and share its determination to resist any attempt to introduce driverless trains.

Accordingly, we instruct the General Secretary to:

• write to London Underground Ltd reminding the company of this union's position, and seeking a clear response as to its intentions for ordering or commissioning new train stock, specifically seeking an assurance that any new stock will include a driver's cab;
• seek information from our fleet representatives as to any developments on this issue that they may be aware of;
  

We note the resolution from our Finsbury Park branch and share its concerns at London Underground Ltd's refusal to honour annual leave commitments and abide by the established procedure. Accordingly, we instruct the General Secretary to write to LUL calling on it to ensure that its local management at Arnos Grove depot grant odd days leave and agree to allow members to carry over and use annual leave accrued from previous years. The letter is also to warn LUL that failure to respond fully to our request will bring our unions into dispute with the company over this issue.

The original newsletter is attached below

RMT pressure gets management to back off 6 rounder turns and commit to work with us to stop abuses of policies.

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