The Bakerloo Branch of the RMT represents and organises members of all operational grades on the Bakerloo Line. This includes station staff, train drivers and service controllers. We also have members from the old British Rail Hotels.

The Bakerloo Branch is responsible for the effective union organisation on the Bakerloo Line. The Branch is the first port of call for members who need assistance. We meet on the first Thursday of each month at 16:00 hours, upstairs in the Clachan pub, Kingly Street, near Oxford Circus tube.

If you have any any problems or want to know more about the Branch please email the Branch Secretary, Brian Munro at bakerlooline@rmt.org.uk.

The attaced document is an open letter to our ASLEF collegues on the Bakerloo Line.

Click on the link to download the latest Bakerloo Branch newsletter.

The main article follows:

RMT & TSSA unite to fight for jobs and safety!

RMT & TSSA members have sent a resounding NO to management’s plans to cut jobs and undermine safety on London Underground. With a yes vote for strike action of over 75%, the unions have announced a joint rolling campaign of strike action starting on Monday 6th September with an overtime ban for all grades at the same time.

Hot on the heels of the ASLEF/LUL 2009 Agreement which saw driver numbers slashed with spare turns and pool staff decimated comes the next round of attacks on the grade.

London Underground are now axing even more drivers when the next timetable changes are introduced across the combine.

Jimmy Reid, one of the leaders of the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders (UCS) "work-in" in 1971-72 died August 10th 2010, aged 78. When the Heath government proposed closing down all 5 of the shipyards in Glasgow the workers fought back by organising a 'work in', a political campaign to stop the closures which would have blighted thousands of lives and the city of Glasgow itself.

When he stood as a candidate to be the Rector of Glasgow University the New York Times printed his speech in its entirety and said it was the most important speech since Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Click on the link to read it in full: http://www.gla.ac.uk/media/media_167194_en.pdf

Just to say that I was saddened to hear of the proposed staff cuts on the Bakerloo line. When I last used Warwick Avenue station, the member of staff topped up my Oyster card quicker than I could have done (I was running late as usual).

I have emailed the below message to the helpandcontact page of tfl.gov.uk website and shall email the same to the Mayor. I have printed off the petition and shall collect signatures and send in also.

Good luck and best wishes,
Charlotte Keech

The new Health & Safety rep on the Wembley Central Group, Alan Foster has raised the issue of places of safety for staff on the gateline. On London Underground the standard place of safety is the GLAP. But when LU took over the control of the silver link stations north of Queens Park in 2007 none were put in. Management were quick enough off the mark to bring in gate lines to maximise revenue but the safety of the staff working the gate lines was deemed secondary.

LUL want employees to Go, Look, See, without RMT representation.
LUL tell H&S rep to Go, Forth, Multiply.
Discuss.
What could be more pertinent to our members Health & Safety than an accident review?
By definition it is also a Workplace Risk Assessment Review, which under the auspices of the Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations, 1977, (the Brown Book) the H&S reps are duty bound to be involved in.
A spectacular own goal by Bakerloo Management.

Click on the attachment to see the latest Branch Newsletter.

Articles follow...

Don’t be fooled by the lies - Stand up for jobs and safety
London Underground has fired the first shots in the coming battle over jobs and safety with their recent consultation document. They have announced that 450 ticket office positions must go as well as another 150 CSA positions. Meanwhile, management have approached the Train’s Health & Safety Council (THSC) with proposals for the worst watering down of safety standards ever seen. Add to this a leaked document from management in which they spell out their plans for smashing the unions on the job and it is clear that our bosses are intent on reversing all the gains we have won over the years and are going to put both us and the passengers in danger with their attacks on safety.

There have been a number of concerns raised recently regarding the new 378 LOROL train stock LED headlight.
These high density beams may shine directly into driver’s eyes due to the differing heights of our trains compared to the LOROL units.
Any drivers experiencing any problems please contact your local H&S reps with details of time, date, train numbers and place of incident.
Any problems should also be reported to the Wembley signaller via connect radio, if they answer.

Click on the attachment to see the April Bakerloo Branch newsletter.

Most T/Ops would be of the opinion fully uniformed staff, in full LUL regalia would be properly trained, properly licensed and fully qualified.
Seems that on the Wembley Group it ain`t necessarily so!
Agency staff, which look the same, talk, walk and act the same, but with far inferior training are now expected to bowl up to drivers and assist with “emergency” situations.

Great headline. Crap idea.
In an unprecedented show of common sense, the higher echelons of Team Bakerloo have finally voted off this ridiculous notion of cutting the High Tone Whistle in /out in / out etc etc when entering/leaving the depot at Stonebridge Park.
The 137 decibels this whistles generates is enough to deafen the poor old workers it’s meant to protect.

At the hastily arranged ad hoc meeting on Tuesday to discuss our concerns the “heroic” actions of the agency staff were mentioned by the management team of Messrs Smith, Senior, Cullen and Toplis. They were of the opinion a commendation was in order.
We countered with its not a commendation she should receive, it’s a full time job she should be awarded with.
With LUL.
With the requisite pay increase. And with full and adequate training to be able to carry out the important tasks necessary of a station worker.

Tenants of affordable keyworker housing owned by the Crown Estate are opposed to the sell off of their homes to a new landlord. The estates comprise some 1300 homes in central London.

Sign the online petition calling on Gordon Brown to intervene to stop this sell off:

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/crownresidents/

So after the pay has been settled in time for Christmas we start the new year looking forward to the impending major attacks on staffing levels across all stations which will impact immensely on ours and customers safety. London Underground in an attempt to claw back money from its fatal PPP collapse is making us pay for its incompetence.

The following letter was sent to RMT General Secretary:

To: General Secretary
Dear Bob,

Following the result of CDI, a meeting of the Bakerloo Branch was held and agreed the following resolution:

“This Branch notes the summary dismissal of Bro Joel Miah, a train driver member at Queens Park and is appalled at another gross unfair treatment of a long standing and respected member of staff with an exemplary record.
This Branch believes that London Underground has an agenda of reducing staffing levels and no one gets a fair hearing at Company Disciplinary hearings.

The following resolution was carried unanimously at the Bakerloo Branch AGM:

"This Branch notes the summary dismissal of Bro Fitz Chambers on Tuesday 1st of December 2009 and is appalled at this gross unfair treatment of a long standing and respected member of staff with an exemplary record.
This Branch believes that London Underground has an agenda of reducing staffing levels and has an agenda of getting rid of syndicates in train crew depots.