TUNDE UMANAH - YOU'VE BEEN FITTED UP!

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On Monday 20th June, RMT member & activist Tunde Umanah who is a well respected & trusted T/Op at Leytonstone was viciously sacked at a CDI. All issues raised in his defence were dismissed at hand by the disciplinary panel. Tunde was involved in a PTI incident at Woodford where a DTSM deliberately and willingly obstructed the doors on Tunde’s train. At the CDI the evidence was very clear that the DTSM could’ve removed his foot from the doors at any time throughout the incident.

Unfortunately without Tunde’s knowledge the train did roll forward a very short distance at a very slow speed. The DTSM was seen to allow himself to be carried along with the train instead of removing himself from obstructing the doors. It seemed his main concern at the time was not to free himself from the obstruction he had caused or minimise the delay he was causing but to use his phone to get Tunde into trouble and then he began to shout threats to Tunde about losing him his job and getting him the sack.

We believe the investigation was flawed from the beginning in as far as the memo’s that were gathered by management were concealed and withheld from the CDI brief, all of which were helpful to Tunde’s defence.

The DTSM in question was very inconsistent in his version of the incident, he changed his perception of what happened from initially partly admitting his blame in starting the incident to claiming he was trapped, dragged and in fear for his life. A complete over exaggeration of the events as far as we’re concerned.

Tundes’s actions throughout this unfortunate incident were unintentional and were in no way deliberate, the chair of the CDI panel actually commended Tunde on his honesty and integrity throughout the investigation and the CDI. In contrast the actions of the DTSM who was involved it seems were intentional and deliberate and to date and to our knowledge no disciplinary action has been taking against him in any shape or form. Whilst Tunde was stood down at home since the incident in March and facing the CDI, the DTSM has been working normally on the desk.

Tunde has now lodged an appeal which we expect to be heard sometime after the 20th July. We believe Tunde actions should have been dealt with as a performance issue and not a disciplinary issue.

Many Leytonstone drivers are extremely angry and unhappy at the way Tunde has been victimised, so we will be calling a special meeting at 6pm on Thursday 14th July 2011 after our own branch meeting at 5pm on the same day at the Ex-Serviceman’s club, Harvey Road, Leytonstone E11.

All Leytonstone drivers, RMT & ASLEF and non-union members are invited and encouraged to come to this meeting to discuss what action we wish to take against this clear injustice to our work colleague. We all need to stand together to support Tunde and fight for his reinstatement.

UNITY IS STRENGTH
ARE YOU NEXT ON THE MANAGERS HIT LIST?
Arwyn Thomas, Eamonn Lynch, Jay Patel, Tunde Umanah......................who's next?
How would you expect your Union to react if you were treated with such venom?

Your Branch Meets on the Second Thursday of every month. Next meeting Thursday 14th July 2011 @5pm