Useful links

RMT Credit Union President, Mick Lynch, with a brief update on the ongoing success of the Credit Union and why all RMT members should join.

Filmed and edited by Pete Murray.

Find out more about the credit union here

RMT General Secretary Bob Crow will appear on BBC Question Time this Thursday at 22:35. Other guests will include Stephen Twigg MP and Daily Mail columnist Melanie Phillips.

Bob Crow said in a letter to RMT members "I will be using the opportunity to make the case for worker's rights, public services and the defence of jobs and decent wages and working conditions."

If you miss the show it will be available here on the BBC Iplayer shortly after broadcast.

For more information about Union Learner Reps in London speak with your branch secretary or contact Sharon Allen.

Interested in becoming a Union Learning Representative?

"RMT takes education very seriously and we know how education empowers people to become activists, to move on in their careers and take control in their personal lives. The ULR role is vital in supporting members in the workplace to take up worthwhile, enjoyable and sometimes life changing learning opportunities." - Bob Crow, General Secretary.

The Bethnal Green tube shelter disaster turned out to be the worst civilian disaster of World War 2, yet very few people know about it.

The Central line had not reached further East than Liverpool Street when the 2nd World war broke out, so work on the unfinished Bethnal Green underground station stopped. It was a natural place for East Londoners to shelter in safety from the bombs, particularly during the Blitz. There was no track and no trains could run through it, so it could accommodate up to 10,000 people sleeping on the platforms, in the tunnels and in the pit where the track would normally have been. Unlike the present 3 entrance/exits to the station there was only one entrance to the shelter during the war. You went through a narrow doorway that opened out straight onto the rough, wide steps, that were open to the elements so there could be no light to show the way down otherwise enemy planes would have seen it.

We have a newly designed mobile site for keeping up to date with all the latest stories. To check it out visit m.rmtlondoncalling.org.uk or scan the barcode below using your mobile device.

You can also find us on social media:

• @RMTLondon on Twitter
• RMT London on Facebook

and other useful RMT sites include:

BBC – London Underground cleaners to strike over pay: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-20843693

London 24 – London Underground cleaners to go on 48-hour strike: http://www.london24.com/news/transport/london_underground_cleaners_to_go...

News RT – London Underground cleaners to strike over pay: http://www.newsrt.co.uk/news/london-underground-cleaners-to-strike-over-...

Shropshire Star – Tube cleaners in New Year strike: http://www.shropshirestar.com/shropshire-business/money/uk-money/2012/12...

Data from the 2011 UK and Wales census was recently released. The Office for National Statistics which oversees the process says the census "help paint a picture of the nation and how we live. They provide a detailed snapshot of the population and its characteristics, and underpin funding allocation to provide public services."

A number of reports have been compiled from the findings covering London. Notably these include the 'GLA Intelligence Unit' reports into the Labour Market, Housing, Ethnic Diversity and Health & Unpaid Care findings of the cencus.

Attached is an editable poster highlighting links to LU train operator agreements.

branches may wish to edit the top right corner in particular and put your own contact details in.

Yesterday we reported the story of a 12 year old boy who had been taken into the sidings on the Bakerloo Line onboard an out of service train. The boy then climbed out between carriages into an area with live tracks and moving trains.

The boy managed to "shimmy up and over the ‘inner car barriers’ and out of the train. He could have killed himself as his means of exit from the train was directly going onto the live positive rail. He got out of the train into an area of 4 live running roads; it was only the actions of the driver that prevented a fatality."

You can read the Agency Workers Regulations - which set out the legal rights of agency workers - here.