Bakerloo branch

A Directors meeting took place on Wednesday 17th of October to discuss London Underground procedures following the near fatality of a 12 year old boy. Management stated that they were not prepared to ensure that trains were manually detrained prior to going into the sidings at Queens Park. They said that they would wait for the outcome of an Inquiry that is taking place but that will not report for months.

Click on the attachment to see the October edition of Bakerloo News.
Main stories follow:

LU’s detrainment procedure is unsafe!

It has been widely reported in the media and in the work place that an incident involving a 12 year old boy who was overcarried into the Queens Park north sheds has called into question London Underground’s detrainment procedures.

TUBE UNION RMT today praised the intervention of a Bakerloo Line tube driver which prevented a potential tragedy involving a 12 year old boy

The incident took place on Monday at 3.30 pm. The 12 year old boy was over-carried (on board the train after its final passenger stop) into the Queens Park sidings. Previously these trains used to be physically checked that they were empty prior to going into the sidings. RMT objected to the ending of detraining and said at the time that getting rid of detrainment staff was unsafe.

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."

Yesterday (October 8th 2012) at 3.30pm, only the quick intervention of a driver in the North Sheds at Queens Park prevented a 12 year old boy from getting hit by a moving train or killed on live 630 volt juice rails.

The boy was over–carried into the sidings at Queens Park and 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.

We believe that railway employers are increasingly using agencies such as Trainpeople, in order to casualise the workforce, prepare for job cuts, and undermine our power to take effective strike action. The use of agencies is part of the employers’ and government’s strategy for pursuing the McNulty proposals.

We believe that every railway worker is entitled to a permanent, secure job. We therefore demand an end to the use of agencies, with their employees offered direct employment with the railway company at which they work.

From RMT General Secretary Bob Crow

I have received reports that agency workers employed by Trainpeople.co.uk engaged on Grand Central Railways and London Underground’s Bakerloo Line contracts have not been paid for the second month running and have been excluded from the Agency Worker Regulations by Trainpeople.co.uk, who are using the Swedish derogation contract model to employ our members.

We note the issues raised by a member who works for the agency ‘Trainpeople’, the legal advice received, and that this employer argues that it is exempt from regulations concerning agency workers, as it is using the ‘Swedish Derogation Model’. We instruct the General Secretary to:

• provide our legal adviser with the further information requested, and place in front of us the further advice that will result
• provide full support to this member and others who are challenging the unacceptable practices of this and other agencies
  

There were six motions at the LGBT conference this year. All were passed. The motion "International LGBT Rights" and "Diversity Role Models: tackling homophobia through education" were voted to go before the unions AGM. The others will be discussed by the unions Executive.

The Bakerloo Branch unanimously agreed the following resolution at its meeting on the 8th of May:

"The Bakerloo Branch notes that our Union Learner Rep, Clive Protheroe is facing a CDI (disciplinary hearing) for an error he committed in February 2012.