LU Job Cuts - Health and Safety Confidential Reporting Line

The circular below is from Bob Crow, RMT General Secretary. Please use the reporting line he outlines to tell the union about any incidents at work which concern you, or which illustrate the effect of the OSP job cuts. Perhaps you are station staff and want to report assault or abuse from passengers unhappy with the reduced service, or a station evacuation that took too long because of under-staffing, or your station having too few staff available to give adequate help to a disabled or vulnerable passenger. Or perhaps you are a train driver and no longer have the assistance of SATS staff on the platform at busy stations during the peak, or had to deal with an incident alone at an unstaffed station. Or you work in service control and needed the help of station staff, but there were none available at the station where you needed them.

I am concerned that, following the implementation of new rosters as part of the Operational Strategic Plan (OSP) and its consequent job cuts, London Underground staff may have increased anxieties about workplace health and safety. With this is mind, as well as any future job cuts under LUL’s Project Horizon, I have made arrangements to set up a confidential reporting line for our London Underground members. I would like to use this reporting mechanism to compile evidence to present to the relevant authorities, Transport for London and the Mayor of London.

If you have a genuine safety concern on London Underground that you believe is a hazard owing to staff cuts then I would be grateful if you would let us know. The best way to do so would be by email at the following address luljobcuts@rmt.org.uk you will not be obliged to give your name but I will need full details of any hazardous occurrences, including:

  • Date and time of incident/hazard/near miss
  • Location
  • Full details of the incident or hazard
  • How staff cuts have affected the situation

I guarantee your email address will be deleted and we will only retain the details of the incident.

However, should you not have access to a computer or would prefer to call then please phone the RMT Helpline on 0800 376 3706. As the helpline is used for giving advice to all RMT members on a variety of workplace subjects, you will be asked to state whether your call is regarding Safety Concerns on LUL or any other workplace issue. As with emails you should have details of any safety incidents ready including:

  • Date and time of incident/hazard/near miss
  • Location
  • Full details of the incident or hazard
  • How staff cuts have affected the situation

You will not be obliged to give your name but I will need full details of any hazardous occurrences so please bear this in mind when you call. If appropriate, your call will be fielded to our Health & Safety section. Please remain mindful that the RMT Helpline is a service for all RMT members.

If you have any safety concerns that do not involve London Underground cuts then, in the first instance, you should contact your Health & Safety representative. If you do not know who your Health & Safety rep is, or you have any other safety concerns that require immediate advice or attention then please contact the RMT Health & Safety section on 0207 529 8817/8838.

I would like to remind members that CIRAS, the confidential reporting line for all railway employees, remains available on 0800 4 101 101.

Please bring the contents of this circular to the attention of all London Underground members.

Yours Sincerely

Bob Crow
General Secretary