Attached is the latest edition of RMT Up front. This edition focuses on the Ballot for action short of strike action on the Jubillee Line. There are also reports on the Bakerloo detrainment dispute and issues for drivers on the new S Stock.

Main stories follow:

Jubilee Line drivers to be balloted over the removal of tunnel telephone wires

Last year Management informed safety reps on the Jubilee Line that there were problems in the tunnel between Baker St and Bond Street Stations on the south bound road caused by water ingress which would entail a job major of work.
This work would mean that the tunnel telephone wires covering that area would be removed for the duration of this work.
These proposals were rejected at a Directors meeting last year as this would be removing the only safe way to discharge traction current in an emergency in the event of Connect Radio failure.
Local Reps on the Jubilee were last week invited to attend another meeting with management where proposals to remove the tunnel telephone wiring in sections were discussed. Management indicated that the telephone wires would be removed for a 300 metre section during the course of the works
To mitigate against the obvious safety concerns of no immediate way to discharge traction current in an emergency, management informed safety reps that they intended to install telephone handsets at either side of the works that would discharge traction current.
Staff side representatives raised a number of objections to this proposal and put forward a number of counter suggestions including that these telephone handsets could be placed a lot closer together, 25 metres as opposed the proposed 300, as it was expected that only one metres work would be completed each night.
The job of work is expected to take at least 2 years possibly up to 4 years to complete. Staff side asked if the works could not be completed in one go but this suggestion was rejected by management as it was expected a job of this nature would take two months to complete.
Management also suggested that an SCD could be laid in an emergency to discharge current. Anyone who has seen the CCTV footage of the driver laying the SCD at Russell Sq a couple of years back, after a one under will realise why this is clearly not an option.
As management appear hell bent on pressing ahead with this unsafe process, the drivers on the line have asked their respective Head Offices to press ahead with a ballot of members with a view to taking action short of strike.
The General Grades Committee has decided to ballot Jubillee Line drivers for action short of strike action. This is being done in conjunction with ASLEF.

We don’t do negotiation via the media

Our framework agreement is clear when it comes to driving spells, booking on and off arrangements and other issues affecting our time at work.
Included in these is that all duties must book off by 01:30. So train operators were surprised to see via the media that apparently we will be running trains in passenger service until 2 o’clock in the morniing.
The critical thing here is that any changes to drivers terms and conditions have to be negotiated with your trade union.
Perhaps with all the 150 year celebrations our top bosses have got carried away with all the champagne that’s washing around. Or maybe given the breaches of the framework agreements during the summer this is an example of ASLEF chickens coming home to roost?
Either way any changes to
frameworks have to be negotiated with RMT. Statements to the press don’t make it so.

Bakerloo detrainment dispute solid and has major impact on service

The joint RMT and ASLEF dispute on the Bakerloo Line has hit London Underground hard.
Since the 15th of January Bakerloo drivers have been physically tipping out trains themselves prior to going into sidings and depots. This action short of strike action was forced on staff as London Underground refused to deal with the thousands of overcarries and numerous dangerous incidents involving passengers on the line, culminating in the near fatality of a 12 year old boy.
The unity and purpose of the drivers to bring in a safe detrainment system has seen all train staff join the action. The result has been zero overcarries since day 1 of the dispute and severe delays and overcrowding on the line as the action affects the service and trains are cancelled.
At ACAS on Tuesday 29th of January LU bosses admitted that at least 15% of the service has been cancelled since the start of the action. But rather than offer meaningful proposals to settle the dispute and bring in a safe system of working, management offered 7 insignificant options to try to paper over the cracks. As one driver said they should have offered an 8th proposal ‘flash the lights on and off 4 times instead of 3!’ LU have been told, the days of ‘flash and dash’ are over. Nothing short of a safe system of detraining will be enough to see the end of this safety action on the Bakerloo Line.
But while the best that LU’s top brains can come up with is a simplistic rehash of old ideas the passengers suffer. Worse, they are been lied to about the service as LU are in denial about the resolve of the drivers and the impact of the action.
The announcement across the combine and on TFL’s internet platforms that “there is a good service on the Bakerloo Line” would be a standing joke if it wasn’t so dishonest. Passengers are furious about the misinformation from LU. On an hourly basis tube users are tweeting about LU’s lies. One passenger said: “@bakerlooline why keep misleading passengers over tannoy about a "good service" when they're having to wait at least 20mins for a tube?”. Another said “@bakerlooline more than a 15 minute gap between trains north of Queens Park is NOT a good service. Thanks.”
The fact is that the service on the Bakerloo Line is in chaos on a daily basis with severe delays and overcrowding. On one particular morning, station control, LU’s method for dealing with over crowding, was implemented on at least 12 occasions at Paddington.
Drivers on the line have been reminded by their safety reps to take extra caution to deal with over crowded platforms. It is important that trains should approach overcrowded platforms at caution and if necessary request assisted despatch from stations.
Bakerloo drivers are resolved to win this dispute for a safe method of working for passengers and staff. Unless London Underground come up with a real solution, passengers can expect more misery for some time to come.

When is a circle not a circle? When it runs on the Metropolitan line

Management have tried to get circle line drivers running trains on the metropolitan line through the back door. London Underground recently attempted to roster H and C drivers to work Met line trains in the new timetable. Although the RMT welcomes any new train work and the benefits this brings to passengers it is clear that management have a hidden agenda by attempting to do this.
Your representatives made it clear that this was not acceptable and that any work on the Met line should be covered by Met Line drivers. The issue went to ACAS and the union made clear that we would not move on this. Management have dropped these plans for now but we need to be vigilant as the inter-changeability of the new S stock may encourage them to try and increase rostering and spare flexibility over the lines - this is a move that will be resisted to the hilt.

S Stock train prep

When LU introduced the new S stock they made the wrong assumption that the prep for the new stock would be the same as the old.
After finally agreeing what checks are necessary for train preparation before entering service a number of timings were made with management present. This was agreed and done to employee relations guidelines. This came out at 16 minutes which is 5 minutes longer than the timings under the current timetable. Rather than accept this and make the necessary rostering and resourcing arrangements management have decided that they want to revise the checks that were agreed as they may contain “duplication”.
The only duplicity taking place is on management’s side and the RMT will not accept any watering down of safe procedures to save a few quid.
This is an important issue and the union will be pursuing this matter to ensure the correct preparation of trains and training is done on this new stock. The timetable needs to reflect the vital safety checks before entering service.