Workers' Liberty

If you have travelled through Kings Cross of late, you will have noticed that staff are wearing orange HiVis all day (and if you work there, you will obviously know this!). This is unlike the rest of the stations, where HiVis are for SATs, track and emergencies only.

Despite a local agreement between managers and union reps that HiVis should be worn only in the usual circumstances plus during the peaks, a bigger cheese manager came along and over-ruled this. Why? Because Kings Cross has an 'all-day peak' because it is so very busy. (Tubeworker hopes this is reflected in the staffing levels, but judging by the queues at the ticket office windows, perhaps not.)

Management seem oblivious to staff's concerns that the HiVis: are uncomfortable if worn all day; rapidly deteriorate in quality; and lead to you being mistaken for contractors and other visitors - nor that wearing them all day detracts from their impact during an emergency.

There is one exception. Sometimes the CSAs have to wear a blue tabard (can't call it a HiVi because, being the same colour as the uniform, it is not highly visible at all) when on the gateline or 'queue-combing'. It says 'happy to help' on the back. We can not confirm rumours that the next version will say 'Would you like fries with that'?