Workers' Liberty

Deutsche Bahn has bought Laing Rail, which owns a 50% share in London Overground, which will include the East London Line once it reopens.

RMT's protest against East London line privatisation last week turned out to be something of a wake.

RMT will be protesting against East London line privatisation, just as the line closes for the extension to be built. Get yerselves along there.

Thursday 13th December, 11am
outside City Hall

Management can't seem to make their minds up whether the East London line performs brilliantly or dreadfully. On the one hand, it's the worst performing line on the Underground; on the other, they are claiming that the line - on the verge of closure for the building of the extension - is 'going out on a performance high'.

The prize has been awarded - MTR Laing will run London Overground, the new franchise consisting of the already-private Silverlink North London Line and the to-be-privatised East London Line.

RMT will be dishing out leaflets explaining the case against East London Line privatisation on Thursday 12 April from 0800–0900 at Whitechapel, Canada Water and New Cross stations on the East London Line.

Everything seems to have gone a bit quiet in the campaign to stop East London Line privatisation.

We can not afford to stop - or even to coast along - only to get all of a panic when the privatisation is upon us and launch into action without adequate preparation.

DON’T PRIVATISE OUR TUBE – MOBILISE FOR LOBBY AND PUBLIC MEETING.

LONDON LABOUR PARTY CONFERENCE, STRATFORD - 25th NOVEMBER 2006

LOBBY
8.30 – 9.30 Stratford Old Town Hall, 29 the Broadway

Hackney TUC went out leafleting against East London Line privatisation earlier this evening.

RMT will be handing out postcards to the travelling public on 23 and 24 October at 7.45am at the following stations:

• Monday 23 October - Canada Water and Surrey Docks stations

• Tuesday 24th October - Shadwell and Whitechapel stations

Management are getting on with implementing TfL's disastrous plan to privatise the East London Line. Their latest move is to interview drivers to discuss where you want to go when you get kicked off the line that you don't actually want to get kicked off.

TfL has launched with a big splash its 'London Overground' project - the East London line and North London lines joined up.

As the fight against East London Line privatisation goes on, RMT activists will be taking a trip to the seaside to make a big splash about the issue at TUC Congress.

On the Monday evening, Ken Livingstone is hosting a social event at Congress, rather cheekily for a bloke who is not only privatising the East London Line but also encouraged Tube workers to cross picket lines a couple of summers ago.

Management have promised to provide plush new staff accommodation on the East London Line ... to be opened just a few months before it is privatised!

Much though we would all appreciate more comfort at work, we would like to think that our employer provides it for our benefit rather than as a gift to the new owners.

As is obvious to pretty much everyone, unity is strength. So it would be very good to see all the unions working together in the fight to stop East London Line privatisation. (Actually, it would be very good to see one union for all railworkers, but that's not going to happen this week.)

Connect radio is now in on the East London Line, but not without problems.

It was very reassuring to read in On The Move that station closures due to staffing cuts are no longer a problem now that the new rosters have bedded in.

But this will come as a surprise to the staff and passengers at Wapping (13th May), Edgware Road Bakerloo (14th) and Victoria (15th), who had to close on successive days due to staff shortages.

When the East London line closes for the extension to be built, what happens to the staff? LUL, of course, thinks it can re-deploy everyone wherever it likes. But we should insist that station staff stay where they are, selling tickets, supervising contractors and providing customer service information. Drivers and signallers, if they must move, should have maximum say in where they go, with all travelling time in company time.

Ahem, it's still not working on the East London line - supposedly the first line to get it. Connect is the new all-singing all-dancing super-duper communication system. Shame they don't seem to be abl

Tubeworker was suprised to read in my copy of On The Move (which popped through my letterbox this morning) that Connect radios went live on the East London Line on 27th January. Er, no they didn't! The new proposed date is 10th February but even that is in doubt at this point.

Another non-success story about private contractors reaches us from New Cross.

A tip: When you resurface a platform, try to make sure that it is actually flat. Otherwise, big puddles can develop when it rains.