Tubeworker's blog

Leytonstone-based driver Tunde Umanah has won his job back on appeal. He had been sacked for a PTI incident. The investigation found inconsistencies in the story of the manager who had gunned for Tunde’s job; that memos relating to the incident were concealed from the CDI panel. While Tunde has...

An e mail to all staff from a Station Supervisor voicing safety concerns during the riots was met with LU’s characteristic duty of care. He was told to retract the e mail or face disciplinary action. Tubeworker can just imagine that retraction: ‘Dear all, upon advice from management, I suddenly...

London Underground management have told staff unable to attend work during the riots that they must take the day as unpaid or annual leave.

If you have to leave for work at 4am but the bottom of your street is closed off, building are set alight and shops smashed up, what are you supposed to do?...

Detrainment staff at Queens Park, Stonebridge Park and Harrow and Wealdstone have been invited to join in on a conference call with management about the fact that their jobs are being abolished and they are being displaced to god-knows-where.

First, management shocked Bakerloo detrainment staff...

Bakerloo Line drivers have been pulled in one by one for a 'chat' with managers to find out what they think of the pay deal. If they hope to find staff willing to accept the deal, they will be disappointed. The overwhelming feeling is that the money isn't good enough and we should oppose a five year...

LU managmenent's recent company bulletin about the new IT use rules makes for worrying reading:

Re. offensive materials depicting sex or violence

Therefore, employees who receive any such material must not forward it on. If you receive material of this nature, you must immediately delete it and...

It seems that ASLEF’s efforts at single-union talks with management have proved fruitless, with LU giving a firm no to the demand for pay enhancements for Boxing Day. There are a few small moves about people on career breaks and whether you work on public holidays, but if we want a decent deal on...

Almost exactly a year on from last year's fire in an escalator machine room, Euston station has had another reminder of the constant risks to safety and need for staff on the Underground.

This most recent fire was in the air vents. A huge team of fire fighters was needed to tackle it. It was...

An opportunity is presenting itself for a stronger trade union movement in the transport industry to become a reality.

Rumours have been spreading for sometime now of a possible merger between the National Union for Rail, Maritime and Transport workers (RMT) and the Transport Salaried Staffs’...

The now finished News of the World is in hot water for illegally intercepting the phone calls of dozens of bold-faced names.

Some 50 detectives, many of them accustomed to murder and rape cases, are currently working on one of the biggest scandals ever to hit British journalism. The paper was...

On Saturday 2 July, a one-under at Edgware Road resulted in a dead body. You'd think that it would be taken away as soon as possible to the mortuary - for reasons of hygiene, safety and, well, dignity.

But no. Management saw fit to dump it in a cleaners' store cupboard for five hours, until two...

LU management are coming after station staff jobs again - this time, detrainment staff on the north end of the Bakerloo line.

Management announced to staff at the end of June that all 38 trains in the Bakerloo fleet are due to be modified, and for some reason they think this means they won't need...

It seems that we have missed out on our CSS bonus for the first quarter, as we scored only 79, one short of the target of 80.

Now, let's think ... Why could that be? Frequent breakdowns and delays? Savage stations job cuts meaning that passengers can't find anyone to help when they need it?

Not...

Management have sacked Leytonstone driver Tunde Umanah, after an incident at Woodford where a DTSM deliberately obstructed the doors of Tunde's train.

His workmates are furious at Tunde's sacking, while the DTSM has apparently gone unpunished. Unless Tunde is reinstated, we can expect action ...

Since February, station staff have been living with the impact of the OSP job cuts: anti-social rosters and staff shortages. Staff are also learning to live with new attacks, such as enhanced AFM functionality, as the unions have not given any lead so far on how we should resist them.

But we...

The Government is facing the biggest outbreak of industrial action since it came to power after civil servants joined teachers in voting heavily for strikes in worsening rows over pensions, pay and jobs.

Up to 750,000 public sector workers will stage a 24-hour walkout on June 30, with civil...

The battle to reinstate unjustly sacked RMT activist Arwyn Thomas has been victorious. LU has re-engaged him on a driver’s salary. We have set back, if not defeated, LU’s systematic program of sackings and victimisations.

Recollect the start of the year. Three sacked RMT reps: Peter Hartshorn...

As we await the outcome of talks between the union and management, RMT's Executive has done absolutely the right thing by declaring that next week's strike is ON unless and until LU agrees to reinstate Arwyn. The Executive is also dead right to say that a payoff is not good enough: our reps are not...

Click here.

Word from the latest pay talks is that management may be trying to give a better deal to drivers than to other grades, and to begin separate negotiations for drivers. Our unions should resist this, as it will divide us and damage us all in the long term.

One possibility is enhanced pay for working...

Our strike action starts this evening, and then gets serious in a week's time. Union activists and supporters will be gathering at Golders Green in a couple of hours time, rallying for workplace justice and then dispersing to picket some of the depots with night turns.

No night turn driver should...

Station Supervisors are being sent on workshops to encourage all staff to care more about the SIS scorecard (what used to be the mystery shopper scores).

Instinctively, most staff pay no regard to the primary school-like coloured magnets on the whiteboard. While management's worst fear is a 'red...

Victoria Line management spend a lot of their time at the moment telling drivers to over-ride the sensitive edge door equipment on the new trains. If something is stuck in the door, however tiny, the doors will not close and the train cannot move. It is causing delays and is one of the many...

Negotiations have uncovered management's latest plan: to offer small sums to induce drivers to work over their time during the Olympics. An extra 30 minutes will be £10, an extra 15 minutes will be £5, etc. This offer has been dubbed 'a fiver for a rounder!'

In the context of the multi-million...

On 26th May, London Underground cleaners' rep, Clara Osagiede, beat back Initial Cleaning Services' attempt to victimise her for enforcing standards of safety for cleaners at her workplace, her role as a health and safety rep.

She stood up to management when a group of cleaners were removing...

Management are introducing a new 'surplus and loss' procedure for the ticket office. It establishes the principle that a ticket seller can be punished for a discrepancy in their account, although we work with a 'blind banking' system.

In the ticket office, you just bag up your money. You do not...

Talks between management and unions about the Olympics are underway. On the nights of the opening and closing ceremonies, LU say they want to run trains until 0430, but insist this will not be a 24 hour service!

They can't seriously expect us to believe that a 30 minute gap between 0430 and 5am...

RMT needs to name new strike dates for its fight to win the reinstatement of Arwyn Thomas.

It was a blow when the union's executive rejected the strike dates agreed by our trains reps and proposed by our Region's representative. It's another example of the we-know-better attitude that damages...

Jubilee Line drivers are to be balloted for action short of strike follwoing the rushed implementation of a new procedure for passing signals at danger.

The new rule will be for passing a signal that has failed where points are involved. In the past a driver would either need to see a ‘Route Secure...

The latest plan for ATOR (or whatever it is called now) will be a two-day course, the first in our own clothes where we listen all day long to management propaganda. The company seemingly thinks that by allowing us our own clothes, it can give the illusion that this brings us closer to management...