September/October 2014

rmtbakerloobranch.org.uk @bakerloormt

Every Job Matters

The fight goes on!

RMT called o our planned overtime
ban, and boycot of the Station
Supervisors development days,
after LU threatened to use the antitrade union laws to seek a court
injunction that wouldve seen the
action declared illegal.
LUs claim was that, because job
development is a contractual
obligation, the development days
were compulsory, and therefore nonatendance would not be
action-short-of-strike (which RMT had
served notice for), but rather a fullblown strike, and therefore illegal (as
the union hadnt given advance notice
of it). Management were zigzagging in
the days and weeks leading up to the
development days, with some
managers saying they were
compulsory, and others saying they
were optional. Isnt it funny how, as
soon as the days were threatened by
union action, they suddenly became a
contractual obligation?
The very fact that the company is
prepared to go the courts to block our

What is Bakerloo
News?
Bakerloo News is a monthly
newsletter produced by the Bakerloo
branch of the RMT. RMT Bakerloo is
the branch for all RMT union
members in Bakerloo stations, train
depots, and the whole Special
Requirements Team (SRT). The branch
meets at 16:00 on the first Monday of
every month, in The Red Lion on
Kingly Street. For more info, please
visit rmtbakerloobranch.org.uk. To
submit a story for Bakerloo News,
email bakerlooline@rmt.org.uk.

actions shows how nervous they are,

despite their belligerent posture. If we
call new action soon, as the union has
commited to do if the company
doesnt oer serious concessions, we
can put them under even more
pressure.
Joint approaches from RMT and
TSSA already secured a commitment
from LU that the development days
would not involve any assessments
that would be used to determine
Station Supervisors future grades.
TSSA felt that commitment was
sucient to call o their own planned
overtime ban. The company felt it had
to go to court to get our action

Next meeting: Monday 6

October, 16:00 @ The
Red Lion, Kingly Street
(W1B 5PR).

NOTIFCATION OF
BRANCH ELECTIONS:

Our October branch meeting will

elect a new industrial relations rep
for the Oxford Circus Group,
following the resignation of
Mustafa Oksuzoglu.The branch

thanks Mustafa for his hard work

and dedication.

If you wish to stand for the

position, please notify Branch
Secretary Jim McDaid and attend
the next branch meeting.

stopped!
RMT leaders will meet LU bosses in
September to discuss outstanding
issues in the Every Job Maters
dispute, including stang cuts, salary
protection, locations and
displacements, and other issues. RMT
remains opposed to all job cuts, ticket
oce closures, and will not accept any
loss of pay or forced displacement
resulting from stang model reform.
KEEP FIGHTING!
Our strikes since the beginning of
the year have already pushed LUs
planned implementation of their cuts
back by 18 months.
If we keep ghting, we can push
them back further, and perhaps derail
their plans altogether. The London
Transport Regional Council recently
passed a resolution calling for RMT to
join the mass public sector strike on 14
October. We could strike before then,
too.
LU management has a long-term
cuts plan, which doesnt stop at
stations. Other grades are in the ring
line. RMT is in it for the long haul, too.
Members should also remember
that, ban or no ban, overtime
is optional. You do not have to do it!
RMT Bakerloo members may wish to
consider whether working extra hours
for the company, at a time when
theyre trying to cut jobs, reduce
wages, close ticket oces, and regrade
and displace us, is something they
really want to do!
Get involved in your union to have
your say in what strategy we should
adopt, and what action we should
take. The Bakerloo branch always
discusses ongoing disputes and all
members views are welcome. See
you at the branch meeting, see you
on the picket lines!

Reinstate Alex
McGuigan!
Northern Line driver Alex
McGuigan has been sacked
following a awed D&A test.
Alex tested positive for alcohol in
the breath, but the company failed to
take into account Alexs Type 2
Diabetes, which medical authorities
(including LUs own Occupational
Health department) acknowledge can
give false positives.
Alex also took a liver function test,
which gave results outside the
normal range. Liver conditions can
also produce false positives.
Despite providing two urine
samples, only one was tested, and
only for drugs (not for alcohol). The
company says it has now destroyed
the second sample, which runs
contrary to its own agreed protocols.
Alex has 29 years of exemplary
service with LUand the union
believes his sacking on the basis of an
obviously awed process is a grave
injustice. If the company is allowed to
sack Alex in this way, any of us could
be next.
RMTBakerloo will be supporting
Alex and his branch, Morden & Oval,
in the ght for reinstatement.
For more, see bit.ly/reinstatealex

Eamonn Lynch for RMT

Council of Executives!
Following the sad death of Brian
Munro, RMTmembers in the London
Transport Region must elect a new
representative to sit on the unions
national Council of Executives.
RMTBakerloo has nominated
Eamonn Lynch for this position and
encourages all members to vote for
him when the members ballot
begins in October.

Brian Whitehead for

Relief Regional
Organiser!
RMTBakerloo has nominated Brian
Whitehead for re-election to the
position of Relief Regional Organiser,
a role with responsibility for RMT
regions in the south east and south
west of England.
The election runs concurrently
with the Council of Executives
election. RMTBakerloo encourages
all members to vote for Brian.

Cap SATS at an hour!

Oxford Circus has the most SATS
duties of any station on the entire
network.
CSAs and others doing SATS spend
up to two hours at a time (and
sometimes more over the course of a
single shift) on crowded, over-heated
platforms, with poor air quality, on
our feet the whole time.
It doesnt take a genius to gure
out that this isnt good for our health
and safety. It was particularly tough
during the hot weather, with
overcrowding on Central Line
platforms due to the issues at Bond
Street.
Union members at Oxo have

consistently
raised the
amount of
time we
spend on
the platform
as a
workplace
issue wed
look to see addressed and improved.
SATS are part of the job, but RMT
Bakerloo believes its possible to
rearrange the Oxo schematics to cap
SATS duties at one hour.
Local reps will be taking this up
with group management - watch this
space!

Tree vs Train
A Bakerloo driver narrowly avoided
injury recently when a tree hit their
cab. The picture below indicates the
damage done.
The train had departed Wembley
Central, going south to Stonebridge
Park. The driver heard a very load
bang and was showered with glass. A
tree had fallen and had struck the
train! The driver is very lucky to still
be here to tell the story.

Despite the obvious shock that the

driver must have been suering, the
shatered windscreen, and a cab
covered in glass, the driver still
managed to drive the train to the
platform and then into the depot.
True professionalism indeed.
Union safety reps are deeply
concerned that the cab and driver
were showered in glass despite the
train windscreen supposedly being
shaterproof. We will also be
looking at the current state of the
track side. How come it was so easy
for a tree to fall and strike a train
hurtling down the track at close to
50mph?
A full investigation is underway,
and your union will be doing our
best to ensure there is no repeat of
this incident and that lessons are
learned.

Connect with RMT Bakerloo

www.rmtbakerloo.org.uk
www.facebook.com/bakerlooline.rmt
@bakerloormt on Twitter
Your Branch Secretary Jim McDaid can be emailed at
B3@rmt.org.uk, or rung on 07917 131692.
Check your workplaces union noticeboard for contact details for
your local reps.