RMT drivers ‘vote for action’ over Tube train safety

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The RMT confirmed this morning that Tube driver members have voted ‘overwhelmingly by a margin of four’ to one for action short of a strike in a dispute over safety.

The ballot was over four particular aspects of London Underground’s Operational Effectiveness Programme which RMT says are ‘unacceptable and potentially dangerous’.

London Underground is now ‘unilaterally imposing’ Operational Standards Notice (OSN) 101 to ‘bulldoze through these measures against the objections’ of the RMT’s representatives.

The ballot began before it emerged that LU are planning to move the inspections on fail-safe ‘tripcock’ mechanisms from daily to bi-monthly in the latest safety cuts.

RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said:

“RMT has demanded an end to the reckless policy of expecting drivers to override door failsafe systems after a potentially fatal incident in which a passenger jumped from a moving train and another was caught in its open doors.

“Despite that the ‘sensitive edge’ procedures, along with a whole bunch of other unsafe procedures, are being bulldozed through in the dash for cuts, and to cover up the impact of reductions in station staff, under the guise of ‘operational effectiveness’.

“It is our members who have to deal with the consequences of these ill-conceived policies.

“We have tried to get LUL to see sense, but they have continued to put cash and job cuts ahead of passenger safety and we had no choice but to ballot for action to put a stop to these dangerous proposals being imposed without agreement and we now have an overwhelming vote for action and it falls to LUL to pull back and start talking.”

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