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RMT helpline 0800 3763706 :: march 2009 :: RMTnews 10 Around 100 RMT train conductors working at London Midland depots at Bletchley, Northampton and Watford held two 24-hour strikes this month after the company failed to settle a long-running dispute over Sunday working. The conductors voted overwhelmingly for action over attempts to pressure staff into working Sundays. The decision to strike followed the company’s failure to honour a long-standing agreement that former Silverlink staff can opt out of working on Sundays and should receive enhanced payments for working into rest days. The ballots, involving depots at Bletchley, Northampton and Watford, saw votes returned by a margin of eight to one for action. RMT is seeking an urgent investigation into London Midland by the railways inspectorate after receiving reports of serious safety lapses by managers undertaking striking conductors’ duties. Passengers were put at risk of serious injury when a manager put in charge of a 12-car commuter train on 13 March opened doors on all twelve carriages when it stopped at an eight-car platform at Bletchley during the morning peak. The union understands that the stand-in manager failed to follow the normal procedure of isolating the doors of the rear four carriages to ensure that they did not open, exposing commuters to the danger of falling onto the track. In a separate incident, understood to have taken place in March managers undergoing refresher training on a train out of Euston left the real conductor behind and the train ran without a conductor as far as Watford. RMT called on the railways inspectorate to investigate the competency of managers undertaking conductors’ duties as well as the procedures followed by the company. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: “Instead of negotiating sensibly the company seems hell-bent on confrontation and is even intimidating reluctant managers into covering the conductors’ safety critical work.” A further two day strike is planned for the 29 and 30 March. LONDON MIDLAND CONDUCTORS STRIKE Safety lapses by management to run trains