EUROSTAR TRAIN MANAGERS TAKE ACTION OVER LONE WORKING

RMT helpline 0800 3763706 :: may 2010 :: RMTnews 6 R MT members at Eurostar took industrial action earlier this month over a failure by the company to give assurances that they will not implement a policy of lone working for train managers. Train managers are refusing to operate any passenger service that was not fully staffed with a complement of two qualified Train Manager grade staff on board before the departure of the service. Members also refused to collect upgrade revenue from passengers on board the train service for one day. The dangers of trying to force through lone working on the Eurostar service were reinforced during the massive failures experienced by the company in the run up to Christmas last year where the need to have fully staffed trains in the event of a major incident became all too evident. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said that the chaos on Eurostar last December, and the crucial role played by train managers in managing a potentially dangerous situation, should have killed off any plans to try and bulldoze through lone working. “However, we have still been unable to secure concrete assurances that the plans will not be implemented and in the interests of the safety and security of both our members and the travelling public on the Eurostar we have had no option but to take action. “I have informed Eurostar that we remain available for talks and in the light of the massive mandate for action I hope that the company will see sense and take the necessary steps to resolve this dispute,” he said. A n RMT member exposed to dangerous levels of noise by his employer Stena Line has been compensated following help from RMT legal team. Peter Hall from Liverpool has received £4,000 in damages after suffering from occupational deafness while working on the vehicle deck of ferries. Peter, currently serving as an official of the union, is warning other RMT members who worked in the ferry industry to consider having their hearing tested as he believes many will have been affected by the working conditions. Peter's hearing became damaged while working for Stena Line in Liverpool for 18 years. He worked on the car decks loading and unloading lorries which were crossing the Irish Sea. He was never provided with protection for his ears while working in an enclosed space among engine noise. He knew he had hearing difficulties for ten years before he went to the doctor. It wasn't until he became a full time union officer and began to know more about health and safety at work that he began to consider his hearing problems might be related to his job. He raised the problem with the union and it instructed Thompsons Solicitors to pursue a claim for compensation. Stena Line admitted liability and Thompsons secured a settlement out of court. Peter said that he knew he had hearing difficulties for a long time but only did something about it when it got so bad I couldn't ignore it anymore. “Even when I was diagnosed I put it down to getting older but when I started working for the union and began to learn about health and safety regulations I realised my hearing was never protected while at Stena. "I reckon that there are many former ferry industry workers who suffer from hearing loss but have not considered that it may have been caused by their work." RMT national secretary Steve Todd said that hearing loss affected many shipping members working in noisy environments and like Peter they often put it down to getting older. “As Peter’s case shows members who have worked in a noisy environment and who have been diagnosed with hearing problems should get in touch," he said. Matthew Tollitt from Thompsons Solicitors added that hearing loss was a common problem in heavy industrial work places and typically follows work alongside or with high decibel tools. “Here the combination of working in an enclosed space and engine noise should have caused the employer’s to provide ear protection for Mr Hall, their failure to do so meant they were responsible for his deafness," he said. FERRY WORKERS WARNED ABOUT HEARING RISKS EUROSTAR TRAIN MANAGERS TAKE ACTION OVER LONE WORKING