NEW JOBS AND SAFETY ASSAULT ON LONDON UNDERGROUND

R MT has warned that London Underground was planning to plunge the tube system into the same lethal cocktail of safety cuts and automation that led to nine people being killed on the Washington DC Red Line service just over two years ago. RMT leaked the details of the plans despite protests from Transport for London that it was merely “blue sky thinking” but days later the same plans were confirmed as the core operational strategy. The union warned that switching to automated systems was fraught with dangers citing the Washington DC metro (right), which switched to manual operation in the wake of a horrific rush-hour crash in June 2009, which killed nine people, including the operator. The collision was caused by failure of the automated system, and the Washington Post called it the “price of parsimony” after numerous near-misses went unheeded against a background of cuts to maintenance schedules and inspections - exactly the same cuts-led culture now being imposed by LU. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said that the incident showed what happens when cuts-led automation and changes to maintenance are imposed from above. “The same lethal combination of cuts and automation is now at the core of LU’s strategic thinking. “RMT has already exposed attempts to tamper with the inspection schedules for the failsafe tripcocks and other cuts to maintenance schedules. “This dicing with death on the London Underground has to stop before we have a major disaster on our hands,” he said. RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: november/december 2011 :: RMTnews 11 RMT has released a confidential “Operational Strategy” paper from London Underground which the union says is “a blueprint for jobs and safety carnage”. Amongst a raft of cuts-led proposals supposed to address the financial chaos left behind by the Private Public Partnership and the Mayor’s £5 billion assault on budgets, the report suggests: • The axing of more than 1,500 jobs • Automation of trains with “no in-cab operators” and drivers replaced by “train attendants” • Closure of all ticket offices with just 30 stations having all-purpose “travel centres” • Across the board financial cuts of 20 per cent • Freezing recruitment, ripping up existing staffing agreements and imposing a system of overtime and part- time working • De-staffing stations through an escalation of the existing job cuts programme and turning the network into a criminals paradise RMT general secretary Bob Crow said that the document revealed everything about the operational strategy of London Underground including massive increase in fares alongside an unprecedented attack on jobs and safety. “Every single ticket office would be closed, stations left unstaffed and drivers would be thrown out of their cabs without a single thought for passenger safety. “In recent months we have seen from an escalation in cuts- led breakdowns just why the train and platform are so critical to safety on the system. “This ill-conceived and finance-led document ignores reality in favour of austerity and would impact on every single staff member on London Underground. “It would leave passengers stranded in tunnels with no means of evacuation and would turn the platforms and stations into a muggers and vandals paradise. “RMT will work with its sister tube unions and passenger groups on a campaign to ensure that this document and its proposals are consigned to the dustbin of history,” he said. DEATHS ON DRIVERLESS WASHINGTON DC METRO EXPOSE LETHAL REALITY NEW JOBS AND SAFETY ASSAULT ON LONDON UNDERGROUND Union reveals secret plans by London Underground to introduce driverless trains and slash jobs across the combine