RMT WINS MORE STATION STAFF

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: february 2017 :: RMTnews 8 RMT suspended Tube station strike action scheduled to start earlier this mong following talks which mean that nearly 60 per cent of the original job cuts planned by LU have now been reversed. The union led a sustained solid campaign for three years after London Underground under direction from London Mayor Boris Johnson slashed station staff numbers by 953. As a result of RMT's campaign, involving sustained industrial action, 533 of those jobs will be reinstated. RMT particularly welcomes the agreement to reopen control rooms and the guarantee of promotion into safety-critical grades for Customer Service Assistants Grade Two positions. RMT general secretary Mick Cash said that the fighting stance taken by RMT members since the jobs cull had reversed nearly 60 per cent of those savage cuts. "That is a tremendous victory and a reflection of the resilience and determination of our reps and the membership right across London Underground. "We will now continue to work on implementation of the new staffing arrangements at the local level and as always RMT remains eternally vigilant,” he said. RMT had re-iterated the need for a reversal to the Tube station staffing cuts following a major fire-related incident at London Bridge reminiscent of Kings Cross tragedy 30 years ago this year. The fire, underneath an escalator, prompted a full evacuation and only the vigilance and professionalism of the staff at the scene prevented tragedy. RMT safety reps had reported that the initial cause of the fire appears to be a build-up of grease. It's not a co-incidence that maintenance regimes of major assets, including escalators, have been cut and this kind of incident was predicted by RMT safety reps as a consequence of cash-led attacks on the inspection and maintenance frequencies. The union had repeatedly warned that with even London Underground management ruthlessly condemning the job cuts programme, it was only a matter of time before a tragedy due to a lack of staff. Mick Cash said that the incident fully justified RMT’s current dispute on safety on the tube. “If this incident had happened at one of the stations that has seen staff cut to the bone the outcome may have been very different. “The fact that it occurred at London Bridge meant that on this occasion there was an adequate number of staff on hand to put in place a model evacuation procedure. “With the cuts to maintenance regimes on escalators and other assets it is foolish in the extreme to run these kind of risks across the Tube network. “The London Bridge incident reinforces the need for all stations to be fully staffed at all times by trained and equipped staff. “As we prepare to mark the 30th anniversary of the Kings Cross fire in November, which began on the escalators, RMT repeats the call for eternal vigilance to prevent any repeat of that disaster,” he said. RMT WINS MORE TUBE STATION STAFF Strike action suspended following reinstatement of most axed jobs but union remains vigilant