LU's risible red tabards have been officially launched, but if the response at many stations is anything to go by, the launch is something of a damp squib.
Zahra Tirmazi, a station worker at Walthamstow Central, was violently assaulted (including being put in a headlock), and racially abused, by a fare-evading passenger. In typically supportive fashion, LU is disciplining her for her role in an incident in which she is obviously the victim.
So much for all those posters on our stations about how LU won’t tolerate abuse of its staff. Turns out, not only will they tolerate it, they’ll blame us for it, throw the book at us, and threaten us with the sack.
Scientific reports confirming the shockingly bad quality of air on London Underground are becoming an annual tradition.
The latest report, from the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants, reported last week that the air on the platforms at Hampstead was around 31 times more polluted than the average in London, taken from a roadside monitoring point.
Despite promising cleaners warm winter fleeces, ABM has failed to deliver in many places.
This means cleaners are working in the cold without proper uniform.
LU’s own uniform delivery services is also in a rather chaotic condition, meaning directly-employed and outsourced staff may be united by cold this winter.
If the situation continues, Tubeworker feels some impromptu sit-ins in mess rooms coming on...
In the cold weather, we need to use the GLAP (variously, Gate Line Attendance Post, Attendant's Post, or Assistance Point!) to keep warm.
But try that in a new style GLAP and you'll find the heater lets out less heat than a lightbulb. LUL designed it like this to deter us from sitting down. What a heartless employer we work for!
The GLAP is not just a place of safety, it's meant for our comfort too. We would love to see the managers who made this decision work extreme shifts all winter in windy, unheated offices.
From the new year, LUL wants station staff to wear red tabards with the slogan "here to help".
The idea came out of a London Travelwatch review of the impact of staff cuts and ticket office closures, which found that staff were not visible enough.
More staff, not an add-on to our uniform, is the answer! Why should we dress like clowns to cover up for staff shortages? LUL has ignored unions' objections.
There seems to have been progress in the ongoing battle for cab security, with LU proposing a new prototype with a J Door key opening system.
Trains safety reps from both Aslef and RMT seem pleased with the prototype, with meetings now planned involving reps and the engineers working on the system to explain it to drivers.
The progress has been marred somewhat by intra-union conflict, with Aslef using the opportunity to take swipes at the RMT.
Track Access Control members of the RMT have successfully balloted to defend Anthony Codd for doing his job during an LDI!
Management have decided his failure to give the highest sanction available and refer the matter to a CDI has called his conduct into question.
Anthony was then stood down and three months later given notice of a CDI followed by an out of the blue home visit from senior management! Anthony was subsequently sacked, with none of his fellow workers being told why!
Relations between the British Transport Police and LU station staff have been somewhat strained of late. There’s a widespread feeling on the job that the BTP don’t take staff assaults seriously. This feeling was exacerbated by the news, reported in Tubeworker last month, that BTP officers conducted a covert operation at Piccadilly Circus, where they effectively spied on staff and undertook acts of antisocial behaviour in order to “gauge staff reaction”.
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