It looks like LU management has caved over plans to dilute drivers' safety procedures in order to help cut stations jobs.
The company had intended to introduce a range of wild - and wildly unsafe - changes, including reuiring drivers to notch back into platforms, detrain along the track alone, and self-despatch for Cat A platforms. And why? So that incidents such as SPADs or stalled trains could be 'dealt with' without station staff, and in a way that would get the service up and running again sharpish regardless of doing it safely. These new procedures would also have undoubtedly led to sackings, as the drivers alone would be held responsible for anything going wrong.
But the company has backed down, with the Direcor pulling some of the procedures and sending the others back to the drawing board. It's a victory for the unions, and for the workforce who saw that all grades are threatened by LU's increasing willingness to try ever more daft measures to pare staffing levels to the bone.
So why did management back down? A flash of enlightenment? Probably not. The forceful and persuasive arguments of union reps? That's rather more possible, as reps put in some good work presenting their case. Industrial action putting massive pressure on them? Ah, that's more like it. Management realised that the OEP (their name for these daft procedures) firmed up drivers' support for the fight against stations job cuts. This may also mean that they hope that pulling the OEP will weaken drivers' support. But drivers should draw the oppposite conclusion - that it was sticking together with other grades to deliver effective industrial action that pushed management into retreating, so if we keep on pushing, we can get the ob cuts scrapped too.
