Tubeworker's blog

It's amazing how a member of staff can be a victim of an assault yet LUL management treat them as the villain.

That's the fate that has befallen Jerome Bowes, CSA at Elephant & Castle. LUL has sacked Jerome, following an incident in which he witnessed a vilent fight between two passegers and was...

You might have noticed that several stations now have moving-image adverts on a 10-foot-high screen on the platform wall. It's all thanks to cross-track projection (XTP).

You might also suspect that this could possibly distract the driver, or indeed the passengers, causing potential safety problems...

Just when you thought the cleaning contractors could sink no lower, ICS has sacked Hammersmith depot cleaner Michael Bonsu for wearing a hat. Not just any old hat - a hat that he got from the 'free issue' store in the depot, and which helps him to do his job safely in the absence of proper PPE from...

Superb. In a finding that George Orwell would undoubtedly be proud of, Occupational Health has revealed that staff who are sick would feel better being at work and in the company of colleagues than they would staying at home.

Dare we suggest that is because they would rather not be sick?! Oh...

District line management seem to have got their knickers in a twist because East Ham staff are standing up for themselves.

The new Line General Manager - we've heard that his name is Mr Brutal, but we're sure that can't be true - has issued a rather flustered circular, urging staff not to tell...

It seems there may be another booze ban party tonight, this time in defiance of rather than just in protest at the new no-alcohol rule.

But worry not, BTP apparently 'have a plan' this time round. Let's just hope the 'plan' doesn't involve turning up two hours late and then legging it.

It is not just Rickmansworth group that is facing forced displacements. Charing Cross and Embankment are in the same boat, with management apparently determined to move staff around just becuase they put them in the wrong place to start with.

Remember those old war films with generals using funny...

Rickmansworth CSAs still face displacement off their group as management try to make them suffer the consequences of a management cock-up. They have now had enough of the constant threats of displacement.

LUL sent the new-recuit CSAs to Ricky stating that this was their permanent work location...

The proverbial well and truly hit the fan last night when the booze ban party turned nasty. At least seven staff were assaulted, and half a dozen stations closed due to either overcrowding or bad behaviour as the Circle line became a party venue. Trains were damaged and taken out of service.

Before...

With the booze ban starting tomorrow, Tubeworker is particularly looking forward to seeing how it is enforced at Stratford station.

A station jointly operated by LUL and national rail services, one particular pair of platforms is LUL on one side, national rail on the other, and guess what's in...

The new issue of the printed Tubeworker bulletin is out now. Download it here.

Tubeworker has reported previously on management's decidedly unhelpful hints to ticket sellers. Here's another one ... Always encourage tourists to use Pay As You Go.

The problem? Several stations for very popular tourist attractions - Hampton Court, for example - don't accept Pay As You Go.

It's...

Following the Euston refurb, there is a new control room, where the Control Room Assistant sits on their own with the monitors and service information, and a new, separate Supervisors' office, where the Supervisors sit.

This prevents teamwork between them, with the Control Room Assistant...

As Boris Bans Booze day fast approaches, management have produced a helpful guide to how we are supposed to enforce it.

At the start of each section, they tell us in big, important letters that our safety is paramount. Trouble is, no matter how many times management write that, the content gives...

Metronet is up to its tricks again, undermining the Signal Department in a drip-drip fashion. The latest move is an attempt to remove signal staff from future control rooms.

The Infraco, despite repeatedly being forced to back down by its own workforce, still hasn't given up on outsourcing, and its...

RMT has finally announced actual dates for balloting cleaners for strike action to demand a living wage. And about time too - the scandal of poverty pay for this grade has gone on far too long. the ballot will open on 29 May and close on 19 June.

Cleaners working for four of the Tube's cowboy...

Boris Johnson has appointed a new henchman. His new 'deputy mayor' (funny, we thought such a post would have to be, erm, elected) goes by the name of Tim Parker.

Mr Parker's fans, apparently, call him a 'cost-cutter' as though that’s a compliment. His enemies, on the other hand, call him the Prince...

Today's the day that management expect former Willesden Junction staff to go to work at Stonebridge Park, despite not actually bothering to ask them if they want to transfer there, and having ignored all their letters of protest.

But why would anyone not want to work at lovely Stonebridge...

Boris Johnson's vote-grabbing antics in the Mayoral election may yet come back to bite him. Not only did his election material explicitly commit him to fight the ticket office closures "every step of the way", but here is a photo of him signing a passengers' petition against ticket office closures...

The absolute cheek of it! Management, having enticed staff to apply for RCI and discovered that far more of us passed than they anticipated (perhaps they underestimate our talents!), have written to some of those on the training waiting list asking us if we want to go and work on the buses!

We kid...

Tubeworker has reported previously on LUL management's removal of accident books from workplaces.

It turns out that as we confidently predicted, this has caused a watering-down of safety standards, in particular:

• under reporting of accidents as people are reluctant to take the time to get an EIRF...

From our bus correspondent ...

TfL is installing a new satellite radio equipment on all London buses, causing panic amongst route/service controllers who realise their services may not be required in numbers.

When the system is fully operational, only a third of route controllers will be...

Our current pay deal on LUL runs out next April, but the fight for a decent new deal must start now.

We can be sure that our employers and their political puppet-masters are determined to make workers bear the brunt of the looming economic crisis. They will demand that we tighten our belts, while...

New Mayor Boris Johnson is to ban the drinking of alcohol on London's public transport.

For those of us who have to deal with drunk, abusive and puking passengers, this might sound like a good idea. But think, and read, a bit further. According to BoJo, this ban will be enforced by staff as well as...

Duty sheets at Oxford Circus and Piccadilly Circus are showing loads of duties unfilled.

At Oxford Circus, 6 full time and 6 part time positions are vacant. There are not enough staff to stretch, and platforms where the Business Needs says there needs to be SATS are left unstaffed (with what impact...

After several faltering starts, the strike for the London Living Wage for cleaners is planned to go ahead again. RMT haS not been joined by the T&G in these plans, so strong organisation will be even more vital than usual. There is a lot of work to do over the next weeks: joining cleaners up to the...

It seems that on Green Park group, management have added an extra stage to the attendance/discipline procedure. Now, you have a 'fact-finding interview' before being sent to an LDI.

What Tubeworker wants to know is: what facts do managers need to find out that they couldn't unearth at the Return To...

Management have a handy hint for ticket sellers. If someone asks for a quid's credit to be added to their Oyster card and tenders a twenty pound note, ask them "Are you sure you wouldn't like more credit than that?".

Staff at Arnos Grove were not convinced, but dutifully followed the advice...

Like most stations, Embankment was just about struggling by with the skeleton staffing levels it was left with in the wake of the 35-hour week: in the peak, two CSAs on the gateline, one on each of two platforms.

But now a big cheese District line manager has decided to stick his oar in and...

Make sure you go and vote today. Keep out Johnson and the BNP. Here is what Tubeworker had to say about it a couple of weeks ago.