FOLLOWING THE 21 July attacks, members of the RMT union on the
Piccadilly line refused to drive trains on those parts of the line that
had been kept open after 7/7. This was prompted by managers saying the
system was on code Amber, meaning that the whole system should stop with
trains pulling into the next station and evacuating passengers and staff
until given the all clear.
A Piccadilly Line driver spoke to the socialist.
OUR DEPOT’S initial response was to shut the job down because of the
attacks. So the depot was closed, not on management instructions but
because drivers took their own decision. All that evening management
claimed Metropolitan Police had given the all-clear so we should go
back. But we weren’t reassured.
Our main gripe was about Code Amber. There were four small explosions
on 21 July but they still ran the service on other lines.
With Code Amber you get your train into the next station and
evacuate. There’s a Code Red where you immediately shut down but you
wouldn’t want your train stuck in the tunnel with a bomber on it.
But the whole network is coming under attack. We say as soon as
there’s a major incident the whole network should shut down until we’re
given the all-clear. At present you don’t know whether you’re running
trains with suicide bombers on them or not.
All management want is to keep the service running – which we do too
– but not at the expense of Londoners’ health and safety.
We’re not marines, we’re not firefighters, we’re ordinary workers. We
feel under a lot of pressure. We’ve been on high alert for four years
now yet we haven’t even had half a day’s training on how to deal with a
terrorist attack.
What does that tell you? They just want to keep the trains running.
By not putting out a Code Amber they’re putting everyone’s lives at
risk. They’re just concentrating on targets and mileage.
There’s extreme unease. Some drivers experienced the 1970s with the
IRA. But today partners are putting pressure on drivers not to go into
work.
We should be pushing for Code Amber across the network because
they’re targeting the whole network. But drivers are taking their own
decisions – getting to the next station and detraining. It’s quite a
fragile situation – you could get depots shutting down at any time.
Drivers who’ve worked 25 years are saying they’ve never known such
contempt by management towards staff and customers. I’m going in tonight
and saying I’m not prepared to take a train out until we get this Code
Amber sorted. I won’t be the only one.
This incident where plainclothes police followed a bloke into
Stockwell station and shot him. In front of passengers the guy just got
shot dead. You don’t want people brandishing guns in the tube stations,
whoever they are.
AFTER THE bombs, managers have been gung-ho in getting the tube
service up and running quickly, even trying to get tube staff to search
for bombs so they can get things restarted.
By a Northern Line tube driver
On 21 July at my depot, Morden, many drivers refused to work on the
shuttle service to Stockwell. After Friday’s shoot to kill incident,
many more drivers joined in the action. They were incensed that the tube
driver, a Morden depot driver of Nigerian descent had been taken at
gunpoint by plain-clothes policemen.
We are threatened by the bombers but now we have to work with
professional killers with their blood up carrying out extra-judicial
killings.
The unions are demanding that proposed staff cuts be abandoned, that
services should run with staff and passenger safety paramount. The
unions will back any member of staff refusing to work if they feel
unsafe.
RMT considers striking
THE RMT union will consider balloting all its 11,000 members on
London Underground and associated companies if talks due on security
measures on 27 July break down.
The RMT described an earlier meeting with London mayor Ken
Livingstone as "very disappointing".
RMT leader Bob Crow correctly calls for guards to be reinstated on
London Underground trains. On 7 July tube drivers were cut off from most
passengers and without radio contact with central control.
The union has also called for no cutting of station staff numbers,
and that Livingstone’s current plans to reduce station staff are
dropped.
It also opposes any plans to weaken or do away with the minimum
safety standards for sub-surface stations, brought in after the 1987
Kings Cross fire.
And the union wants dedicated staff on all station gatelines, with
plans to monitor them remotely dropped.
