Category: Metronet

Formal Investigation:

LUL have agreed today to hold a formal investigation into recent incidents within Section 15 Possessions. They have stated ‘Due to the recent protection irregularities and near misses that have been reported in possessions and specified areas, Jill Collis, Director of HSE, has commissioned a Formal Investigation. The investigation will undertake a holistic review of the underlying causes of all of the recent incidents and will also look at the effectiveness of our current safety management system controls to prevent a reoccurrence into these incidents’

Nice words and our reps will participate completely. Hardly what we have been demanding

Briefings Continue:

However, at the same time, Section 15 possessions are continuing and our members are being placed at risk. Incidents are occurring almost nightly, yet LUL are out every night ‘briefing’ staff and then pretending this is sufficient. These insufficient briefings hardly cover Section 15 Possessions and do very little to address the core issues surround these possessions.

LUL have a cuts agenda. They have removed possessions from PWT training and are trying to end a professional and tried and tested method of booking out with the Track Access Controllers. Replacing it instead with a rag bag process where people are badly briefed and safety is left to chance.

LUL call it holistic, we call it horrific.

Basic lack of safety

Let’s remember that these possessions have been rushed in without even the basic levels of safety and staff are left to muddle through a process that they do not understand and has no checks and balances. They do not even sign you out of a possession! Those in control are not even reported to Compliance and Licensing if there is an error. Indeed they are not safety critical roles for the most part. We warned that the introduction of dumbed down Protection Masters in PWT would lead to a watering down in safety, however, even we did not foresee the levels it would sink to or the speed at which track access has been like amateur night of the keystone cops.

They rushed the process in, they blame badly briefed and untrained staff, when the real culprits at fault for this whole charade sit in the head offices of LUL

Jubilee Lines Possessions

Even next few weeks, Possessions including Section 15 possessions are taking place on the Jubilee Line that uses TBTC signalling systems. The SSDM’s at Neasden are being put down as key contacts despite not even receiving the minimal safety briefings and ‘have no details on anything to do with this or what safety checks we need to undertake before implementing any requests in relation to this’.

This is a recipe for disaster and is, as we reiterate, the tried and tested methods need to be reinstated.

So please vote yes for safety and lets make sure its not only every journey that counts

The LUEngineering Branch has asked the General Grades Committee to accept the below resolution.

Emergency Resolution: Section 15 Possessions

“This branch notes that LUL are imposing new possession arrangements under Section 15 of the Rule Book. This branch believes that they are dangerous and that people are liable to be killed. Below is a list of issues associated with this imposition:

• Consultation with H&S reps and in particular Track and Signals has not finished.
• There are no banners to define possession limits.
• There is no protection in place to protect the possession.
• There is potential for confusion regarding Engineering or traffic hours working as section 15 blurs the lines.
• There have been eIRFs raised by other trial sites.
• There is no formal staff training on section 15 possessions.
• There are no management briefings prior to the section 15 possession trail.
• There is genuine potential for confusion regarding train movements in the worksite/ within possession limits.
• There is confusion on 5 minute call back time compared to existing practice and may cause people to rush giving up protection to avoid train delays.
• Working Risk Assessment is historical and not generic to the new working practices.
• Potential confusion between TAC and Controller.
• Success criteria in the DRACCT has not been meet, so trial is already unsuccessful.

We ask the General Grades Committee to Ballot all members that access the track on LUL and Tube Lines for strike action and action short of strike, unless full discussions have taken place with our Health and Safety Reps on both companies and they are satisfied it is safe.

We cannot allow a cost cutting agenda to place the lives and safety of our members in danger.”

Our members are truly worried by this development and we demand one thing, that our members can work safely. So we call on LUL to listen to us. This is not safe