‘YOU have to stand up for what you think is right. It’s all about passenger safety. All the rules are being broken on a daily basis.’
Unite member Nigel Browne was talking to News Line on the picket line outside the London Underground (LU) Power Control Room, opposite Southwark tube station in central London early yesterday morning, where it was announced that the strike, which started on 1 July, has now been extended to Tuesday 22 July.
Unite expressed safety concerns for those that make up to four million passenger journeys each day.
The technicians provide power for the 270-station underground network.
Nigel Browne said: ‘There are 38 of us. We are Power Control Room Operators and LU are targeting us for cuts, they are trying to devalue the job.
‘We don’t want the travelling public affected, but the longer this goes on, with the normal routine safety maintenance not being carried out, there’s every chance that could happen.
‘We are determined to defend the value of the job we do and continue to maintain a high safety LU.’
Another picket, Steve Pratt said: ‘We’ve been on strike for one week now, since last Tuesday. We maintain, regulate and control all the power systems on London Underground.
‘Management plans to disseminate a lot of safety-critical work to other areas and do away with the core elements of our job to lesser skilled people.
‘A normal training course for this job is nine months, but they have so-called trained people in a matter of weeks. The public is at risk.’
Fellow picket Tom Muldoon said: ‘We suspended our action for 28 days on management’s promise to come up with a new proposal, but they completely reneged on the framework upon which the strike was cancelled.
‘They came up with proposals that were completely inferior in terms of pay and conditions and they were asking for instant job cuts.
‘In order for them to run trains they have cancelled all engineering work – safety systems aren’t being checked as they are meant to be, track inspections are not going ahead, vital safety work is not being done because the people who are allegedly doing our work are incapable of doing it.’
Unite wrote last week to the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) challenging London Underground Ltd (LUL) management that its contingency plans are robust enough for the strike’s duration.
Unite regional officer Hugh Roberts said: ‘Our members have voted to continue strike action to 22 July and we would urge the LUL management to get around the table at ACAS to achieve an equable settlement.
‘Our members are monitoring the safety issues very carefully. For example, last Saturday (5 July) on the Metropolitan line, inexperienced and poorly trained staff switched off the wrong item of plant that could have caused the loss of electrical supplies to stations and signals at the top end of the Metropolitan line.’
