Train Drivers ’ Union Since 1880 Railway Enginemen’S Tax Free Saver Plans
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L A N R U O ASLEFThe ASSOCIATED SOCIETY of LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS & FIREMEN J SEPTEMBER 2017 ASLEF on thE UndErgroUnd Meet me by the entrance of the Tube The train drivers ’ union since 1880 railway enginemen’s tax free saver plans save for your futurre for less than your favourite song on iTTunesunnes tax free policies from 70p per day for further information call uus on freephone 08800 328 9140 visit our website at www.ennginemens.co.ukk or write to us at Railway Enginemeen's Assurance Society Limited, 727 WWashwoodashwood Heath Road, BirmBirmingham,mingham, B8 2LE @RailwayEnginemens Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority. Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Incorporated under the Friendly Societies Act 19922 L 7 1 A 0 2 N R E R B M U E T P O E J Published by the AASLEFSSOCIATED SOCIETY of LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS & FIREMEN S Mick: They promise one thing and deliver another Tories and the DfT – here we go again 7 8 ELL , here we go again. A party that promised electrification of key areas in news W 2010, and then truncated the proposals to win votes, has done it again: 2015 Commuters, cattle trucks and carriages 4 electrification, 2017 no mention of reduced investment until after elected. The figures for the A Bridge Too Far for Edward Fox 5 comparative investment, in particular rail, per 11 John Davies: a tribute from Lew Adams 6 head of population, are a matter of public record and, as we know, do not make good reading if British Transport Pensioners’ Federation 7 you live outside the south-east, especially when Fail the disabled and lose your franchise 8 qualified by population density. What can you say to those areas – what we call districts 3, 4, 6, and 7, which make up half our railway – directly Features impacted by the lack of a long-term strategy? So in the month they announce the end of production of petrol and diesel cars we commit Deputy Mayor Val Shawcross: Labour’s 10 14 to bi-mode trains for an indeterminate future. new strategy for transport in London The Northern Powerhouse on rail is no more – Finn Brennan on churn and change at LU 11 just minor fixes that only mitigate in certain areas and do not meet economic, social and Going Underground: Terry Wilkinson, 12-13 community needs. Julian Vaughan and Graham Dean The irony is the announcement of Crossrail 2 Gregor Gall, with a nod to Disraeli, on 14 (which we welcome as part of a greater long-term Theresa May and the two Tory nations strategy) at the same time which highlights the contempt this government holds for rail outside Dave Prentis on Unison’s landmark victory 15 the south-east. As I write the big discussion on in court and Chris Nutty on sign language Radio 4 is about walking and cycling as the 15 solution for all our transport needs; they have a role but do not drive the economy like rail. And regulars does this government have any plans for the long-term future of freight other than the paths that may be created, years from now, by HS2? Branch News and 100 Years of Union 16-17 21st century society is not the polite respectful Legal: Lorena Webster and Gerard Stilliard 18 place we would all like it to be and the rise of knife crime and sexual assaults in our industry, Obituaries 19 with many more unreported, is a major concern. Letters and Classified Advertisements 20-21 These issues are coming to a head in certain areas, Last Word: Books for the summer 22 especially in Scotland, and we are calling for additional staff to ensure not only the safety of On Track, Prize Crossword, ASLEF’s 23 23 the travelling public but of those who work on Legal Services and Change of Address our railway system. It is time for employers to demonstrate their duty of care. Cover: A London Underground Train at a Station by Anita Van Den Broek Finally, let’s nail an industry lie – when companies try to deflect criticism of their failure The ASLEF Journal is published every month by: to recruit enough staff by putting out on CIS that it’s down to the drivers. It isn’t. It’s the company’s ASLEF, 77 St John Street, London, EC1M 4NN Tel: 020 7324 2400 fault. And if any driver is abused or assaulted email: [email protected] website: www.aslef.org.uk because of such company misinformation we will act in the strongest terms. EDITOR Mick Whelan l DESIGNER Michael Cronin l PRINTER TU Ink, 5 Wythburn Place, London, W1H 7BU Yours fraternally ADVERTISING ASLEF Journal, 77 St John Street, London, EC1M 4NN. Contact Keith Richmond on 0207 324 2407 Mick Whelan, general secretary or [email protected] l CLASSIFIED ADS [email protected] or call 020 7324 2400. The acceptance of a display or classified advertisement does not necessarily imply endorsement of that product or service by ASLEF CHANGE OF ADDRESS Please post your details to ASLEF, 77 St John Street, Clerkenwell, London, EC1M 4NN September 2017 l The ASLEF Journal 3 News Commuters – cattle trucks not carriages ICK Whelan has put the blame for overcrowded commuter trains firmly M where it lies – on privatisation – after new figures from the Department for Transport revealed the extent of the problem on Britain’s railways. ASLEF’s general secretary said: ‘If we had cattle trucks instead of carriages then fare- paying passengers would be much better off! Because we have legislation – statutory protection – for animals being transported – QUotE … but not for people. Which is why so many The GS with ASLEF freight reps at AAD trains are now not just uncomfortable, but ‘If 7% of the population goes to seriously overcrowded. It cannot be right that, passengers to get the seat for which they have private school, then it seems only after 20 years of privatisation, people paid a lot of money!’ fair that only 7% of Britain’s elite travelling and working on our railways are Mick added: ‘Privatisation has failed. Fares jobs should go to privately- treated like this by the privatised train have soared, taxpayer subsidies have risen, educated individuals. This would companies. rolling stock has got older and overcrowding include chief executives, barristers, ‘These DfT figures underline what we have has got worse. We need – and the people in journalists, judges, medical said all along – that there is no long-term this country deserve – a properly integrated, professionals and MPs.’ – Ellie Mae strategy, no long-term planning, and no long- properly managed, publicly owned railway. o’hagan in The Guardian term thinking, among the TOCs which are only That’s what Jeremy Corbyn has promised and …UnQUotE in the railway business to make a quick buck. these figures from the DfT prove the point. By ‘The train companies say they need more bringing our railway back into public time to sort it out but they’ve already had ownership, the Labour Party will put a badly resources across the whole network, rather more than 20 years, since the railways were fragmented system back together, which will than on a company by company, franchise by privatised, to provide enough trains for allow better management of capacity and franchise, area by area, basis.’ MBE For tEj Stephen cleared – but clouds lour over DOO Tejinder Kumar Sharma, a former The driver whose train written to Ian Prosser, Silverlink/London Overground pulled away from a chief inspector of driver, who has written several station, dragging a railways and director critically-acclaimed collections of woman along the of rail safety at the short stories, was made an MBE Tej – driven platform, after the Office of Rail and in the Queen’s birthday honours to write systems failed, has Road, asking: ‘Given list for his contribution to Hindi been found not guilty the jury and the RAIB literature and community cohesion in London. of endangering A systems failure left Neelan Malik appear to agree this passenger safety. struggling to free her hand from the train issue relates to a WorK FroM hoME – thAt’S thE Stephen Murdoch, 45, door as the loco left the station technical problem, are AnSWEr SAYS SoUthEAStErn was charged with Malik’s hand – in the Transport Police, you considering Southeastern’s credit card size fold-out guide ‘endangering the door. Stephen told perversely, decided to stopping the to ‘changes and closures’ on services into safety of rail police he carried out prosecute. movement of all units London Bridge, Waterloo East, Charing Cross passengers, by wilful all the proper checks ‘This case shows which might perform and Cannon Street from Saturday 26 August omission or neglect, and an investigation that drivers cannot in a similar manner in to Saturday 2 September doesn’t beat about by failing to check the revealed that the rely on the train door such circumstances the bush. Under ‘top tips for passengers’ it length of the train was safety lights did not interlocking until such time as a simply advises: ‘Work from home’. clear’ before leaving work. technology,’ said Mick safe solution to the Hayes & Harlington But the British Whelan. The GS has problem is found?’ tWEEtS oF thE Month station in west London in July 2015. SUpErtrAM dEBtS to LASt For 60 YEArS Pensions are deferred wages. Any attack The verdict, at Mick Whelan has condemned the spiralling cost of the Stagecoach on the TfL pension fund would mean the mother of all disputes. Blackfriars crown Supertram in Sheffield after the Star newspaper in the city revealed that Finn Brennan court, has clear residents in South Yorkshire will be paying for the system, which implications for the opened in 1995, until 2056.