Striking Against Lone Working

Today, detrainment staff at three Bakerloo line stations took their seventh day of strike action against management threats to make them work alone. (That's their seventh one-day strike, not the seventh day of an ongoing strike.)

The work they do is 'tipping out' trains, telling people that they have to get off because the train is going into a sidings or depot. It is a very vulnerable situation to be in, as quite a number of people get naffed off about being turfed off a train, and while most of them deal with their disappointment philosophically, some of the arseholes amongst them take it out on the detrainment staff with verbal abuse, threats or even violence. So it is not a job that London Underground should expect anyone to do alone, without any other staff on the station to assist them should the sh*t hit the fan.

There has been zero scabbing so far, but the strikers are quite isolated. Please send them messages of support by e-mailing me.

(You can read a lot more about the strike and how it has developed here.)