BMT ballots over strike to protect safety guards

The
RMT trade union is balloting train crew members on whether to strike, in a move
designed to defend the role of safety guards.

The
union is balloting members at 15 train operators the RMT claims have reneged on
an early commitment to restore key safety procedures to safety guards.

“They
(train operators) all agreed to abide by an independent risk assessment that
recommended restoration of elements of the guard’s safety role which had been
removed from the rulebook," said Bob Crow general secretary of the RMT.

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“RMT
believes safety must always come first. We have campaigned against the
reduction of the safety role of the guard ever since it was suggested after
privatisation, and we will not rest until the guard’s full role is back in the
rulebook,” he said.

By Paul Nelson