As the crises we all face developed rapidly over the last week, your ASLEF Health and Safety Reps have continually pressured management for immediate action on peoples concerns and provided updated advice to members on London Underground.
Your Health and Safety reps can't tell you what to do.They are not your Doctor or your parent! We all have an individual duty to protect the safety of ourselves and others at work while doing the best we can to provide vital public transport services so that other essential workers can get around.
So please follow all NHS guidelines and the common sense steps on social distancing below whenever possible.
Important Guidance on Social Distancing
You are carrying out a critical role ensuring that essential workers and emergency services can travel to and from work, helping them to save people’s lives. But your own safety is also vital. While carrying out your duties, you should not be placed in any situations where you are within two metres of another person other than momentarily.
You should not allow anyone in your driving cab unless it is essential for them to be there and you feel it’s safe to do so.
You should keep a distance of two metres in canteens and mess rooms – do not congregate!
If you have to deal with a PEA in platform areas, or to go back to deal with a defect, ask passengers to leave the carriage before you deal with the problem.
ASLEF Head Office have told management our position is that staff taxis should be used by 1 member of staff plus the driver.
Travelling in Rear-Cabs
If you are required to travel to another location on your own line during the course of your duty this can be done in the rear driving cab.
If the Train Manager needs you to travel to another location then they should make arrangements with Service Control and the driver of the train they want you to travel on.
Board the train and enter the rear cab through the J Door.
You must immediately contact the driver via the ‘cab to cab’ telling who you are; why you are there and where you are going to.
Be careful not to inadvertently touch any equipment.
When leaving the train, let the driver know you have left.
This procedure must only be used by train operators.
ASLEF are committed to moving essential workers, but not at the expense of our drivers safety. ASLEF will fully support any driver who takes action to maintain social distancing while carrying out their duties at work.
If management put you in any situations where this is not possible then we advise you to decline, stating the reason why, and then immediately inform your local Health and Safety Representative.
Only a fool breaks the 2 metre rule
ASLEF Trains Health and Safety Council
