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Stopvictimisingglen@hotmail.com
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Urgent request for support
London underground is victimising Union activist
GLENROY WATSON
Stopvictimisingglen@hotmail.com
Next campaign meeting Thursday 17th April 2003 at the Red Rose club 129 Seven Sisters Road N.15 at 5pm.
London Underground are seeking to dismiss Glenroy Watson, respected trade union and community activist. This E-mail urges you to speak out in his defence. United we stand!
The background
After midnight on the 21st December 2002, while walking back through his train, the
Driver of Victoria line train 245 found the Cleaner still on the train in the siding picking
Up rubbish, without a care in the world. The Driver, an experienced Railworker with
Almost twenty five years service, having arranged protection for himself, offered that same protection to the Cleaner and both walked out of the siding safely.
As a result the Driver, former Staff side Chairman of the Victoria line Health and Safety
Line committee, Glenroy Watson has been sent to a disciplinary hearing were he is facing possible dismissal.
For those who don't know him Glenroy Watson is a Train Driver on the Victoria Line and has been an active union member for over 20 years on LUL.
He has successfully represented staff from all grades at all levels including DBs and employment tribunals. Has been a Branch Secretary, holds a position on the TUC race relations committee and is actively involved in the human rights group "liberty". He is also currently a health and safety rep for his area.
In short he is a thorn in the side of management because he sticks up for working people.
The same management has sent Glenroy to DB on what we believe are pretty dodgy grounds.
So far the disciplinary Board has sat for three days, and will give their 'judgment' on the 4th day on the 22nd April. We wish them well in their deliberation, and hope they do so long and carefully. We hope they remember the things leading up to the case and the fact that management were in such a rush that they could not even wait for the investigating officer to sign the papers work.
Instead, they were PPed by the local Train Crew Manager. This was the same manager who intimidated the station H &S Rep during the Firefighters dispute and she swore at him. This is the calibre of managers running LUL.
Video tapes of the last two days Glenroy stabled his train at Walthamstow are in the possession of the police, and as Advocate Oliver New said 'it was a bad cut / paste job. Managers who instigated the disciplinary hearing were well aware of this, and that the video showed station staff on site long before the train left the platform.
Already RMT and other union Activists are talking about industrial action on the whole of the Underground, including the Infraco's to protect active trade unionist against Victimisation.
Glenroy Watson; Why the charges against him are so dishonest
The charges
"Gross misconduct in that on Sunday 22nd December 2002 at approximately 00.20 hours you departed from Walthamstow Central platform 1 without the authorisation of the station supervisor. In doing this you overcarried a Contract Cleaner to siding 21. Your actions in bringing the cleaner from the siding were also negligent in that you did so without taking appropriate protection to ensure that either of you were safe from: -
i) risk of moving trains and ii) high voltage electricity. These actions are contrary to section P1 (1.1) of the Victoria Line Supplement to the Reference Manual effective May 1998 and also contrary to sections 2.1 and 5.1 of the London Underground Code of Conduct effective from 1st February 1998".
Why dishonest?
Glenroy did come to a complete understanding with the supervisor in the usual way that the key protection switch was operated before leaving the sidings and no other operator on the line waits for authorisation before proceeding to the sidings. There is no rule on this procedure. Glenroy used the official walkway out of the sidings and no other operator on the line discharges traction current before walking out
The Victoria Line supplement has not been discussed with or agreed with Health and Safety reps on the line (of which Glenroy is one) so no other operator on the line is aware of them.
Glenroy is an experienced Train driver with over 20 years experience and would not be foolish enough to risk his life or any other so would not contravene the LUL code of conduct.
THIS IS VICTIMISATION OF ONE OF OUR REPS
DEMAND THAT MANAGEMENT STOP AND SIGN THE PETITION TODAY
Stop Victimising Glenroy Watson
You will not find Glenroy Watson being welcome to the Victoria Line Health & Safety committee meeting on any minutes.
Re-elected in March 2002, while off sick - he held the post from 1995 - 1999 - he was bitterly opposed by Local management who tried to ban him from attending his first meeting in June Management had to be reminded that it is not they, 'but members of and independent trade union who they should elect, and who should represent them.
There was an attempt to medically terminate him. Later he was then faced with continuous deduction from his pay. In one instance over £500 was deducted just before his holiday.
Instead of apologising and returning his money, Glenroy was hauled up on charges of how 'strongly he had protested against the deduction.'
To this day, he is under threat that his pay will again be deducted, and he has never received any apologies.
A principled trade unionsit
During the Firefighters strike Glenroy, along with many other Drivers refused to take hundreds of passengers down the tunnel without fire cover, as he said 'what happens if there is a derailment, who's going to cut people out?' This was only a few weeks before Channcery Lane. LUL's response? Tried to manufacture evidence to see if Glenroy had used the tube during the dispute. They were clearly disappointed that Glenroy is a person of solid principles. They have still not closed the book on that item.
On the 14th December Glenroy took a train out of service, because a sharp edge had come loose on a seat and had already cut someone. He was told he cannot take the train out of service and 'you must cut the car out and run it to Brixton'. He said 'OK. But please send someone to look at it and make sure it is OK.'
No one came, and so Glen took the train out of service. Glneroy was taken off the train, suspended from duty and told to write a report. After a few hours, after he had written the report and because the service was disrupted, the suspension was lifted and Glenroy was returned to duty.
Two days later he was again taken off the train to be interviewed. Again the service was disrupted and he was returned to his duties.
By that Thursday, the rule had been change to state that if any one car is to be cut out, the whole train must be removed from service. He has never received and apology and the item has never been closed.
On the first day Glenroy returned to work in uniform, he had three 'return to work' interviews with 3 different managers. He allowed them all to conduct their investigation.
Since then, everytime he has trade union duties, even when it is on the Victoria Line, the next day when he returns to work, he is given a 'return to work' interview.
Return to Work interviews are meant to be used when staff have been away sick, in order to ensure that no one is taking any medication which might affect their ability to work.
In Glenroy's case it was being used in a hope to frustrate and anger him. Clearly they did not know their pray very well.
In one case where he was staff side Secretary of the local Trains Health & Safety Committee, he wrote in to ensure he and his Aslef colleague were both release to attend a Heath & Safety meeting. When Glen returned to work, he was again subjected to a return to work interview.
He was concern that his letter had not be received and asked if his Aslef colleague has also been recorded absent. 'No. His release was fine.' This was agreed in the same letter that Glen had asked for his own release.
Not put off, Glen sought out the Aslef local Rep and together they march up to see senior managers and told them in no uncertain terms to 'stop this nonsense'.
Did you know that LUL managers had the power of time travel?
On the 17th March 2002, Oliver New informed management that if they did not provide Glenroy with the information he had been asking for since December, they would be walking out of the hearing. "OK! OK!' Said the Chairman 'We will extend the adjournment over lunch and we will get the information you asked for.' Around 1500hrs a large package arrived. 'Is that it' asked Oliver 'Yes' says the manager doing taking the minutes. 'Can we have it' says Oliver 'No. We have to sort it out' says the Note taker. After 1700hrs after the hearing had adjourned for the day, Oliver asked again. No. It still had to be sorted out. Four days later staff were contacted and told they could have the information. The first part was a letter dated the 18th April, one day after it 'had been given to the Note taker'. The second part was that the whole thing had been faxed on the 19th April. Two days after it 'had been given to the Notetaker'. By the way, the Notetaker is a HR manager.
There have been almost 100 reported case of over carry into the siding and depot on the Victoria line. Glenroy Watson is the first person to have been taken to a disciplinary hearing. In some cases, passengers are found walking across the tracks of moving trains or asleep near the running rail with the power on.
Stop Victimising Glenroy Watson
Union Branches who have met so far:- Finsbury Park, Hammersmith and Circle, Bakerloo Line, Seven Sisters ASLEF, RMT Train Grade Committee
Hackney Unison, Hackney Trades Council, Unite! Hackney
EARN (European Anti Racist Network), Waltham Forest Trade Council,
BLACK Advisors, RMT Black & Ethnic Members, Black Workers for Justice -
europe (BWJ-e)
Alex Ellington, Heather Rees, Rose McDonald, Sue Storry, Jim Mathieson, Mark Davis, John Page, Brian Dedus, Will Leng, Rickey Datta, Lenny Dixion, Dave Rayfield, Freddie Brown, Angela Johnson, Bob Law, Oliver New, Lovell Johnson, Margaret Ling, Ola Balogun, Kenneth Cuvalay & Petra Ploeg & Jan Cartier & Saskia Boumans & Patricio Aravena & Rita Mungra (Netherland) Les Bruty, Derek Bishop, Naledi Kline, Alastair Hazlewood, Martin Donohue, Nick Bailey, Clyde Green, Claude O'Garro, Kehinde Osifuuwa, George Crawford, Judith Amanthis, Bob Crow, Stanley Greenway, Abdul Rashid, Tom Harris, Bougan, Explo Nani Kofi, Berrick Griffiths, Steve Down & Larry Post (US Subway), Jennifer Moses, Harish Patel, Pav Alam, Tony Venson & Dave O'Conner (ASLEF) Winston Ince, Jackson Jones, Wilbert Haynes (Retired Train Manager), Chitra Karve, Gerard Omasta - Milsom, Claire Andrew, Nicoletta, Naima Omasta - Milsom, Errol Lewis, Gargi Bhattacharyya, Ismet Cebi, Judy Richard, Alex Pascall, Roland Biosah, Manny Blake, Martha Osamor, Judy Richard, Ifor Davies, Bill O'Dowd, Rob, Doug Hammersley, Michael Ellman, Bob McMunn, Arwyn Thomas, David Uduehi, Marsha Niemeijer (Labor notes US), John P Barrois, Tunvir Ghani, June Nelson, Rolan Rance, Marigold Nunes, Roger Warren Evens, Paul Wheatley, Janine Booth, JS John, D Hepburn, P Chipchase, C James, P. Campbell, Syed Jafri, J D'Souza, R Ghani, O Thomas, Alex Fernandes, Y Kadraoui, M Delalega, N Tyson, L. Donegan, J Monterio, J Smith, J Suma Ketta, A Afriye, Conrad Plentie, O New
How to help;
1 Rise the victimisation of Glenroy in your trade union branch, or community group
2 Attend the defense meetings
3 Send a message of support to the campaign, Stopvictimisingglen@hotmail.com
4 Forward this E-mail on to potential supporters
5 make up a petition demanding;
"We the undersigned believe that Victoria Line managers are victimising Glenroy Watson because of his Trade Union activities and demand that you stop and immediately return him to his job."
Please Return Completed Petition Forms to Red Rose club 129 Seven Sisters Road N.15
Chair: Dean O'Hanlon DOHANLON@aol.com/07956342235
Secretary: A.Chumber amarjitchumber@hotmail.com 07930555140
Editor: Kehinde Osifuwa Editor ken@osifuwa 07753898105
Off LUL Coordinator: J Page john.page@unisonfree.net 07985452096
Jane Holgate
Secretary, Hackney Trades Union Council
Box 11, 136 Kingsland High Street, London E8 2NS.
07960 798399
j.holgate@unisonfree.net
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