JUSTICE FOR PAUL OKORO he unfair and vindictive sacking of Acton Town driver, Paul Okoro, has proved to be a new low by Piccadilly line

management. Paul, who has two young children, has been dismissed on a complete fabrication of the facts.

False charge The charge upheld was that he received a call whilst in charge of a train in Northfields depot. This was not the case. Paul took the call in the saloon after he had handed over the controls to another driver. The call was from an emergency heating engineer who Paul had been trying to contact for two days after his heating had broken down and his children had had to be moved to a relative due to freezing temperatures.

Premeditated decision It is clear to us that the CDI and the appeal panels had pre-judged the issue and wanted to make an example of Paul. The decision to sack Paul was based on assumptions and not the facts. In three statements, including the trainer’s, the evidence was he received the call in the saloon. For the CDI and appeal panels to come to a completely different decision shows they were out to sack him from the start of this process. Let’s nail this lie once and for all: Paul did not receive the call whilst in charge of that train. Everything Paul did on the day was safe, and he was aware of his surroundings at all times. He did not refuse a reasonable instruction and stopped the train when it was safe to do so.

The Appeal Manager, stated, "It is difficult to prove with the evidence provided exactly when the phone was answered". Our response to this is look at the statements provided and it is clear the call was taken in the saloon. Peter goes on to dismiss a statement from a driver who overheard the trainer say he was out to get Paul. He questions the integrity of the driver by stating "assuming that ********* version of events is a true reflection of the conversation, this memo was written three months after the event". The reason the statement was produced three months after the event was that Paul was working on stations doing safety critical duties for ten weeks whilst a decision to send him to a CDI was being made. Paul in effect has been sacked because his phone rang in his pocket when the train was stationary and he took it out to glance at it. Paul accepts that he should have turned his phone off and this was his only major error on the day. No real consideration has been given to reasons why he took the call and for this he has lost his livelihood and is under extreme pressure to provide for his family.

Justice for Paul = Justice for all The RMT will not sit idly by and allow this injustice to take place. If they sack Paul on a lie, they could sack you on a lie. We will use every tool at our disposal to get justice for Paul. That is why we have listed this as an item in our dispute with the company. Enough is enough. It’s time to stop the rot and to hit back!

T

Arnos Grove Acton Town Northfields

Piccadilly News

MANAGEMENT RUN RIOT he treatment of Paul Okoro is bad enough, but it forms part of a trend by our management to screw us down.

Since our successful dispute in 2013 when we forced the company to give back over 2,000 outstanding annual leave days lost by drivers over the previous ten years, halted a punitive and unagreed SPAD policy, and won a temporary moratorium on further cases under the unagreed ‘rainbow’ policy, management has tried to get its revenge. Here are some of the things they are doing.

Attendance management abuses Rainbow is back. This policy, which many of you have heard of, is back!! This unagreed policy has already cost three people their jobs (Anne ‘TJ’ Gore, Noel Roberts and Karen Guyott). Who will be next? We have drivers already being punished by this policy and the list will get bigger. If you fall into this policy you could be asked to not get sick for 3 years!!! And it’s not hard to fall into – the triggers include absences for almost every reason including unavoidable illness, bereavement leave and time off after a one-under. It’s a punitive, harsh and dangerous policy and it should stop. Alongside this there are other abuses of attendance policy going on the line and we have to defend ourselves and insist that the current Attendance at Work policy be adhered to.

SPAD management abuses and weak brakes

With training cut to the bone and weak brakes being identified in some incidents it is no wonder SPAD rates are going through the roof. Instead of addressing the problem management are refusing to accept any blame and to add insult to injury are also ignoring agreements made with your Union by refusing to download overrun incidents to see if there were any brake issues and when members get to case conference they are refusing to look at redeployment to an automatic lines as agreed at Trains Functional Council. This has directly affected one of our members at Acton Town Depot who is now facing a CDI. This means that your job is under threat if you make a mistake or two at work and follow the right procedure and this has to be put right.

Cockfosters depot opening turns into a farce

Meanwhile the opening of Cockfosters depot with all the associated upheaval for our members and an attack on their desired shift patterns descends into farce with a number of issues still unresolved. Among them are walkway issues, issues with the links, refusal to properly familiarize all staff likely to use it, and the discovery of asbestos. The Union will not allow our members to be pushed around unacceptably and we will continue to monitor these issues to ensure they are resolved satisfactorily.

T

THIS HAS TO STOP PICCADILLY LINE WEST AND FINSBURY PARK BRANCHES WILL BE

MEETING ON 16TH

AND 17TH

SEPTEMBER RESPECTIVELY AND A DECISION WILL BE MADE WHETER TO MOVE BALLOT ON THESE ISSUES. COME ALONG AND HAVE YOUR SAY AND DEFEND YOUR

JOB