#StopKillingBusDrivers THREAD "@TfL downplayed #COVID19 dangers to bus, rail & tube workers in critical early months" => Important @WSWS_Updates Report @MayorofLondon @CityHallLabour hope you never read. So I'll serve it up in bitesize pieces @therealdojj wsws.org/en/articles/20…
"@TfL deliberately minimised @COVID19 threat to bus & transport workers Jan-Feb, even as @WHO instructed urgent action. New documents released in @KeithPrinceAM June MQT reveal that TfL focused on operational efficiency at the expense of workers’ lives" london.gov.uk/questions/2020…
NOTE: that "Anti-PPE" TfL Memo was from 14 Feb! AFTER AT LEAST 5 London Bus Driver #Covid19 Deaths in March, TfL, @unitetheunion & ALL Bus Operators signed a Tripartite Agreement on 6 April which repeated that Memo's language against #PPENow (Masks & Gloves). #NothingLearned 
"Between January 23 and February 28, TfL internal directives about managing coronavirus included:
“Despite some sensational headlines, there is no cause for alarm” (Bulletin to Operational Managers, January 23)"
“Despite some sensational headlines, there is no cause for alarm” (Bulletin to Operational Managers, January 23)"
“We are confident that our colleagues are at low risk at work—including those in customer facing roles” (Bulletin to London Underground Area Managers, Train Operations Managers & equivalents in R&E & Assets, & Bulletin to all Operational Line Managers Surface Transport, 14 Feb"
& “We must emphasise that the risk to individuals in the UK remains low” (Letter to all 300 TfL leaders from Lilli Matson Chief Safety, Health and Environment Officer, February 27, 2020)
NOTE: this is the same Chief Safety, Healthy & Environment Officer whom @KeithPrinceAM asked @MayorofLondon about in December 2019. london.gov.uk/questions/2019…
“We are not providing masks or encouraging colleagues to wear them as they are a poor form of protection against viruses including coronavirus” (Bulletin to LU AMs, TOMS and equivalents in R&E & Assets AND Bulletin to all Operational Line Managers, Surface Transport, 14 Feb)
NOTE: 14 FEB is important, b/c that's THE SAME DAY @TfL & @unitetheunion announced a Retention Bonus for London Bus Drivers. You got that, right? No #PPE for Bus Drivers but a Bung (IMO) to keep them from STRIKING OVER FATIGUE! london.gov.uk/press-releases…
“[Masks] make our network appear an unnecessarily risky environment which could result in undue fear and panic” and “Avoid local PA announcements on trains or stations in relation to coronavirus at this stage”. —> 14Feb TfL Bulletins to Surface Transport & Train management teams
"All the documents released by @SadiqKhan cite the authority of @PHE_uk , with the desired implication that @TfL and @MayorofLondon were only following orders."
"One incident providing an early warning of the role @TfL& bus companies would play in spreading #COVID19 was @TransportTimes UK Bus Summit held on February 6." NOTE: Transport Times @Twitter has blocked me for years. What is Transport Times afraid of @DavidBeggTT? #BusSafety
"Conference brought together 250+ delegates, incl @TfL & BusCo Execs & MPs incl. @CharlotteV Bus Minister, @TheGoAheadGroup CEO David Brown, @stagecoachgroup COO Mark Threapleton & Gareth Powell @TfL Surface Transport" transporttimes.co.uk/conferences-ag…
ICYMI: Go Ahead's £3m per year CEO David Brown used to have Gareth Powell's job at @TfL #RevolvingDoor #BusLobby KER-CHING! saferoxfordstreet.blogspot.com/2017/10/too-cl…
7 days later @TransportTimes emailed delegates informing them that a fellow-attendee had been diagnosed w #COVID19. According 14Feb @BBCNews report “The email included advice from @PHE_uk urging delegates no action was needed if they felt well.” bbc.co.uk/news/uk-515032…
NOTE: I remember @LilianGreenwood tweeting abt letter she received from @PHE_uk & fact she was Self-Isolating as a Precaution. Seeing how #Covid19 has afflicted UK Bus Industry, I wonder how many other @TransportTimes Conference Delegates were as diligent as her?
"There is no mention of the @TransportTimes Bus Conference in internal @TfL memos released by @SadiqKhan in @KeithPrinceAM Mayor's Question. [Good Q here] "Did @PHE_UK officials carry out contact tracing after the bus conference?" london.gov.uk/questions/2020…
BTW: I tweeted about this potential "lost opportunity" in early May threadreaderapp.com/thread/1257615…
"Even before the pandemic, TfL’s surface transport system was being described by a former board member [@MLiebreich] as “institutionally unsafe.” cf. Liebreich's 24 Jan 20 letter to @NavinShah2016 (then) Chair @LondonAssembly Transport Committee saferoxfordstreet.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-sa…
"By February 2019, 1,062 people had been killed or seriously injured in TfL bus collisions over the preceding five years." NOTE: we know that fact thanks to research conducted by @CricklewoodMum for @GMBLondonRegion HT>@WKennyGMB gmblondon.org.uk/news/arriva-gr…
"A study by @lborouniversity in 2019 found that 36 percent of London bus drivers had a “close call” due to tiredness in the previous 12 months." READ THE STUDY HERE: content.tfl.gov.uk/bus-driver-fat…
"By February this year, bus drivers were at breaking point. Anger over punishing shifts, cuts to break times, and poor pay forced the Unite union to call a London-wide “consultative” strike ballot. More than 97 percent of members voted for strike action..."
"but @unitetheunion refused to organise a follow-up ballot, and, as the pandemic took hold, it signed a Tripartite Agreement with TfL pledging to deliver “industrial harmony.” NOTE: @KeithPrinceAM asked @MayorofLondon about that in June. #NoResponseYet london.gov.uk/questions/2020…
"Workers were left defenceless in the face of pandemic. The documents show that @TfL’s Head of Network Delivery Richard Jones advised managers to downplay the threat level to TfL’s workforce."
"On Feb14, he [Jones] directed them to discourage masks because “they make our network appear an unnecessarily risky environment” and instructed them to “Avoid local PA announcements on trains or stations in relation to coronavirus at this stage.”
"Instead, “frontline leaders” were told to “reassure colleagues. This will be a big support in making our people feel safe at work and will help us continue to run a good service for Londoners.”
"From late Feb, TfL’s memos focused on curbing absenteeism. Feb27 Matson sent “there is no change to the way we should be managing absence. Managers should continue to follow the usual absence policy for managing colleagues not at work due to reasons linked to coronavirus.”
"Managers were directed to contact ill workers “by phone.” If absenteeism due to #COVID-19 “affecting resourcing levels”, Matson instructed, “Contact your manager in the 1st instance, who can escalate where required.”
"Throughout April & May, sick drivers told @WSWS_Updates they were being harassed to return to work. @TfL’s memos prove this was policy." QED
"Khan’s much publicised “bus bonus retention scheme” announced Feb14 must be seen in this context. Drivers'd receive £1K bonus after 2 years on the job & another £600 if they stayed for three years. Khan hoped measure would avert a crippling staff shortage during the pandemic"
"In retrospect, one driver calls it “blood money”.
“Their whole approach was criminal neglect”, the driver told @WSWS_Updates. “Reading these documents, they are saying ‘no face masks, no gloves, no safety announcements’… It’s complete disregard for life.”
“Their whole approach was criminal neglect”, the driver told @WSWS_Updates. “Reading these documents, they are saying ‘no face masks, no gloves, no safety announcements’… It’s complete disregard for life.”
"To this day, @TfL & @MayorofLondon have refused requests, including under Freedom of Information, to disclose the date and work location of #COVID19 infections, deaths & hospitalisations." TRUE: FOI REJECTED 2x whatdotheyknow.com/request/incide…
BUT @KeithPrinceAM July MQTs might produce some useful answers b/c they're more detailed than my REJECTED FOIs london.gov.uk/questions/
"Clusters of infection—including at Cricklewood, Holloway and Westbourne Park garages—were only discovered later, after drivers and bus safety campaigners began piecing together scattered press coverage."
NOTE: @KeithPrinceAM just got a response to his June MQT on "Clusters" where @MayorofLondon tells him @ComfortDelGro Metroline & @TheGoAheadGroup London are where "Clusters" occurred. Q: what about @STG_AUD @TowerTransit Westbourne Park Depot? london.gov.uk/questions/2020…
NOTE: And why did @unitetheunion Rep tell @c_ducourtieux @lemondefr "There was no obvious cluster in the garages" saferoxfordstreet.blogspot.com/2020/06/london…
"@comadad says he is not surprised by TfL’s ongoing cover-up. “In my opinion, TfL’s obstruction of public scrutiny is a deliberate attempt to hide the poor working conditions and safety practices which underpin these services’ highly-regarded timeliness & availability."
"@comadad: I’d have thought intentionally running a public surface transport system that kills & injures (a) for the convenience of its passengers and (b) the profitability of its contractors, would qualify as a textbook case of corporate manslaughter.”
BTW: @KeithPrinceAM asked @MayorofLondon about Corporate Manslaughter in #CroydonCrash in July MQTs: "As a result of the Croydon Tram Crash, were @TfL or its contractor @FirstGroupplc TOL investigated for Corporate Manslaughter?" london.gov.uk/questions/2020…
Thanks to some quick research by @VLA57Production we know the answer to the MQT is "Yes", based on @FirstGroupplc TOL's FY2019 Annual Report
"@unitetheunion joined with @SadiqKhan @TfL & bus companies to insist that PPE was not required & took no steps to investigate workplace infections and deaths, stating that it was not their responsibility." TRUE: as @CarolinePidgeon MQT just revealed tho TfL did make phone calls
"@unitetheunion & @TfL both claimed that safety screens installed in drivers’ cabins had been designed by experts at University College London, but a @UCL spokesperson told @WSWS_Updates: “The screens were not designed by UCL.”
IMO @UCL PR also VERY MISLEADING: "Analysis by UCL (University College London) has found that safety improvements made to screens by TfL have made it possible to return to front-door boarding along with collaborative work with UNITE and bus operators " ucl.ac.uk/civil-environm…
ICYMI @MayorofLondon just kicked @CarolinePidgeon June MQT asking for UCL Research on allowing Front Door Boarding into the deep end! "I anticipate TfL having an interim summary from UCL later this summer and being able to provide a copy to you then." london.gov.uk/questions/2020…
BUT strangely released (but didn't publish on MQT page) @KeithPrinceAM request for Middle Door Boarding so I published on my blog. WTAF! Why does @MayorofLondon think he can hide this stuff from Public Scrutiny? saferoxfordstreet.blogspot.com/2020/07/stopki…
Oh...& as @therealdojj discovered the Middle Door Boarding Briefing Note kicked up a Doozie of a Revelation BURIED on pg 3 "This trial did not assess the specific risk to drivers in the cab environment, or whether this change to boarding reduced the risk to drivers in the cab."
continuing w @WSWS_Updates: "He [UCL Rep] explained “The role of UCL researchers was to simulate & quantify airflow & droplet concentrations into & out of the driver’s cabin under various scenarios.” Neither @UCL nor @TfL have been willing to provide any further information."
NUDGE: Let's look at that @UCL Press Release again: "Analysis by UCL has found that safety improvements made to screens by TfL have made it possible to return to front-door boarding along with collaborative work with UNITE and bus operators" Hmmm ucl.ac.uk/civil-environm…
Let's look at @unitetheunion's Press Release now "Only buses that have been fitted w new screens, developed in conjunction w experts at UCL & that completely seal the driver's cab, will return to front door entry and should be on the roads of the capital." unitetheunion.org/news-events/ne…
And let's look at @MayorofLondon @TfL PR: "Buses only returned to front-door boarding when analysis from University College London confirmed that @TfL’s safety improvements to screens and the cleaning regime substantially reduces the risk to drivers." london.gov.uk/coronavirus/co…
So, I encourage you to follow @WSWS_Updates on this continuing story b/c @BBCNews @standardnews think writing Puff Pieces abt @TfL Commissioners & 'spaffing' over Banksy in Tube Trains counts as "Investigation" of London's LETHAL Public Transport Services. #CorporateManslaughter
