Union action secures safety rep’s job

The threat of industrial action by over 2,000 London Tube workers has forced the Metronet infrastructure firm to reinstate a victimised safety rep.

RMT rail union organised the vote last month after safety rep Andy Littlechild was suspended for attempting to uphold the company’s own health and safety policy.

A central plank of the company’s health and safety pollcy is to eliminate a particular hazard and only use personal protective equipment as a last resort. However, Metronet imposed a blanket policy of wearing hard hats on all sites at all times — even where its own risk assessment did not require it.