The Evidence
SQUASH is a necessary campaign – and here’s the proof.
THE RAIL SAFETY AND STANDARDS BOARD (RSSB)
The RSSB reported a dramatic increase in the number of SPADs in July 2006 to 42 - which is an increase of 62% compared with the same period last year when temperatures were considerably lower. The number of SPADs in July was 20% worse than the three-year average.
ASLEF says these statistics clearly demonstrate that safety is being compromised by a failure to provide modern air-conditioned cabs. The figures confirm a direct link between cab conditions and safety. No matter how hard a driver tries, it is impossible to maintain necessary levels of concentration in a cab that lacks basic facilities - which today includes air-conditioning.
Even the cautious RSSB says, 'It is possible that the exceptionally hot weather in July may have been a contributory factor.'
OUR MEMBERS
The real evidence comes from the front line - from the
'The cab temperature peaked at 39.4 C and it never went below 38.5 C during the entire duty'
'We were working underground in places where the average air temperature was 130 degrees Fahrenheit in the tunnel - so god only knows what it reached in our tin boxes!'
'Our cabs feature tip-up seats without any adjustment whatsoever.'
'Water began coming in the roof panels on each side above the doors -it was running into the power brake control system.'
'How long do we have to wait before excessive heat leads to someone passing out at the controls of a 1,500 ton train at 75 mph?'
'High pitched whistling from the vestibule door.'
'Drivers are filing medicals because of hearing loss … we've complained to everyone we can bout noise.'
'In winter we freeze because the cab heater fails to overcome the chilly draughts.'
Below are photos of some of the conditions our drivers are experiencing in their cabs:
(from left to right, drivers cab seat, roof in cab, controls in cab)
FREIGHTLINER BID FOR 2007 ‘SQUASH’ AWARD – February 2007 Journal
A GROUP of Freightliner drivers have sent this account of their working conditions, and it makes a convincing case for instituting a Squash Campaign ‘Worst Cab of the Year Award’. Can it get worse than this? Let us know …
The article in last year’s November Journal concerning cab conditions made interesting reading. The varied company responses were especially noteworthy.
Most of the companies seemed to either talk about, or explain, new types of equipment they were providing. Others, like the Northern company council report, didn’t really seem to care one way or another.
Then came our company – Freightliner – who at least proved their ‘spin-doctoring’ credentials. Freightliner said cab conditions was ‘a difficult and emotive subject’. So what exactly does that mean? There is nothing ‘difficult or emotive’ about sitting in the cab of an appallingly designed Class 66 locomotive. There is just pain, distraction and inconvenience.
Where shall we start?
How nice it is to get into a one hundred degree cab in the summer, sitting yourself down in a filthy (literally wet) sweatsoaked seat that rocks laterally and vertically. And that’s before you’ve moved. (I’m assuming here, of course, that you’ve not covered yourself in grease as you tried to enter the cab). Then you have your ears battered by the illegal noise levels and your spine is treated to a rough massage by the continuous vibration and jagging motion of the diabolical ride provided by those ‘amazing self-steering bogies’.
All in all, it’s a truly memorable experience for the drivers involved.
Of course this is a ‘difficult and emotive subject’ for the managers involved. Why? Because they wouldn’t tolerate their offices being in such a state, so they simply don’t want to understand the issue.
ARE YOU SITTING COMFORTABLY? THEN I’LL BEGIN …
Let’s look for a moment at the quality of the driver’s – or even the second man’s – seat. Either or both may be marked with an ‘X’ on the base plate to indicate that it is (in technical terms) ‘knackered’. But this may not be the case as management has now stopped marking them because drivers constantly report them in the repair book. (Incidentally, you’ve almost certainly got grease on your
jumper or your shirt by now, as most seats include this ‘extra’).
After this you will be alerted as to whether it’s raining. If so, you’ll notice water pouring through the roof (upper headlight) or the window frame. Both, if you’re lucky.
This arrival of water is quite helpful in removing the copious amount of rust that’s present on some locos. Also, if you like the smell of public conveniences, you will be pleased to find it mixes with the windscreen washing fluid and the already stagnant water gathered in the front of the loco to produce this perfume.
It is not a good idea to try to let some fresh air in. If the driver’s side-window doesn’t fall out due to the corroded frames, you will probably do yourself a mischief trying to force it open. I hope this gives readers some idea of the ‘difficult and emotive’ subject we are talking about. Sure, some locos are better than others – but they all share a good majority of the conditions described above.
To date, despite constant complaining by a good percentage of our drivers, not one issue has been addressed. Of course, the company has gone through the motions – but those tests do not accurately represent long periods in the cab under full load conditions.
LET’S SEE SOME ACTION ON THE SQUASH CAMPAIGN
I hope the union solicitors, Thompsons, are ready for action – because there are going to be a lot of legal claims in the future for industrial deafness and injuries to hearing and spines.
As for the Health and Safety at Work Act – it’s a shame that Freightliner and the HMRI don’t abide by it. Is a Class 66 honestly a safe working environment over a long period of time?
So let’s see some action on the union’s ‘Squash’ campaign as soon as possible. It’s not only our retirement that is being ruined but also the retirement of many other ASLEF members who work on our inadequate locomotives.
