ASLEF drivers on London Tramlink are to go on two 24 hour strikes in November and December as the dispute over safety escalates. Ever since last year’s tragic derailment at Sandilands new ways to prevent similar incidents in the future have been looked at and recently a device has been installed in cabs which drivers feel has a health and safety risk. It is because of this new device that the two strike days have been called.
The press release from ASLEF states that the new device shines infra-red light beams into drivers faces and that there are numerous health and safety concerns resulting from this. The claims range from headaches and dry eyes to blurred vision and potentially eye damage.
ASLEF claim that the concerns of drivers are being ignored and that this new device would not have prevented the derailment at Sandilands. They are keen to point out that they want to see a modern automatic tram protection system installed that would stop a vehicle if it was over speeding or if the driver became incapacitated.
The two 24 hour strikes are planned for Monday 13th November and Wednesday 6th December. Approximately 70% of drivers on Tramlink are ASLEF members and so if talks don’t take place before the proposed strikes and an agreement is reached a high degree of disruption can be expected.