Questions to the Mayor of London – answered at on 26 February 2021.
In your response to Question 2020/2529, you state that Unite the Union’s decisions to suspend 7 BAME Health and Safety Representatives working for Arriva during the height of the pandemic were “internal matters for Unite the Union to deal with as they consider appropriate, and not for TfL or me to comment on”. Yet in your responses to Questions 2020/3659, 2020/2541, 2020/2119, and 2020/1623 you have repeatedly underscored the important role of Unite the Union Health and Safety representatives in ensuring Covid-19 Risk Reduction actions were carried out. If Unite the Union’s decisions to remove important safety resources were not agreed with TfL in advance, do you not agree that this action exposes a huge flaw in TfL’s pandemic response? Do you have confirmation that these suspended Representatives were replaced? What actions have you taken since April 2020 to ensure this perilous situation has been rectified?
I do not accept that the suspension of these Unite representatives is a flaw in the coronavirus pandemic response or represented a perilous situation. They would have been providing an extra layer of assurance on top of the operator’s health and safety arrangements. Transport for London (TfL) also understands that interim representation was arranged, and day-to-day supervision continued uninterrupted to maintain a strong presence on site.
The main responsibility for the site rests with the garage’s management team, supported by communications and posters. At an individual level, safety arrangements also require every member of staff to take personal responsibility for their actions. TfL’s health and safety managers are also in regular contact with their bus operator counterparts to share best practice and lend expertise.
These reps were bus operator employees, not Transport for London’s (TfL), and their withdrawal was an internal matter for Unite, as stated in previous answers, and not something TfL could direct or influence.