London Bus COVID-19 Survey

The London Bus Rank-and-File Safety Committee has created a survey to gather information about the transmission of COVID-19 at London bus garages.

The bus operators and Transport for London (TfL) claim they have adopted “comprehensive safety measures” to protect bus drivers during the pandemic. The death toll from COVID-19 would suggest otherwise, with more than 60 bus workers having lost their lives to coronavirus in the past year.

We are gathering evidence about the nature and extent of possible safety breaches by the bus operators in relation to COVID-19 over the past 12 months.

The survey is anonymous and must not include any identifying information.

At the end of each section there is space for you to leave additional information. This is not compulsory, but we encourage you to provide as much information as you can.

If you would like to give any further (confidential) information about possible safety breaches by the bus operators, such as photographs, emails or other files, please contact londonbusrankandfile@protonmail.com

The information will also be used to defend bus drivers who have been victimised, suspended, and sacked for speaking up over COVID-19 safety. Bus drivers beyond London are encouraged to participate--please indicate the name of your company and location.

Q1. Name of company

Q1 a) Name of company (other)

Q2. Name of garage / depot location

Q3. Do you agree that social-distancing is being enforced at garage facilities, including sign-on area and canteens?

Q4. Do you agree PPE wearing is being enforced at garage facilities, including sign-on area and canteens?

Q5. Do you agree there is sufficient PPE provided at your garage?

Q6. Do you agree that rest room facilities are being kept clean during the pandemic, including regular anti-viral treatment throughout the day?

Q7. Do you agree social-distancing is being adhered to on bus ferry services?

Q8. Do you agree anti-viral cleaning is being properly applied to bus ferry services?

Q9. Please provide any additional information on social-distancing and PPE (optional)

Q10. How often do you observe safe passenger limits on your bus routes?

Q11. Do you agree mask-wearing by bus passengers on your bus routes is enforced by officers?

Q12. How often can you observe passengers not following mask-wearing rule on your bus routes?

Q13. How often can you observe windows being kept open throughout the bus to ensure adequate ventilation?

Q14. Do you agree bus vehicles are being properly cleaned with anti-viral treatment before each driver starts?

Q15. Do you agree the drivers’ cabins are adequately sealed on your vehicles to protect against COVID-19 airborne particles?

Q16. Please provide any additional information on vehicle safety (optional)

Q17 a) Have you been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the pandemic began?

Q17 b) If you answered YES, what date were you diagnosed?

Date

Q18 a) If you answered YES, where do you think you caught COVID-19?

Q18 b) Why do you believe that you caught COVID-19 at the location selected above? Please describe the circumstances in a few sentences.

Q19. When you reported to your employer that you had COVID-19, was this information reported to co-workers at your garage by the employer?

Q20. How many bus workers at your garage have been diagnosed with COVID-19?

Q21. How many bus workers at your garage have died from COVID-19?

Q22. Have any of your work colleagues diagnosed with COVID-19 been pressured to return to work before they are fully better?

Q23. Have you personally been pressured to return to work after contracting COVID-19 before you were fully better?

Q24. Have any colleagues at your garage been pressured to work by management despite having possible COVID-19 symptoms?

Q25. Have you personally been pressured to work despite having possible COVID-19 symptoms?

Q26. Did garage managers regularly keep you up to date on the exact numbers of positive COVID-19 cases at your workplace?

Q27. Do you believe that information about COVID-19 infections at your garage has been concealed by management during the pandemic?

Q28. Please provide any additional information about COVID-19 infections (optional)

Q29. Do you agree the main reason why drivers at your garage are reporting for work while ill is due to their lack of adequate sick pay?

Q30. Have you attended work while sick (non-Covid) in the past year due to income related worries?

Q31. Have you attended work while sick before COVID-19 started (before January 2020) due to income related worries?

Q32. Please provide any additional information about sick-pay

Q33. Did you receive a copy of any COVID-19 risk assessment conducted at your garage/depot?

Q34. Have you seen TfL inspectors assessing and monitoring COVID-19 Risk Reduction Actions at your depot or on your bus?

Q35. Do you feel that your Unite the Union Health and Safety Rep was trained to undertake the task of ensuring that Bus Operator Covid-19 Risk Reduction Actions were being carried out to an acceptable level?

Q36. Has Unite the union kept you informed of infections and deaths of colleagues from COVID-19 at your garage?

Q37. Have you shared any concerns with Unite over company breaches of safety protocols?

Q38. Were your safety concerns in relation to COVID-19 properly followed up by Unite?

Q39. Did Unite Health and Safety reps regularly keep you up to date on the exact numbers of positive COVID-19 cases at your depot or within your company?

Q40. Would you consider taking industrial action to demand remedy of COVID-19 safety breaches and to protect the lives of your co-workers?

Q41. Section 44 of the Employment Rights Act gives employees the right to refuse to work "in circumstances of danger which the employee reasonably believes to be serious and imminent." Do you believe London bus drivers should be dismissed from their employment for exercising their rights under Section 44 during the pandemic?

Q42. Have you observed an increase in victimisations and disciplinary actions by your employer during the pandemic against co-workers who have spoken out over health and safety issues?

Q43. Please provide any additional information about health and safety rights (optional)

Please outline any further health and safety problems at work, or actions you believe should be adopted to protect bus workers from COVID-19 during the ongoing pandemic:

London Bus COVID-19 Survey

Section I - Location

Section II - Social-distancing and PPE

SECTION III – VEHICLE SAFETY

SECTION IV – COVID-19 INFECTIONS

SECTION V – SICK PAY

SECTION VI – HEALTH AND SAFETY RIGHTS

SECTION VII – FURTHER COMMENTS