Melancholy writes:
train drivers are no different to other driving professions in that they have to have basic good health, are tested for serious conditions when they enroll, and have regular medicals to test for these things. They are therefore highly unlikely to be classed as vulnerable people.
Well the regional director of Northern says they have 'a number of colleagues who are classified as vulnerable'. Unless we are calling him a liar (I hope not!), then we have to take him at his word.
In any job, including driving trains, staff can over time develop chronic medical conditions. Some of these, such as asthma, bronchitis, type 2 diabetes, are manageable, and don't prevent staff from continuing to do their jobs. But they do make them vulnerable to covid-19.
All employers are obliged to make 'reasonable adjustments' to an employee's working conditions in order to accommodate illness or disability, as long as the illness or disability doesn't prevent them from doing their job. In the case of a train driver, my guess is that they would be OK to continue to drive, because they will normally be alone in the cab and therefore 'socially distanced'. But they would not be able to have anyone else in the cab with them, which would presumably rule out being trained on new trains.
So it does appear that Northern have got a real problem. I wish FoRHS luck with their petition, but it's hard to see what the solution might be.
