Tube workers threaten to strike on a weekly basis

[The Patriot]

Tube workers threaten to strike on a weekly basis

08-24-2010 05:13 AM

ShareThis Published:
Tue, 2010-08-24 13:09


Tube workers threaten to strike on a weekly basis


Tube workers threaten to strike on a weekly basis

Source:BBC News

London Underground (LU) workers are to stage 24-hour walkouts on a weekly basis until plans to cut 800 jobs are withdrawn, BBC London understands.
Strikes by members of the Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union and Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) are expected to begin next month.
Union bosses are due to meet on Wednesday to finalise the timetable for industrial action.
LU said change was needed and there would be no compulsory redundancies.
Members of both the TSSA and RMT union have voted in favour of industrial action over plans to reduce ticket office opening hours at stations across the network.
'Weak mandate'
LU argues widespread Oyster Card use means some offices are no longer needed.
Howard Collins, LU's chief operating officer, said: "It is simply not possible to go on with a situation where some ticket offices sell fewer than 10 tickets an hour.
"We need to change, but we will do so without compromising safety, without compulsory redundancies.
"The weak mandate for strike action, which saw only around 35% of TSSA members and less than a third of RMT members voting for a walkout, should resonate with the unions' leadership."
It is likely the strikes will begin in the week beginning 6 September, when Parliament returns for a few weeks before the autumn political conferences start.
'Shocking figures'
Caroline Pidgeon, leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, said under the plans almost 7,500 fewer hours would be worked in ticket offices every week.
She said: "If staff numbers are severely reduced it will become far more difficult for staff to help disabled and vulnerable customers and other people who need assistance, including visitors.
"London Underground's simplistic portrayal of many ticket offices being quiet places where few tickets are actually sold overlooks the vital service and safety that staffed ticket offices provide."
RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: "These shocking figures underline why RMT has told LU that its plan to slash 800 Tube station staff is unacceptable.
"These cuts would leave stations and platforms unstaffed and would remove the very people who are trained to deal with emergencies."








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