RAIL union RMT said Tuesday’s strike for tube safety and safe staffing levels on London Underground was ‘rock solid’, and demanded that the rail regulator launch an investigation into ‘breaches of post-King’s Cross fire safety rules’.
The tube strike involved members of both the RMT and TSSA.
The RMT said yesterday that the next 24-hours of strike action will begin at 5.00pm on 3rd October for ex-Metronet maintenance staff to be followed by all other staff grades including drivers, signallers, station staff and managers from 9.00pm.
The RMT announced that it was filing reports with the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR), detailing claims of ‘clear breaches of safety regulations’.
The alleged breaches included:
• ‘On the Bakerloo Line a limited “shuttle service” is running non-stop from Marylebone to Queens Park passing through six closed stations – a clear breach of the fire regulations that stipulate if three stations in a row are closed the service should be suspended as an incident in a tunnel would make safe evacuation impossible.
• ‘A similar situation on the District Line where Embankment, Temple and Blackfriars are closed – with Cannon Street expected to close – but trains still being allowed to run through in contravention of regulations.
• ‘150 passengers dumped off a train on the Central Line at Leytonstone and forced to climb over fences to get out of the closed station after managers were caught out trying to run an under-staffed service and were forced to cancel in mid-stream.’
The RMT dismissed TfL (Transport for London) claims that a normal service was running on the Northern Line ‘even though a large number of stations on the route are closed’.
RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said: ‘The message to the Mayor and his transport officials this morning is clear – stop playing fast and loose with safety, stop the drive towards unstaffed stations, drop the threat of these lethal cuts and start meaningful talks on a safe and secure future for the London tube system.
‘Our members have shown in their rock solid support for this action that they will not sit idly by while staffing levels are hacked to the bone and the management open the door to a major disaster.
‘We are also compiling evidence of breaches of post King’s Cross safety regulations that are being given the green light by management this morning.
‘Those regulations are there for a purpose, breaking them is a lethal gamble with passenger safety to maintain a PR front and that’s a scandal.’
All entrances and exits were covered at Leytonstone tube station, with TSSA picketing one entrance and RMT joined by UNISON council workers on the other.
The TSSA rep for Hainault, Anthony Martins, told News Line: ‘I am a station supervisor on this line and we are taking united action with RMT and it is going very well because we have managed to get some ASLEF drivers to not come in to work as well.
‘If nothing is resolved then more strike action will take place on October 3 and 4.
‘We will continue our fight until our jobs are safe.’
Picketing the staff entrance Paul Penny, RMT rep for White City had joined the Leytonstone picket.
‘I am a rep at White City and I have come down to show my support for my colleagues at Leytonstone,’ he said.
‘It is solid all the way down the line.
‘Eight hundred job losses would be disastrous in terms of safety and in terms of service for the public.
‘This is just the tip of the iceberg. There is a further review by Transport for London coming out in October which we believe will amount to further job cuts.
‘London Underground wants to run the service on a skeleton, casualised basis.
‘If we do not stand up and fight, the Underground will be turned into a “muggers’ paradise’’.
‘There will be no support for foreign visitors who need station assistance or for disabled people who need staff support.
‘Our action should give encouragement to other public sector workers to not be intimidated by the bosses.
‘All the workers should see through the smokescreen and stand together in solidarity and take what ever action is necessary.’
Two representatives from the local Unison branch came down to join the picket line.
Dave Knight, Unison branch secretary for Waltham Forest council, said: ‘We came down here today to show our support for RMT and TSSA.
‘In my view the cuts that they face come from the same source that the cuts that council workers face comes from.
‘It is ludicrous that we should pay for the government’s economic crisis.
‘At the TUC we want a national day of action across all unions and I for one will support a campaign that will include united industrial action.
‘The only way we can defend our services is to get rid of this government.’
The RMT and TSSA joined forces to maintain a strong picket line at Rayners Lane station in Uxbridge in Pinner, north-west London.
Prakash Mandalia told News Line: ‘This strike is about 800 jobs going.
‘It will affect the passengers on safety grounds.
Rena Ghai said: ‘We are always getting abuse from customers because of problems with the oyster cards.
‘We can’t assist train drivers with problems if there are no station staff.
‘There are not enough staff now to deal with problems.
‘We often have scores of schoolchildren on their school trips or groups of 30-plus foreign students. They need help and supervision.
‘There will be no-one to guarantee their safety.
‘You need station staff with fire alerts, medical emergencies, people ill on trains and platforms.’
Hemant Patel, TSSA rep on the Metropolitan Line, said: ‘We had to call the strike. Passenger numbers have increased and there is more investment in the infrastructure, so you need more staff to man the stations, not less.’
He added: ‘We are joining forces with other trade unions for a mass lobby of parliament on September 21 against the cuts.’
At Harrow-on-the-Hill picket line, Maria Carter, RMT industrial rep, said: ‘We are striking to save 800 jobs. We want to keep the railways safe.’
John Allport, RMT tube driver, said: ‘There is 100 per cent TSSA and RMT station staff and 100 per cent RMT tube drivers out on strike here.
‘All the propaganda from LUL that no-one is buying tickets so we don’t need ticket office staff; then why are they getting rid of gate-line staff.
‘It is not just ticket offices that will be closed, there won’t be gate-line staff to assist passengers.
‘Anyone from the blind to the ordinary public will be left to their own devices.’
Mr R. O’Shea-McAllister, RMT tube driver, said: ‘It is only a matter of time before they cut the drivers’ jobs.
‘The London Underground workforce is one organisation and we should be working together – then we will be more powerful.
‘I’d love to see a general strike to bring down this coalition government.’
There were about a dozen workers on the picket line outside Finsbury Park tube station yesterday.
Tom Mahoney, an RMT official, said: ‘The strike is very solid this morning.
‘The managers are working 16 to 18-hour shifts to keep stations open.
‘We believe stations are under-staffed, below staffing requirements set out in Section 12.’
He added: ‘There is a complete ban on overtime. The next strike is to start on October 3.
‘We expect the TUC conference to support us and we expect the general secretary of the TUC to be on the picket line and they should also support the RMT’s call for a general strike.
‘They will run to the courts to stop these strikes all the time.’
When asked what would happen if the union’s funds were sequestered, he said: ‘We’ll still come out on strike. Workers will have to take unofficial action.’
Sandra, another RMT member, said: ‘The public should know that if something goes wrong with your Oyster card it’s either £4.30 or £6.00 they will take out.
‘If the ticket offices are closed, there is no way of resolving the issue, so that you will have a choice of paying £6.00 plus what you need to continue your journey, or contacting the Oyster card helpline (which is an 0845 number), because it could be a gate-line problem.
‘We’re spending more and more time trouble-shooting,’ she added.
She alleged: ‘It’s defrauding the public.’
Pickets were out from 4.30am on the Hammersmith and City Line at Hammersmith station.
RMT Health and Safety rep Jim Harding told News Line: ‘Management have been reporting all morning that they are running a service yet not one train has moved.’
Michael, an RMT picket at Brixton station, said: ‘It is going well, the strike is solidly supported.
‘I’m a bit disappointed ASLEF hasn’t joined us but the TSSA members are very welcome on the picket line.
‘This is just the start. It’s not just about 800 jobs and the safety issues – it’s about protecting public services as a whole.
‘We will not pay the price of the collapse of the banking system.
‘If they want to save money they should scrap Trident, and tax all the rich people who are avoiding it.
‘They are fond of saying: “We’re all in it together’’. It’s the working class that’s all in it together and we should all take action together.’