RUTHLESS cuts on London Underground made by former mayor Boris Johnson ‘seriously threaten the safety of Londoners’, the RMT said on the eve of the next round of strike action.
Meanwhile, transport bosses have been forced to admit that the strike action over the course of four days, beginning at 6pm on Sunday will have a ‘significant impact’. London is set to grind to a halt with more than 3,000 Tube workers out on strike and most of the network closed.
The Northern Line, Bakerloo Line, Victoria Line, Piccadilly Line, Central Line, Metropolitan Line and some parts of the Overground will all be shut down by the strike. The strike is the latest round in an escalating struggle over the loss of 838 jobs, and the closure of the majority of ticket offices.
The strike begins at 6:00pm on Sunday 5 February, and will then continue through Monday until 4.00pm, when a limited service will resume until 5.30pm on Tuesday when the strike gets underway again.
The strike ends at 11:00am on Wednesday morning February 8 2017. Since announcing the strike, a fire beneath an escalator at London Bridge has prompted RMT to repeat its call to reverse job cuts, saying a build-up of grease thought to have caused the blaze would have been spotted if more staff had been working.
RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: ‘With the cuts to maintenance regimes on escalators and other assets it is foolish in the extreme to run these kind of risks across the Tube network.’
He added: ‘RMT will not stand by while ruthless cuts made by former mayor Boris Johnston seriously threaten the safety of Londoners.’
Meanwhile, London Midland train conductors have secured a major victory over the imposition of security contractors on trains. Yesterday, the union received reports from their Senior Union Representatives that London Midland has ceased the use of Security Contractors on board trains with effect from Monday 30th January 2017.
Mick Cash RMT General Secretary said: ‘This is a massive victory for our members on London Midland who have supported the union 100% throughout this campaign. That solidarity has been instrumental in the breakthrough secured today. RMT remains eternally vigilant in the on-going fight to stop the casualisation of rail workers jobs and any moves that undermine permanent staffing arrangements.
‘Safety and security on our trains can only be secured by adequate numbers of conductors, directly employed by the company, working as part of a professionally trained and equipped team.’
• Rail union RMT has informed Merseyrail that the union is now in formal dispute and will begin immediate preparations for a ballot for industrial action.
• The TUC yesterday announced that the Southern ASLEF strike actions are over. ASLEF is recommending an offer that is going before the membership for a ballot that will be concluded at 10am on February 15.
