25.04.14
Contingency plan in place if Tube strikes go ahead
In response to the planned Tube strikes over cuts to ticket offices, jobs, and safety, TfL has set out a range of measures to keep the capital moving during the industrial action.
Walkouts have been planned to start at 9pm on Monday (28 April) for two days and further action will take place from 9pm on 5 May for three days.
But TfL stated that if strike action does take place where it can operate services, it will do so. It has been confirmed that trains will run from around 7.00am, or as soon as possible after that, and they are expected to conclude around 11.00pm, with no service beyond that.
As part of its contingency plan, TfL also said: “We will run as many Tube services as we can but some lines may have only a limited service, and some sections will be closed. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to run all our planned services and the situation may change throughout the day.”
To see which lines will be affected, click here.
At the moment, London Underground (LU) is consulting with trade unions and staff over its plans to modernise the Tube, which it says will “radically improve customer service”, but which the RMT says amounts to the wholesale closure of ticket offices.
Under the plans LU stated: “The public areas of stations – ticket halls, gate lines and platforms – will effectively become personalised customer service centres, replicating the standards of service LU were able to offer during the London 2012 Games.”
However, RMT has confirmed the strike action for its members is still to go ahead as it feels the conciliation discussions had been “wrecked” by a combination of “management intransigence” and the introduction of “additional measures that actually worsened the original toxic package”.
LU says it has guaranteed that no member of staff will be forced to leave the company as a result of its plans. There will also be no compulsory redundancies and LU is seeking ways to ensure no member of staff sees their pay cut as a result of the changes proposed.
Phil Hufton, LU’schief operating officer, said: “Our plans will radically improve the service we offer Tube customers in future. The whole Tube station will effectively become a personalised customer service centre, with more staff visible and available to help customers buy the right ticket, plan their journeys.”
However, Mick Cash, RMT’s acting general secretary, said that the union has had “no option” but to put on further strike action in the expectation that the management will not halt the “dangerous cuts and plans”.
In response to calls for volunteers to work during the planned strike, he added: “It has been brought to my attention that South West Trains are seeking volunteers during this period of industrial action.
“I urge all RMT members to think carefully about volunteering or doing extra work during this action as it could undermine your fellow RMT colleagues taking legitimate industrial action.”
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