20.01.14
LU urges TSSA not to strike
London Underground has appealed for TSSA to call off the ballot for industrial action over station closures on the Tube.
The plans would see the majority of ticket offices closed, with 750 jobs at stake. LU said that their vision would “modernise” station staffing, and that the union actually supports the plans to improve customer care.
Fellow union RMT has already announced four strike dates over the plans.
Mike Brown, managing director of London Underground, said: “I fully endorse TSSAs priorities to improve customer service. Given this it seems very strange and completely unnecessary for the TSSA leadership to be balloting its members for strike action and all the disruption to Londoners that would entail.
“I have already committed to delivering these improvements to customer service with no compulsory redundancies. There will continue to be a job for anyone who wants to remain and is willing to be flexible and work with us to build a Tube service fit for London in the 21st Century.
“I am therefore urging the TSSA leadership to abandon the proposed strike ballot without delay and work with us to help shape the future of the Tube.”
But union general secretary Manuel Cortes said: “This is a blatant and cynical bid by the Mayor to influence the outcome of a ballot before it closes next Monday.
“Nowhere in the LU appeal is there any mention of the plan to axe almost 1,000 jobs and to scrap the posts of permanent station supervisors. Boris Jonson may be prepared to gamble with the safety of passengers. We are not."
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