22.12.16
All LU routes to be hit by January station staff strike
London Underground passengers are facing more disruption in the New Year as two unions announced a strike of all station staff on 8 January.
RMT and TSSA will instruct station and revenue workers on all London Underground routes not to book on for shifts for 24 hours, starting on 8 January at 6pm.
The unions said they were protesting at the safety risk caused by closing ticket offices and sacking nearly 900 frontline workers.
Mick Cash, general secretary of the RMT, said: “With the constant overcrowding on stations and platforms it is only a matter of time before there is a major tragedy if we don’t act decisively.
“Our dispute is about taking action to haul back the cuts machine and put safety back at the top of the agenda.”
Recently, a leaked report by TfL showed that an accident at Canning Town in May, where a passenger’s foot was trapped between the train and platform, was made worse because the control room had switched to unstaffed operation.
London TravelWatch reviewed the ticket office closures at the request of mayor Sadiq Khan and concluded that they would need to be accompanied by more proactive safety measures. London Underground has now promised to implement the recommendations.
In response to the latest new, Steve Griffiths, chief operating officer for London Underground, said: “We will continue working with the unions as well as implementing the independent recommendations made by the London TravelWatch review to ensure our customers feel safe, fully supported and able to access the right assistance at all times.
“We would encourage the unions to work with us on this process rather than threatening strike action.”
Strike action was backed by 85% of RMT members and 68% of TSSA members.
(Image c. Yui Mok from PA Wire)
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