22.08.16
TSSA balloting staff over Southern office closures
TSSA is balloting its members over whether to join other unions in striking to protest Govia Thameslink Railway’s (GTR’s) plans to close ticket offices.
TSSA announced on Friday that it is balloting over 250 ticket office and platform staff over GTR’s proposed closure of 83 ticket offices, with the results of the vote due to be announced on 2 September.
Last week, RMT announced that its members have voted 70% in favour of strike action.
If it goes ahead, the strike will add to the misery on Southern, owned by GTR, which has seen 341 services a day cancelled in a bid to limit unpredictable delays.
Manuel Cortes, general secretary of the TSSA, said Southern is in danger of becoming “a second class operation which is not fit for passengers and staff”.
He called on the new transport secretary, Chris Grayling, to implement London mayor Sadiq Khan’s proposal of allowing Transport for London (TfL) to take over the franchise.
Cortes has previously warned that passengers “may have to suffer short-term pain to see a long-term gain” in achieving the TfL takeover.
Britain’s railways are facing widespread strikes at the moment. RMT and GTR have failed to reach a resolution in a bitter dispute about the introduction of driver-operated only (DOO) services on Southern.
RMT and TSSA are also holding a series of strikes on Eurostar, with the next ones due over the Bank Holiday weekend.
RMT proposed holding three days of strikes on Virgin East Coast services, although these were later suspended.
(Image c. Andrew Matthews)
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