Little cheer for Christmas commuters
Commuters face severe disruption in the run up to Christmas on London Underground trains as staff plan to take industrial action over safety fears.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport union executive is to meet on Monday to discuss the scale and severity of the industrial action.
Bob Crow, RMT general secretary, said strikes would throw the Tube into “chaos.”
He said: “We regret the disruption that this will inevitably cause Tube users but we hope they will continue to show understanding that these actions are being taken for safety reasons and continue to support our aim for a safer Underground network.”
Over half of union members (55 per cent) voted in favour of strikes. Strikes are likely to begin at the end of November with drivers planning go-slows on routes thought to have safety problems.
Drivers will drive trains at 10-15mph instead of the normal 40-45mph.
The ballots took place after a series of incidents at Hammersmith and Camden Town stations last month.
Tim O’Toole, London Underground managing director, said the way forward for the RMT and staff was to work with the LU to run the Tube “safely and efficiently.”
“A Tube strike or go-slow changes nothing. It will only cause disruption to Londoners and Tube users travelling to work or Christmas shopping for their friends and families,” he said.
A NOP poll commissioned for the RMT found that 81 per cent of the public backed the right of Tube workers to take action over safety fears.
Lynne Featherstone, Liberal Democrat transport spokesperson and chair of the London Assembly transport committee, criticised the RMT’s plans, saying: “The union’s decision to take industrial action is wrong. Their concerns over the safety regime introduced under the PPP scheme are understandable – the Liberal Democrats were unequivocally opposed to the Government part-privatising the Tube.
“However, causing huge disruption to the journeys of millions of people who travel on the tube every day is not the right way to get these concerns across. The union’s dispute is not with Londoners. Disrupting services will not help their cause. They will merely frustrate the travelling public.”
