London Underground Staff Vote for Strike

On Wednesday, the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union said that London Underground workers have voted in favor of industrial action in a dispute about job cuts. The union has been against the cut of 800 station staff, which would come mainly from ticket offices. They argue that the safety of passengers would be put at risk due to the decision.

The union said that 76% of their members voted for strike action, while 88% of them voted that they should at least take action just short of a full-on strike. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said that their members are sending a clear message that they won’t sit by while London Underground turns the tracks into a death trap and leaves their tube stations and platforms unstaffed and at the mercy of vandals, muggers and other criminals.

London Underground, however, is arguing that the job cuts are due to more passengers buying tickets online or at self-service machines instead of at station ticket offices. They added that no compulsory redundancies would be made, while safety won’t be impacted. Richard Parry, the director of strategy, also noted that their station will still be staffed all the time while trains operate. He believes this strike vote is unnecessary, while any action will simply lose staff pay.

The RMT union suspended a 2-day strike last month after getting a 4.2% pay raise for its members. They didn’t give any dates for the new action yet, but they said they will consult with their members and the TSSA union over the use of industrial action with a public and political campaign against the cuts.