Commuters face Tube strikes as workers vote on action over job cuts

Tube commuters face a devastating round of strike action.

The RMT, largest of the Tube unions, today ordered a strike ballot of more than 10,000 staff in a battle over 800 job cuts among station staff.

The union claimed stations were already being left unstaffed and that the cuts would turn the platforms into a "muggers' paradise".

Officials claimed that vacancies on the Tube were being left unfilled, causing problems because of staff shortages.

The union, which is also involved in a row with Network Rail over job cuts, gave LU a deadline of 5pm last Thursday to withdraw the job loss plans and said today it had "no option" but to press ahead with a ballot for action.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: "We have already warned that the cuts that are being planned by Transport for London will turn Tube stations into a muggers' paradise, and we now have concrete evidence that the company are speeding up the process and are already leaving stations unstaffed, or with just one member of staff, without any consultation.

"That is a scandalous dereliction of duty and it is only a matter of time now before TfL and (London Mayor) Boris Johnson have a tragedy on their hands as a result of their cavalier disregard for public safety.

"The Mayor gave assurances to the public on ticket offices and Tube staffing in the run-up to his election and it's down to him to pull London Underground back from the brink."

The RMT also complained that its members faced being "written off" as "collateral damage" in the funding row between TfL and maintenance giant Tube Lines.

"RMT has made it clear right from the outset that we will not sit idly by while the Mayor, his transport officials and Tube Lines drive down Tube staffing levels to dangerously low levels.

"We gave LU and Tube Lines an opportunity to pull back from these cuts but they have decided to plough on, leaving us with no option but to organise ballots."

Around 10,000 Tube workers will vote in the coming weeks on whether to take strike action, which could hit the run-up to the general election, expected on May 6.

London Underground Director Richard Parry said: "The changes we are proposing are vital to ensure we can deliver a safer, more frequent Tube service in future. We are committed to customer service and to protecting London Underground's excellent and improving safety record.

"The threat of strike action by the RMT is unjustified and kneejerk at this very early stage of the consultation process. Their members will be best served by meaningful discussion not strike threats.

"We have made it clear from the very beginning that all stations will continue to be staffed at all times, all stations with a ticket office will continue to have one and there will be no compulsory redundancies.

"The huge success of Oyster means the use of ticket offices has fallen by almost 50 per cent. Just one in 20 journeys now starts with a visit to a ticket office. The proposed changes to ticket office opening hours would enable us to deploy our staff in those places at those times where passengers need them most – on stations, not behind glass screens or in back of office roles.

"Like any public service, we have to be as efficient as we can, particularly in the present difficult economic times to deliver value for money for the farepayers and taxpayers who fund the Tube."