Tube workers on the Central line through Redbridge will stage 48 hours of strike action next week as part of a union’s campaign to save jobs and ticket offices.
Members of the Rail and Maritime Transport union (RMT) across the London Underground network have been instructed not to book on for shifts between 9pm next Tuesday and 9pm on Thursday.
The RMT opposes aspects of Transport for London’s (TfL) “modernisation project”, including plans to close ticket offices and cut jobs, which TfL hopes will save around £50million a year.
General secretary Mick Cash said the union had made “every effort” to resolve grievances in talks with TfL.
“The axing of ticket offices and station staffing grades would render the Tube a no-go zone for many people with disabilities and for women travelling alone,” he added.
“RMT will not stand back and allow government-driven austerity cuts to hollow out the Tube system and leave it as a dangerous shell.”
He went on: “The strike action next week is designed to force the Mayor to instruct his senior officials to back away from this toxic cuts package and engage in serious and meaningful negotiations.”
Phil Hufton, London Underground’s chief operating officer, said: “This is yet more pointless strike action called by the RMT leadership following our plans to modernise and improve the London Underground for our customers.
“In future we will have more staff than ever before visible and available to help our customers buy the right ticket or use their contactless payment card, plan their journeys and keep them safe and secure.
“We have been in consultation with the RMT and the other trade unions now for 11 months involving over 80 meetings on the details. We have adhered to every single one of the commitments we made to our staff, including delivering on our guarantee of no compulsory redundancies and offering a job for anyone who wants to stay with us with no loss of pay.
“This action and the timing of it - to coincide with public sector strikes that have nothing to do with London Underground - is cynical in the extreme. It will only lose RMT members pay and disrupt Londoners.”
In Redbridge the strike will only affect Central line services. Abellio Greater Anglia main line services are will run as normal.
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