MASSIVE TUBE VOTE EXTENDS STRIKE MANDATE

Tube workers hold protests at Lancaster Gate against growing levels of tube closures

Tube workers have extended their mandate for strike action on London Underground with a huge 96 per cent vote for action. RMT members on London Underground are in dispute with TfL over jobs, cuts, and attacks on pensions and working conditions.

The result was announced as tube workers held a lively demonstration outside Lancaster Gate station over repeated station closures due to staff shortages. The lack of staff has meant that it has been closed for whole weeks and other intermittent closures are taking place across the network.

TfL has had its funding from central government dramatically cut but instead of standing up to ministers, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is cutting 600 staff and implementing a new rostering system that does not work.

RMT has revealed that stations were closed on 2,115 occasions last year, compared with a pre-pandemic high of 649 and, more often, stations have been left open with no staff.

At the protest RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said that the inevitable consequence of station staff cuts was that they have spread the jam too thin, and they were now having to shut stations and that's causing a strain.

"The public as a consequence are losing their service because we have not got enough people.

"We also have increasing attacks on our members and unsocial activity and violence which is unacceptable. So, we really need LUL and London Transport to engage and restaff these stations, making our members secure and the public secure, providing the service that Londoners need."

Carlos Barros NEC member from the London Transport region said: "Members of staff have been asked to do two- or threepeople's jobs and it's unsustainable.

"These people [TfL] have no idea how to run a railway. We're here and we'll keep fighting until we have a safe railway for everyone,” he said.

The re-ballot, which is a requirement of UK anti-trade union legislation, smashed all thresholds with a huge majority voting ‘Yes’ for more strike action on a turnout of 56.5 per cent. Those voting "yes" represent 54 per cent of those entitled to vote.

Mick Lynch congratulated tube members for giving the union the continued industrial leverage at the negotiating table.

"TfL cannot continue to simply wish this dispute away and the government which has drastically cut the funding to London transport budgets, shares a great deal of responsibility for this continuing impasse.

"London Underground workers want a negotiated settlement and are quite prepared to take more strike action over the next 6 months to make that a reality,” he said.