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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| London Underground staff vote to strike over Tube cuts | London Underground staff vote to strike over Tube cuts |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| London Underground workers have voted to go on strike in protest at plans to close ticket offices and axe 750 jobs. | London Underground workers have voted to go on strike in protest at plans to close ticket offices and axe 750 jobs. |
| Transport for London (TfL) wants to close all ticket offices and have staff on platforms instead. It says this would save £50m a year. | |
| Some 77% of Rail Maritime and Transport Union members voting in the ballot backed strike action. | Some 77% of Rail Maritime and Transport Union members voting in the ballot backed strike action. |
| The transport authority is facing a budget reduction of about £78m in the financial years of 2013 and 2014. | The transport authority is facing a budget reduction of about £78m in the financial years of 2013 and 2014. |
| It says all stations will be staffed while services are running, with more staff being visible to help customers, and that there would be no compulsory redundancies. | |
| The plans also include 24-hour service on five Underground lines. | |
| RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said the plans included axing "safety critical jobs" at a time when the Tube network is "under growing pressure from customer demand and needs more staff and not less to ensure safe and efficient operation". | RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said the plans included axing "safety critical jobs" at a time when the Tube network is "under growing pressure from customer demand and needs more staff and not less to ensure safe and efficient operation". |
| 'Criminals' paradise' | 'Criminals' paradise' |
| He said staff would also have to reapply for their own jobs, a process which would be "a kick in the teeth for the loyal and experienced Tube workforce who have kept services running safely and efficiently under constant pressure from weight of demand and a creaking and under-resourced infrastructure". | He said staff would also have to reapply for their own jobs, a process which would be "a kick in the teeth for the loyal and experienced Tube workforce who have kept services running safely and efficiently under constant pressure from weight of demand and a creaking and under-resourced infrastructure". |
| "These cuts would hit the vulnerable, the elderly, those with disabilities and women the hardest," he said. | "These cuts would hit the vulnerable, the elderly, those with disabilities and women the hardest," he said. |
| "De-staffing stations, with supervisors running operations three stops down the line on an iPad, would turn the Tube system into a criminals' paradise where those with violence and robbery on their minds are given a clear run." | "De-staffing stations, with supervisors running operations three stops down the line on an iPad, would turn the Tube system into a criminals' paradise where those with violence and robbery on their minds are given a clear run." |
| London Underground (LU) said less than 3% of all Tube journeys involved a ticket office payment. | |
| It said only 30% of RMT members took part in the strike ballot and it urged London Underground union leaders to work with it to avoid disruption. | |
| Phil Hufton, LU chief operating officer, said: "We're clear that there'll be a job for everyone at LU who wants to work for us and be flexible, that we'll make these changes with no compulsory redundancies, and that we'll involve staff in our plans at every stage and support them through change." |