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| Staff on London Underground to stage 48-hour strike | Staff on London Underground to stage 48-hour strike |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Workers on the London Underground are to hold a 48-hour strike next week in a long-running dispute over staff cuts. | Workers on the London Underground are to hold a 48-hour strike next week in a long-running dispute over staff cuts. |
| The RMT union said its members had been instructed not to book on for any shifts between 21:00 BST next Tuesday and 20:59 hrs on Thursday. | The RMT union said its members had been instructed not to book on for any shifts between 21:00 BST next Tuesday and 20:59 hrs on Thursday. |
| The planned strike coincides with separate walk-outs by council workers and civil servants nationwide. | The planned strike coincides with separate walk-outs by council workers and civil servants nationwide. |
| Transport for London hopes to save £50m a year by closing ticket offices and cutting jobs. | Transport for London hopes to save £50m a year by closing ticket offices and cutting jobs. |
| It says it needs to save £4.2bn by 2020. | It says it needs to save £4.2bn by 2020. |
| The dispute, which began in February, has already seen two separate strikes. | The dispute, which began in February, has already seen two separate strikes. |
| Analysis | |
| Tom Edwards, BBC London transport correspondent | |
| Now the RMT have a new general secretary it's clearer how the union intends to fight huge changes being implemented on the Tube. | |
| All out opposition to ticket offices closures has shifted to a focus on 953 job losses and safety. London Underground's (LU) plan does mean more lone working on quieter stations and the redeployment of staff to busier ones. | |
| It says it will mean more visible staff as they are moved from ticket offices. | |
| The union's decision was taken after a meeting of all their reps so there is real concern among their members. | |
| While focussing on safety may chime more with passengers, having received no concessions following the last strike - it's difficult to see LU giving ground. | |
| 'Toxic cuts' | 'Toxic cuts' |
| The last planned walkout was paused so that talks could take place, but the mandate to take action was still in place if the RMT thought not enough was being done. | The last planned walkout was paused so that talks could take place, but the mandate to take action was still in place if the RMT thought not enough was being done. |
| Mick Cash, the union's general secretary, said: "RMT negotiators have made every effort in the long-running talks to resolve a range of issues that impact on our members' jobs, their pay and working conditions and the safety of the services that they provide to the travelling public. | Mick Cash, the union's general secretary, said: "RMT negotiators have made every effort in the long-running talks to resolve a range of issues that impact on our members' jobs, their pay and working conditions and the safety of the services that they provide to the travelling public. |
| "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." | "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." |
| TfL has yet to comment on the latest strike announcement. | TfL has yet to comment on the latest strike announcement. |
| Figures revealed by the London Assembly's Labour group last month suggested some Tube stations in London could lose more than half their front-line staff as a result of the cuts. | Figures revealed by the London Assembly's Labour group last month suggested some Tube stations in London could lose more than half their front-line staff as a result of the cuts. |
| Labour's London Assembly spokesperson Val Shawcross claimed people were being "forced to pay more money for less", but a TfL spokesman said there would be "more staff visible and available to help our passengers". | Labour's London Assembly spokesperson Val Shawcross claimed people were being "forced to pay more money for less", but a TfL spokesman said there would be "more staff visible and available to help our passengers". |
| TfL's plans, which it says are subject to change, show a total of 216 stations could have their staffing numbers cut from January 2015, with about 953 staff due to be shed in total across the network. | |
| But London Underground's chief operating officer, Phil Hufton, claimed: "It is nonsense to suggest our plans to modernise staffing at stations will not benefit passengers." | But London Underground's chief operating officer, Phil Hufton, claimed: "It is nonsense to suggest our plans to modernise staffing at stations will not benefit passengers." |