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| London tube strike: Boris urges unions to put new offer to RMT members | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| London’s mayor, Boris Johnson, has urged unions to put “an extremely fair and generous offer” from London Underground to their members, with only hours to go before the second 24-hour strike by tube workers in a month. | London’s mayor, Boris Johnson, has urged unions to put “an extremely fair and generous offer” from London Underground to their members, with only hours to go before the second 24-hour strike by tube workers in a month. |
| On Tuesday, London Underground and unions said there would be no further talks to avert the a 24-hour strike over plans to introduce all-night tube services. The strike will start on Wednesday evening and will mean no tube trains until Friday morning, directly affecting more than 4m journeys made daily on the network. Unions warned more strikes could follow, with a mandate for continued industrial action until the dispute is resolved. | On Tuesday, London Underground and unions said there would be no further talks to avert the a 24-hour strike over plans to introduce all-night tube services. The strike will start on Wednesday evening and will mean no tube trains until Friday morning, directly affecting more than 4m journeys made daily on the network. Unions warned more strikes could follow, with a mandate for continued industrial action until the dispute is resolved. |
| “I think it would be fair to Londoners, to people in this country, if union representatives put this offer – which is an extremely fair and generous offer, and involves above-inflation pay increases, bonuses both for drivers and all other shift workers ... to their members,” Johnson told the BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Wednesday. | “I think it would be fair to Londoners, to people in this country, if union representatives put this offer – which is an extremely fair and generous offer, and involves above-inflation pay increases, bonuses both for drivers and all other shift workers ... to their members,” Johnson told the BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Wednesday. |
| “We have only a few hours now to go until they are proposing to try to cause huge inconvenience to loads and loads of people in London and around the south-east of this country. Come on, why don’t they put it to their members?” | “We have only a few hours now to go until they are proposing to try to cause huge inconvenience to loads and loads of people in London and around the south-east of this country. Come on, why don’t they put it to their members?” |
| The RMT blamed Johnson, for creating a “rushed and botched vanity project” that the union claimed London Underground managers knew could not be implemented by 12 September, when all-night tubes at weekends on five London lines are scheduled to start running. | The RMT blamed Johnson, for creating a “rushed and botched vanity project” that the union claimed London Underground managers knew could not be implemented by 12 September, when all-night tubes at weekends on five London lines are scheduled to start running. |
| The union said there should be an immediate and indefinite suspension of the proposed scheme, warning that it risked damaging infrastructure, compromising safety and making weekly maintenance works untenable. | The union said there should be an immediate and indefinite suspension of the proposed scheme, warning that it risked damaging infrastructure, compromising safety and making weekly maintenance works untenable. |
| Johnson said that the people using public transport at night in London were not party animals. “They are not people just going home late at night after a night out. They are the working people of London. Fifty per cent of the people already using the night bus are working people. This is a big step forward for people who need to use a 24-hour system.” | |
| The RMT general secretary, Mick Cash, said: “Londoners need to be aware that the night tube was rushed and botched from the off, and that is why five weeks before it starts staff are striking because they will not accept that their work-life balance should be wrecked to plug the gaping holes in staffing capacity that should have been dealt with from day one.” | The RMT general secretary, Mick Cash, said: “Londoners need to be aware that the night tube was rushed and botched from the off, and that is why five weeks before it starts staff are striking because they will not accept that their work-life balance should be wrecked to plug the gaping holes in staffing capacity that should have been dealt with from day one.” |
| He added: “Millions of weekday commuters, who fork out a fortune in fares, risk seeing their safety compromised and their services reduced to chaos so that a few thousand revellers can be shipped home in the early hours of Saturday and Sunday morning – and experienced tube managers know that. We urgently need to get talks convened with tube professionals who understand the reasons behind a crisis which should never have been allowed to get this far.” | He added: “Millions of weekday commuters, who fork out a fortune in fares, risk seeing their safety compromised and their services reduced to chaos so that a few thousand revellers can be shipped home in the early hours of Saturday and Sunday morning – and experienced tube managers know that. We urgently need to get talks convened with tube professionals who understand the reasons behind a crisis which should never have been allowed to get this far.” |
| The call was echoed by the train drivers’ union Aslef. Finn Brennan, district organiser for Aslef, said: “Management need to back off from this deadline and have a sensible discussion about how it can work. There’s no rationale for this deadline – they’ve talked about introducing it for the Rugby World Cup, which takes place in Twickenham, where there’s no tube.” | The call was echoed by the train drivers’ union Aslef. Finn Brennan, district organiser for Aslef, said: “Management need to back off from this deadline and have a sensible discussion about how it can work. There’s no rationale for this deadline – they’ve talked about introducing it for the Rugby World Cup, which takes place in Twickenham, where there’s no tube.” |
| The strike, the second in a month over terms and conditions for the introduction of the night tube, follows action brought earlier this year because of the closure of ticket offices and the loss of hundreds of jobs. | The strike, the second in a month over terms and conditions for the introduction of the night tube, follows action brought earlier this year because of the closure of ticket offices and the loss of hundreds of jobs. |
| The issues have been fused partly after Johnson launched plans for 24-hour trains on the same day as ticket office closures were confirmed as part of the “modernisation” of the tube. Unions say they do not oppose all-night services in principle but want guarantees about the number of weekend night-shifts staff will be forced to work. | The issues have been fused partly after Johnson launched plans for 24-hour trains on the same day as ticket office closures were confirmed as part of the “modernisation” of the tube. Unions say they do not oppose all-night services in principle but want guarantees about the number of weekend night-shifts staff will be forced to work. |
| London Underground bosses have accused unions of stalling and trying to reverse popular modernisation of the tube service. Steve Griffiths, chief operating officer, said on Monday night: “After listening to the unions, we put forward an extremely fair revised offer, which addresses their concerns over work-life balance and rewards our people for the hard work they do in keeping London working and growing. Despite this, the new offer has been rejected outright by the union leadership, again without consulting their members. | London Underground bosses have accused unions of stalling and trying to reverse popular modernisation of the tube service. Steve Griffiths, chief operating officer, said on Monday night: “After listening to the unions, we put forward an extremely fair revised offer, which addresses their concerns over work-life balance and rewards our people for the hard work they do in keeping London working and growing. Despite this, the new offer has been rejected outright by the union leadership, again without consulting their members. |
| “We continue to urge them to put the new offer to their members and not subject Londoners to further unnecessary disruption. We remain available for talks at any time.” | “We continue to urge them to put the new offer to their members and not subject Londoners to further unnecessary disruption. We remain available for talks at any time.” |
| As well as entirely closing the tube, the strike will have a knock-on effect on the millions of other journeys made daily on London transport. Transport for London is advising passengers to complete their journeys by 6.30pm on Wednesday and to avoid travelling at peak times on Thursday if possible. | As well as entirely closing the tube, the strike will have a knock-on effect on the millions of other journeys made daily on London transport. Transport for London is advising passengers to complete their journeys by 6.30pm on Wednesday and to avoid travelling at peak times on Thursday if possible. |
| The roads are expected to be particularly congested. TfL will run extra bus and river services to help people get around, but expects all public transport and roads to be much busier than usual. Additional cycle hire docking stations will be open in central London. The DLR, London Overground, trams and national rail services will run as normal, but again are likely to be severely congested. | The roads are expected to be particularly congested. TfL will run extra bus and river services to help people get around, but expects all public transport and roads to be much busier than usual. Additional cycle hire docking stations will be open in central London. The DLR, London Overground, trams and national rail services will run as normal, but again are likely to be severely congested. |
| To compound the misery for many London commuters, the strike will be followed by the partial closure of one of the busiest tube arteries for more than three weeks in August, as work continues to upgrade the Victoria line. The work will reduce services along the line and close three tube stations in north-east London, where two nearby London Overground stations will also close during the morning peak. Commuters have been warned to expect delays and disruption around east London. | To compound the misery for many London commuters, the strike will be followed by the partial closure of one of the busiest tube arteries for more than three weeks in August, as work continues to upgrade the Victoria line. The work will reduce services along the line and close three tube stations in north-east London, where two nearby London Overground stations will also close during the morning peak. Commuters have been warned to expect delays and disruption around east London. |
| Industrial action on First Great Western trains will also affect some commuters, although a full 72-hour stoppage called for later in August will mainly affect those travelling on services to south-west England and south Wales over the bank holiday weekend. | Industrial action on First Great Western trains will also affect some commuters, although a full 72-hour stoppage called for later in August will mainly affect those travelling on services to south-west England and south Wales over the bank holiday weekend. |
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