RMT union calls for 24-hour Tube strike on March 1 and March 3

14

View
comments

London Underground passengers face major disruption next month after union bosses announced workers would go on strike, accusing the Government of having ‘deliberately engineered’ a financial crisis on the network.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union revealed today that all Tube staff had been ‘instructed to refuse to book on for any duty’ which begins from midnight to midnight on both Tuesday, March 1 and Thursday, March 3.

The union wants assurances over jobs, pay, pensions and working conditions amid fears of cuts in Transport for London (TfL) funding after a collapse in demand during the pandemic, and said about 10,000 members will strike.

RMT boss Mick Lynch blamed the Government today for causing financial issues at TfL to ‘drive a cuts agenda which would savage jobs, services, safety and threaten their working conditions and pensions’.

The general secretary of the union added in a statement this morning that ‘these are the very same transport staff praised as heroes for carrying London through Covid for nearly two years, often at serious personal risk’. 

The RMT said that the action was taking place because of the ‘continuing refusal to give assurances on jobs, pensions and working conditions in the midst of an ongoing financial crisis driven by central Government’. 

The London-based union added that its announcement ‘comes in the wake of a recent ballot of over 10,000 members across all grades of London Underground staff with 94 per cent of members voted to strike’. 

But TfL bosses hit back at the ‘extremely disappointing’ announcement today, saying the RMT’s claims that 94 per cent of its members had voted to strike were ‘incorrect’, and that the figure was actually ‘fewer than 50 per cent’. 

TfL’s chief operating officer Andy Lord told MailOnline that ‘no proposals have been tabled on pensions or terms and conditions, and nobody has or will lose their jobs as a result of the proposals we have set out’. Mr Lord also called on the union to ‘do the right thing for London, talk to us and call off this unnecessary action’. 

The news will come as a blow to business leaders in London who desperately want to see workers back in the office to help the struggling city centre economy, with Tube usage still at just half of pre-pandemic levels.  

The newly-announced strikes are separate to the ongoing Night Tube industrial action, which is seeing RMT members on the Central and Victoria lines walking out for eight hours on Friday and Saturday evenings until June.

Mr Lynch said today: ‘Our members will be taking strike action next month because a financial crisis at LUL has been deliberately engineered by the Government to drive a cuts’ agenda which would savage jobs, services, safety and threaten their working conditions and‎ pensions.

‘These are the very same transport staff praised as heroes for carrying London through Covid for nearly two years, often at serious personal risk, who now have no option but to strike to defend their livelihoods.

‘The politicians need to wake up to the fact that transport staff will not pay the price for this cynically engineered crisis. 

‘In addition to the strike action RMT is coordinating a campaign of resistance with colleagues from other unions impacted by this threat. The union remains available for talks aimed at resolving the dispute.’ 

But Mr Lord responded by saying: ‘It is extremely disappointing that the RMT has today announced strike action, as no proposals have been tabled on pensions or terms and conditions, and nobody has or will lose their jobs as a result of the proposals we have set out. 

‘The devastating impact of the pandemic on TfL finances has made a programme of change urgently necessary and we need the RMT to work with us, rather than disrupting London’s recovery. We’re urging them to do the right thing for London, talk to us and call off this unnecessary action.’ 

TfL sources added that they had not yet been officially notified by the RMT about the industrial action planned next month and said they remain ‘open to talks’.

MailOnline has contacted the Department for Transport for comment this morning. 

It comes as Sir Brendan Barber, the former general secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), and pensions expert Joanne Segars are working on an independent review of TfL’s pension arrangements, which is a condition of the Government funding agreement on June 1. 

All of TfL’s recognised trade unions are being invited to take part in the review, and TfL has insisted that ‘this is just a review and there are no plans for change’. 

Transport bosses say they are trying to ‘bring staffing levels in line with customer need while protecting as many jobs as possible for the people who work for it today’, and are proposing not recruiting into about 250 customer services vacancies that are currently unfilled.

The bosses will also look at ‘placing controls on future recruitment’, with the aim of reducing posts by a further 250 to 350 as people retire or move on from TfL, which would mean an overall reduction of around 500 to 600 posts compared to pre-pandemic staffing levels.

But TfL insists that the Underground will remain well staffed, with more than 4,500 employees available along with enforcement teams and police officers. 

As part of the most recent funding agreement between TfL and the Government, TfL is required to work towards achieving financial sustainability by April 2023.

This means TfL is aiming for an overall target for recurring savings of just over £500million for London Underground, but bosses fear the latest industrial action will further impact TfL’s finances as well as impeding London’s recovery from the pandemic.  

It comes as TfL revealed earlier this week that it is facing a £1.5 billion gap in its finances by 2024/25 unless it receives additional funding, amid a threat that Tube lines could otherwise close for days. 

TfL has repeatedly called on the Government to provide a long-term financial package due to the reduction in fare revenue caused by the pandemic. The latest bailout expires today. 

The Department for Transport has previously insisted it has ‘repeatedly shown its commitment’ to supporting TfL during the pandemic by providing ‘more than £4billion in emergency funding’.

TfL also said this week that all ‘uncommitted’ Healthy Streets projects encouraging people to switch from cars to walking and cycling will be paused or cancelled as it revealed proposals to reduce the programme’s budget by £473 million for the six years from 2019/20.

The transport body is also considering suspending the second phase of its Direct Vision initiative to protect vulnerable road users from lorries.

And TfL revealed it expects annual revenue from introducing a proposed emissions-based pricing charge for driving in London to reach £300 million by 2024/25.

Mayor Sadiq Khan is proposing to launch a ‘clean air charge’ and/or expand the ultra-low emission zone. 

Hospitality bosses warn that the Night Tube strikes are affecting businesses, jobs and people’s safety, saying that drivers walking out on weekends until June ‘is the last thing the capital needs’ as it recovers from the pandemic.

They pointed out it will also be more dangerous for women and vulnerable people looking for a safe route home in the evening. The Night Tube strikes have been taking place every weekend since January 7.

UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls said: ‘A strike would jeopardise hospitality businesses, jobs, livelihoods and peoples’ safety. 

‘The Tube is crucial for safely transporting staff and customers – often women and vulnerable people late at night – to and from venues.

‘Hospitality has suffered two disastrous years of closure and devastatingly low levels of trade, but will now be key to London’s recovery. The last thing the capital needs is new setbacks like this.’ 

Drivers have been striking amid arguments over rotas for the Night Tube, but Night Time Industries Association chief executive Michael Kill said: ‘We have fought extremely hard to re-establish the Night Tube service last year.

But now further disruption through long term strike action is likely to have a devastating impact on the night time economy which is a fundamental part of the Capitals infrastructure.

‘This action will further limit the services on the night tube, against the backdrop of night time economy businesses facing an extremely challenging start to 2022, presenting considerable concerns over the safety of customers and staff traveling home at night.’

And London Chamber of Commerce chief executive Richard Burge branded the RMT ‘obstructive and selfish’. He called on the union to ‘put their shoulder to the wheel and show solidarity with businesses and Londoners’. 

Latest provisional Department for Transport figures show the number of journeys made on Britain’s railways on Monday was at 51 per cent of pre-pandemic levels. 

TfL said there were 2.04million Underground journeys made on Monday, which is up 9 per cent in a week, but still only 54 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.  On the buses, there were 4.41million journeys on Monday, which is up 4 per cent in a week, and at 74 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.  

Weekday passenger numbers were at 50 per cent of pre-pandemic levels on the Tube and 70 per cent on buses in mid-January, with TfL expecting them both to reach 80 per cent this year. 

Earlier this week, Tory MPs accused Mr Khan of failing to take ‘responsibility for his own shortcomings’ as he threatened to shut the Underground for days and close bridges as transport bosses warned of a £1.5billion finance gap.

Schemes promoting walking and cycling, which the Mayor has continually pushed, are also now facing cuts. Motorists also face paying an extra £300million a year – with Transport for London saying that bringing in a road tax, increasing council tax and extending the congestion charge would still be insufficient to balance the budget.

The Mayor has launched a drive since the pandemic began to get people walking and cycling again through ‘Healthy Streets’ projects which have included installing cycle lanes and improving walking routes. In addition, the ‘Streetspace’ plan aimed at helping people maintain safe social distance had a budget of £80million.

But amid a funding crisis, TfL has now said all ‘uncommitted’ Healthy Streets projects must be paused or cancelled as it revealed proposals to reduce the programme’s budget by £473million for the six years from 2019/20.

The transport body is also considering suspending the second phase of its Direct Vision initiative to protect vulnerable road users from lorries, as well as a planned fast ferry service between Rotherhithe and Canary Wharf. 

TfL also faces a ‘£435million reduction in major projects’ meaning the Piccadilly line signalling upgrade and Jubilee line ‘optimisation’ are under threat, while there will also be cuts in the step-free access programme.

And TfL said the Tube could go into ‘managed decline’, referring to: ‘A declining network with ageing assets that will fail more regularly. The risk of major asset reliability issues on the Tube that could cause multi-day closures.’

Its report said there are 45 TfL road network structures, bridges and tunnels with ‘interim safety measures’, and cited six examples that ‘represent a high risk to operability’ – including the Rotherhithe Tunnel fire and ventilation system renewal in South East London and the Croydon Flyover structural lighting renewal in South London.

Others examples were the A40 Westway in West London where 12 key bridge joint renewals are required, as well as steel fatigue issues on Vauxhall Bridge in Central London and Gallows Corner Flyover in Romford, East London, as well as structural condition improvements needed at Brent Cross in North London.

Reacting to the latest funding gap, Conservative MP for Wimbledon Stephen Hammond told MailOnline this week: ‘Yet again this is the Mayor showing he is failing to take any responsibility for his own shortcomings. Clearly there are problems due to Covid, but the government have provided him with a new funding package.’

The former transport minister added: ‘Yet again he is failing to meet some of his commitments so that this black hole can be sorted out. This mayor needs to stand up and take responsibility and stop blaming everyone else.’