Passengers using London Bridge Tube station could face major disruption to their journeys after the RMT announced members working at the station will hold a 24-hour walk-out next month.
The strike is being held in protest at the sacking of one staff member and the disciplining of two others who it’s claimed intervened when a fare-dodger assaulted a pregnant colleague.
Tube buses have previously said a review of CCTV footage showed the claimed assault was a “complete fabrication” and that the conduct of the sacked team member “was not in line with the standards we expect from our staff.”
However the union says London Underground is peddling “bogus and disgraceful” claims about the staff in question and has announced a 24 hour strike between 22:00hrs on Sunday 7th May 2017 and 21:59 on Monday 8th May 2017.
In addition, the union has instructed staff not to service ticket machines or challenge customers unable to produce a valid ticket “until further notice”.
RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said: “This is one of the most appalling abuses of the LU disciplinary procedure that RMT has ever come across.
“This was a shocking, violent incident and those that bore the brunt of it should have been supported and commended by the company.
“Instead they have been sacked or disciplined in what is the most appalling multiple miscarriage of justice.
“LU have flouted their own zero tolerance policy, their own duty of care to their staff and have sent out a message to fare dodgers and yobbos that staff can be treated as punch bags with impunity.
“That is an outrage that has enraged every single tube employee who risks their neck on the stations and platforms against a backdrop of a growing pattern of abuse and violence.”
The threatened strike comes despite Mayor Sadiq Khan’s promises to end passenger disruption by improving relations with Tube unions.
