The RMT union has announced a 48 hour Tube strike as part of its protest at plans to close ticket offices and axe more than 900 jobs.
London Underground says the ticket offices cost farepayers £50m per year but are being used by ever declining numbers of passengers due to the popularity of Oyster.
It’s also expecting the number of paper-tickets and face to face transactions to continue decrease further following the recent introduction of contactless fares.
Around 960 jobs will be lost as part of the changes, although some new posts will be created by the introduction of an all-night weekend Tube service in 2015 leaving a net loss of 750 jobs.
The union says the cuts threaten passenger safety and will make it harder for mobility-impaired and other vulnerable passengers to complete their journey as fewer staff will be available to help them.
It says talks with London Underground aimed at addressing union concerns have produced only “limited progress”, meaning “the only option is to move back in to a further round of strike action.”
Members have been instructed not to book on for any shifts between 2100 hrs on 14th October through to 2059 hrs on the 16th October.
RMT General Secretary Mick Cash 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.”
Mr Cash added that the union “will not stand back and allow Government- driven austerity cuts to hollow out the tube system and leave it as a dangerous shell. We are also fully aware that the current cuts are just part of a multi-billion pound attack that will include such lethal ideas as driverless-operation.
“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.”
