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Tube unions urged to abandon ticket office strike ballot

January 20, 2014 by Martin Hoscik

Mayor Boris Johnson announced the closures in November.
Mayor Boris Johnson announced the closures in November.
Tube boss Mike Brown says workers have no need to strike over plans to close ticket offices and axe 750 jobs because both he and they share the same commitment to passenger service and safety.

The closures, opposed by unions and some parties at City Hall, are expected to save London Underground £50m.

LU and Mayor Boris Johnson say they’re necessary because the success of Oyster means ever dwindling numbers of passengers are buying paper tickets or topping up their cards at ticket offices.

On Monday Mr Brown claimed that a Passenger Charter published by the TSSA mirrored London Underground’s own promises that disabled passengers would benefit from “turn up and go” assistance and that all LU stations would be staffed throughout opening hours.

Mr Brown made his remarks as the union balloted members for possible strike action over the closures.

He said the shared commitments meant it was “completely unnecessary for the TSSA leadership to be balloting its members for strike action and all the disruption to Londoners that would entail.”

Brown called on the union “to abandon the proposed strike ballot without delay and work with us to help shape the future of the Tube.”

Members of the RMT union have already voted to stage two 48-hour walkouts.

TSSA General Secretary Manuel Cortes dismissed Brown’s comments as “a blatant and cynical bid by the Mayor to influence the outcome of a ballot before it closes next Monday”

Mr Cortes said: “Nowhere in the LU appeal is there any mention of the plan to axe almost 1,000 jobs and to scrap the posts of permanent station supervisors. Boris Jonson may be prepared to gamble with the safety of passengers. We are not.”
 

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Filed Under: News Tagged With: Ticket Office Closures

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