30.11.16
TSSA threatens ‘last resort’ strike over ticket office closures
Station staff on the London Underground have voted in favour of strike action over ticket office closures in a TSSA ballot.
The union described the ballot, issued on 14 November, as concerning “station staffing and staff safety (post implementation of Fit for the Future) in connection with staffing levels, imposed displacements, inadequate staff training, staff safety and transfer and promotion policy”.
No strike dates have been announced yet, but Manuel Cortes, general secretary of the TSSA, said that members would strike “as a last resort”.
“Our customer service assistants are overwhelmingly trying to warn the public that the Tube they use is not safe. We no longer have enough staff,” he said.
“This strike vote must not be dismissed as mindless militant action. Instead, it’s an act of desperation by mindful and public-spirited customer service assistants at their absolute best by putting passenger safety before anything else.”
In September, London mayor Sadiq Khan commissioned a London TravelWatch review of the ticket office closures carried out as part of the Fit for the Future programme.
John Stewart, deputy chair and policy committee chair at London TravelWatch, recently told the London Assembly Transport Committee that the ongoing review had found a “mixed picture” in terms of the safety impact of office closures.
Union members voted 68% in favour of strikes, and 92% in favour of action short of a strike, with 237 of the 540 members returning their ballots.
RMT is also leading driver strikes on the Piccadilly and Hammersmith & City lines on 6 December.
RTM contacted TfL for a comment, but had not received a reply at the time of publication.
3.45pm UPDATE
Steve Griffiths, London Underground’s chief operating officer, said: “We urge the TSSA leadership to work with us constructively on the issues they have raised, rather than threaten to disrupt our customers with strikes."
(Image c. Metronet)
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