London’s reputation as a leading city is being damaged by a hardcore of “hothead” union leaders bent on ordering Tube and rail strikes, the capital’s business chiefs said today.
The warning came as more than 300,000 mainline South Western Railway (SWR) passengers suffered their fourth successive day of strike action.
David Leam, of London First, the business campaign group representing 200 employers, said: “Passengers are fed up of being treated as disposable pawns by a hard core of hotheads. This drip-feed of strikes is causing misery for the hundreds of thousands of commuters who rely on the Tube and rail services to get between home and work every day.
“It’s also damaging to London’s hard-earned reputation as a leading world city. The unions really need to step back from this pointless action and commit to meaningful talks.” The Central and Waterloo & City lines face shutdown on Wednesday, November 7, in strikes by the RMT and Aslef unions, and the Piccadilly line faces closure or major disruption with a 24-hour RMT strike from noon that day. Aslef, the train drivers’ union, is “looking” at joining the long-running Piccadilly line dispute over a claimed failure by management to make promised improvements.
Another row — over timetable changes and “work-life balance” — threatens the Jubilee line, with scheduled strikes by Aslef and the RMT “suspended” in June for further talks.
The union is also gearing up for a battle over pay when a four-year agreement ends in March. They are preparing demands for “substantial” increases above the current deal which pushed salaries of station supervisors to £50,000-plus and train drivers to £60,000.
The crux of the Aslef Central line dispute is the refusal by London Underground to reinstate a driver sacked for opening train doors at a station when two carriages were in the tunnel.
Tube chiefs allege that the driver failed to report the incident properly, and say the strikes are “totally unjustified”. Aslef says the driver has an “exemplary” record over 25 years and this was a “first mistake”.
London Underground’s Nigel Holness said the driver was dismissed for “a serious breach of our safety regulations”.
Of the RMT’s Central line dispute, union leader Mick Cash said the management’s “conscious decision to up the ante by attempting to single out and pick off individual members of staff, has tipped the situation over the edge”. He accused LU of “refusing to employ enough drivers and bullying staff”.
LU said the new Jubilee line timetable “boosts capacity and train frequency during peak hours” and the rosters are “within the agreements made between LU and the trade unions”.
A SWR spokesperson said: “Our growth plans mean more guards, not fewer. It is time for the union to stop spreading myths and causing misery to our customers and colleagues and commit to resolving this dispute.”
It comes as the RMT today threatened to shut Paddington station with a strike ballot in protest over a guard suspended from duty after being accused of assault on a member of the public. The RMT say the allegation is “vexatious and false”. Following a disciplinary hearing today, the union says if he is not “immediately reinstated” the ballot will go ahead.
Thousands of commuters, including those into Waterloo, suffered again today with the fourth successive 24-hour strike by RMT guards. More than 500 trains were cancelled – a third of the entire service. Strikes continue tomorrow when 750 trains, will not run.
