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RMT to ballot for strike over safety critical job cuts

London Underground is facing renewed industrial action on its stations, tube union RMT confirmed today.

Station staff members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers Unions (RMT) will be balloted for strike action and action short of strike action in an on-going battle over job numbers, the critical safety role of control rooms, forced displacement of staff, grading and a crisis resulting from London Undergrounds closure of ticket offices.

873 jobs have been removed from stations leaving staff unable to cope with the demands of running busy stations. Many station control rooms, where communication and alarm systems should be monitored, have been closed.

A recent report, compiled by London Underground management, blames the job cuts and unstaffed control room for a serious incident at Canning Town station, when an evacuation spiralled out of control following an accident where a passenger fell between a train and platform.

The industrial action ballot is currently being prepared and a timetable will be confirmed shortly.

Mick Cash, RMT General Secretary said,

“London Underground knows that it has compromised safety and customer service across its stations by cutting jobs. A responsible employer would reverse the job cuts and put staff back into station control rooms. If London Underground really cares about passengers it would reverse the ticket office closure programme”.

“The continuing impact of those cuts leaves us with no alternative but to move to a ballot for industrial action.

“London Underground says it aspires to be a ‘World Class Service’. RMT says that a self-service railway that can’t staff its control rooms to monitor fire alarms, lift alarms and passenger help points would struggle in League Two, let alone be considered World Class”.