Economic crisis / fighting public service cuts

RMT’s Bob Crow Calls For “Generalised Strikes And Community Direct Action”

Submitted by Peter on 30 June, 2010 - 15:09

“This ConDem administration has thrown down the biggest challenge to the Trade Union Movement since Margaret Thatcher took on the National Union of Mineworkers. I have no hesitation in saying that it will take general and co-ordinated strike action across the public and private sectors to stop their savage assault on jobs, living standards and public services."

- Bob Crow, RMT General Secretary

London Assembly Tories' Plan For The Tube Without Train Drivers

Submitted by Peter on 16 June, 2010 - 20:00

The Conservative group on the London Assembly have sent a memo to Mayor Boris Johnson detailing how they believe an underground system without drivers would provide a world class mass transit system.

The conservative group believe the underground would be better with an increased number of faster trains, more customers but less staff (sound familiar?). They claim that the acquisition of Tube Lines by London Underground is the perfect time to ditch drivers.

Government Attack On Transport Budgets means Crossrail, High Speed, Electrification And Tube Upgrades Under Threat

Submitted by Peter on 24 May, 2010 - 11:23

With the new ConDem government kicking off its cuts programme today, transport union RMT warned this morning that key transport projects, including Crossrail, High Speed rail, electrification and the Tube upgrades, are all at risk of being scrapped, scaled back or kicked into the long grass with the union forecasting that the national transport budget could be hacked back by up to 27%.

RMT Demands Assurance That Transport Projects Will Not fall Victim To Government Cuts

Submitted by Peter on 22 May, 2010 - 01:20

TRANSPORT UNION RMT today demanded concrete assurances from the government that crucial transport infra-structure projects will not fall victim to the cuts programme amid warnings today that key pledges, like High Speed Rail, could be kicked into the long grass.

In the ConDem coalitions programme document they talk about a commitment to a national high speed rail network but with the heavy duty caveat of “financial constraints” thrown into the mix as a drag weight on progress of the scheme which already lags behind much of Europe.

TfL Spends £7.8 Million On Five Buses, Whilst LU Dumps 800 Staff

Submitted by Peter on 5 May, 2010 - 15:55

TfL have spent £7.8 million pounds of a budget allocation of £15 million, to find a replacement for the Routemaster bus which was scrapped by the previous London Mayor Ken Livingstone, as it was inaccesible to many people.

This is at a time when 800 staff are being cut at LUL in a drive for ‘efficiency'.

Does the Economic Crisis Mean that Employers "Have To" Cut Jobs?

Submitted by Janine on 12 March, 2010 - 17:19

Both London Underground and Tube Lines - and, no doubt, many other companies - will tell us that they "have to" cut jobs because of the economic crisis. But a look at London Underground's history shows that this is not just untrue - it is the opposite of the truth.

London Underground began in 1863, when private companies starting opening lines. By the 1920s, the Underground had expanded into a web of lines beneath London, run by several different private companies.

RMT Organise Conference On Crisis in Working Class Political Representation

Submitted by Peter on 5 November, 2009 - 03:21

In an important initiative aimed at shifting the political debate away from the cuts and pro-business agenda of the three main parties, transport union RMT is convening a conference on the “Crisis in Working Class Representation” in London on Saturday, 7th November 2009.