London faces transport strikes

Concerns over jobs, pay and conditions for London Underground (LU) maintenance workers employed by Tube Lines, and increased work and responsibilities on the Docklands Light Railway threatened to result in strike action as Labour Research went to press.

In two separate disputes, action by members of the RMT rail union was due to begin on 23 June, hitting travel across the capital.

Tube Lines has a 30-year Public Private Partnership (PPP) contract with LU for maintenance and upgrading of all the infrastructure on the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines. But the operation is shortly to be taken back in-house by Transport for London (TfL) at the cost of a £310 million buy-out from Tube Lines’ former PPP owners.

However, the RMT says it has already seen signs that maintenance schedules are being “hacked to the bone”.And an inferior pay offer added to the chances of industrial action.

The RMT’s separate dispute with Serco Docklands arose from the company’s failure to make adequate payments for increased workloads and responsibility.

Looking to the future, the RMT has also condemned plans to axe all train drivers and operators on the London Underground system, moving the entire system to a driverless operation.

A leaked report from within the Tory group on the Greater London Assembly recommended sacking all 3,525 train drivers.