Unease over part-time ‘student army’

The white collar transport TSSA union has condemned plans by London mayor Boris Johnson to recruit a part-time, 200-strong “student army” to cope with big crowds using the new “night tube” service on Friday and Saturday nights.

TSSA general secretary Manuel Cortes explained that while the union had no complaints over the terms and conditions being offered to staff, it was “worried about how these students will cope under pressure, particularly when it comes to dealing with drunks trying to get home after a night out in the West End”.

Cortes said that the service was not the best environment for the mayor to run what amounted to a youth training programme.

“This is a critical safety service and there should be no place for his usual gimmicks and stunts,” he added.

https://www.tssa.org.uk/en/whats-new/news/index.cfm/boris-recruits-student-army-for-night-tube