Staff reporter(wp/es):
More Tube staff are set to walk-out in a fresh strike, a union announced on Tuesday.
London Underground workers voted to go on strike in a row over ticket office closures, jobs and safety.
Members of the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) said staff have faced "unprecendented" levels of verbal and physical abuse from passengers since Tube ticket officers closed.
The union backed walkouts by 67 per cent and other forms of industrial action by 9-1.
The vote follows the announcement staff belonging to another union - the RMT - are to stage 24-hour walkouts next month.
More than 230 Tube staff members took part in Tuesday's TSSA ballot, which asked whether they were prepared to take part in a strike.
Union general secretary Manuel Cortes said it is not a dispute about wages but "our members being prepared to take part in a strike to let the world know that the Tube they are using is not fit for safe purpose".
He said: "Our customer service assistants are overwhelmingly trying to warn the public that the Tube they use is not safe. We no longer have enough staff.
"Our members will as a last resort go on strike to safeguard passengers. They are prepared to forego wages and risk media and management wrath to let the public know that our capital's Tube is no longer safe enough.
"This strike vote must not be dismissed as mindless militant action. Instead it's an act of desperation by mindful and public-spirited customer service assistants at their absolute best by putting passenger safety before anything else."
The RMT union has already announced 24-hour walkouts by train drivers on the Piccadilly and Hammersmith and City lines from 9.30pm on Tuesday 6 December in separate and unrelated disputes.
The Piccadilly line, fourth busiest on the network and the only Tube line serving Heathrow, is expected to be severely disrupted.
No comments:
Post a Comment