'Severe disruption' for London commuters as Tube strike hits

Workers walked out due to £15m worth of cuts that would mean getting rid of every single booking office and letting go of 1,000 jobs.

15:44 29 April 2014

London commuters are facing severe disruption as members of the Rail, Maritime, and Transport (RMT) Union have walked out for 48 hours over plans to close all ticket office and letting go of 1,000 jobs. The strike is due to end at 20:00 BST on Wednesday but commuters are advise to anticipate disruption until Thursday morning. 

 

The acting general secretary of the RMT union, Mick Cash said: "They're looking to make £15m worth of cuts and to do that they want to get rid of every single booking office and 1,000 jobs.”

 

"Now we took industrial action in February this year and we suspended it following a deal done with our former general secretary, Bob Crow, where they had promised to review every single station. 

 

"We agreed that we would start by looking at the different station types, which group into five different types, and we'd look at those first. 

 

"And now we're in the midst of doing the full station by station review starting with the Piccadilly Line. 

 

"So I'm afraid what you've heard from Mick Cash is nonsense."

 

Meanwhile, Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, explained that the budget cuts will benefit Londoners. "This action is the result of a minority of just one union, the RMT, who are refusing to see the logic of what we are trying to achieve.

 

"We can't, as some would have us do, just stand by and force Londoners to pay for ticket offices. 

 

"A resource which currently costs Londoners money, and where less than 3% of journeys begin, can be delivered better and far more efficiently with these changes."