Blogs

Boris Johnson On The Safety Of Londoners During LFB Union Strike

In an interview on LBC Radio, Boris Johnson is asked "For the record, the mayor of London believes London will be adequately protected from fire by twenty-seven appliances crewed by part time staff, trained for on average two weeks." Boris didn't confirm the safety of the plans, dodging the question by answering 'The preparations were perfectly good.'

Message of support to French rail strikers

I have sent the following message of support to French rail strikers. You can read about their action here.

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I am writing on behalf of the London Transport Region of the National Union of Rail Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) here in the UK. I write to tell you of our strong support for the action you are taking in defence of pensions.

RMT General Secretary Bob Crow On Labour Leader Ed Miliband

The BBC have an article on RMT General Secretary Bob Crow's comments on the new Labour leader Ed Miliband.

The article says "Mr Crow, general secretary of the RMT union, claims Mr Miliband might break his pledge to attend a rally against public spending cuts."

"Mr Crow said a Labour leader who failed to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the party's core supporters would "get slaughtered at the polls".

The full article is here.

GLA Member Proposes End To LU Staff Cuts - Tories Walk Out Of Meeting

Greater London Authority member Valerie Shawcross has put forward a motion to end the job cuts at London Underground. When the meeting began only five of eleven elected Tory members were present. Three left when the motion regarding LU job cuts came to the agenda which meant there were not enough members at the meeting for it to continue.

It is reported that one Tory AM, when asked why they left the meeting, responded "because we couldn't be arsed".

Six And Out!!

The strike on Tuesday September 7 was magnificently supported by Train and Station RMT members.
The few and infrequent services that did run on the Bakerloo Line offered little by way of “a world class tube service.” The LU managers supposedly running the railway also decided to throw out tried and tested safety mechanisms put in place following the Kings Cross fire disaster.

Article against Job Cuts

I have written this article for my local anti-cuts campaign newsletter in Hackney ...

We may not have London Underground here in Hackney (except at our very edges!), but the loss of 800 Tube staff posts would still affect us - in a very bad way. So, many Hackney residents and workers fully support Tube unions RMT and TSSA in their campaigning and industrial action against these cuts.

Survey Suggests LGBT People Feel Unsafe on Public Transport

Research by several organisations across London has found that LGBT people fear for their safety on public transport including the tube and that there is a higher incident of assault - both verbal and physical - on public transport than there is in other public areas.

The British Transport Police state ‘For passengers, feeling safe is as important as being safe. The visible presence of rail staff, PCSOs and police officers can reduce the fear of crime dramatically.’

With these figures showing how LGBT people feel about travel on the underground, it should be considered that many LGBT people will feel more at risk of assault on the underground as staff cuts will inevitably mean the reduction of staff visibility.

London Assembly Tories' Plan For The Tube Without Train Drivers

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.

Tube Lines and Metronet: What They Said About Themselves

This is what our two failed Infracos said about themselves before they signed their PPP contracts ...

"Tube Lines believes that it will add value to the vital public service provided by LUL by delivering on time and to budget."

"Metronet has the skills, the knowledge and the ability along with sound financial backing to help turn London Underground into a system fit for the 21st century."

If anyone had to eat their words, the bosses of these consortia would have alphabetti spaghetti on the menu for years to come ...