London has today seen a second day of strikes on the Underground in response to plans to close all ticket offices. The two day of action were called by the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) Union in an effort to stop the plans going ahead that would leave nearly a thousand people without a job.
Yesterday morning parts of the transport network were left at a complete halt however this morning there was a service running on all eleven lines. In order to counteract the delay on the Underground, Transport for London have put more than two hundred additional busses into service, the most there have ever been in London, including some ‘vintage’ buses.
London mayor Boris Johnson has thanked London Underground staff who have gone to work as usual and has described suggestions that the strike has been solidly backed as farcical. Johnson has said he wants legislation to prevent strike action where less than half of the union members in the workforce take part in the ballot concerned. Speaking on London 94.9 he said that he had assurances from the Primie Minister that ‘on day one of a new Cameron administration he will be able to deliver a deal that gives exactly the protection that Londoners want.’
The Prime Minister tweeted his disgust yesterday saying ‘It’s unacceptable that millions of people are having their lives disrupted by today’s Tube strike in London.’, whilst the RMT argue that they are endorsing messages that they are taking a stand against the Mayor’s broken promises. Despite the focused rhetoric of both sides the story has failed to make major headlines during a busy news day.
This weeks strike follows previous action on the matter in February that was called to a stop following an agreement reached between the late RMT boss Bob Crow and London Underground. Since then London Underground and RMT have met more than forty time through the arbitration service Acas. The RMT is threatening a further three days of action starting from the evening of Monday 5th of May unless the matter is resolved.
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Ali Saul
Ali is a Law undergraduate at the University of Portsmouth with an especial interest in Constitutional Law. He is a keen musician playing mandolin, guitar, drums and keyboards. He also enjoys writing music and poetry.
