►► The RMT’s poster opposing job cuts and calling for fares cuts instead ◀◀
A demonstration and a public meeting are taking place this week, in protest against plans by Mayor of London Boris Johnson to close all ticket offices on the London Underground.
The demonstration, organised by the RMT union, will take place opposite the Houses of Parliament at Old Palace Yard, Westminster SW1A 2JX from 10.00 to 11.00 on Wednesday 15 January 2014.
It is times to take place before a parliamentary debate on the Tube cuts crisis, secured by MP John McDonnell.
The “Stop the Tube Cuts” public meeting is on Thursday 16 January 2014 at 18.30 at Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, Holborn, London WC1R 4RL.
Speakers at the meeting will be Bob Crow, RMT general secretary; Manuel Cortes, TSSA general secretary; Jeremy Corbyn MP; Lianna Etkind, Transport for All; Ciara Doyle, Disabled People against the Cuts; Ron Douglas, president, National Pensioners Convention; Jenny Jones, Greater London Assembly Member.
Mr McDonnell said: "We are taking RMT's campaign on the threatened ticket office closures to Parliament.
“Many MPs are expressing their concern at these drastic cuts in staffing. They know that this will not only undermine the quality of the service but will also increase the risk to passengers travelling on our network.
“We are urging the mayor to see sense and pull back from this attack on our members’ jobs and on the travelling public."
Bob Crow said: “RMT members on London Underground have voted by a massive majority for both strike action and action short of a strike in a dispute which is wholly about cash-led cuts, plans that would see the axing of nearly a thousand safety critical jobs and the closure of ticket offices at a time when the Tube network is under growing pressure from customer demand and needs more staff and not fewer to ensure safe and efficient operation.“RMT has announced a two-week phase of industrial action aimed at stopping these appalling cuts but we have made it clear all along that we will use every political and public campaigning tool at our disposal alongside the industrial campaign. That really kicks in this week with the parliamentary debate and protest and the public rally.“Londoners need to be clear that these cuts would hit the vulnerable – the elderly, those with disabilities and women – the hardest.
“De-staffing stations, with supervisors running operations three stops down the line on an IPad, would turn the Tube system into a criminal’s paradise where those with violence and robbery on their minds are given a clear run.”
RMT said: “London Underground has announced the closure of ALL ticket offices by as early as 2015 and the subsequent loss of 750 jobs.
“Despite this Government’s and the Mayor of London’s claim they want more use of public transport, they are cutting LU’s budget by £33 million for 2013-14, and £45 million for 2014-15. This is despite January’s 4.2% increase in fares across the Tube, buses and trams.”
RMT is calling on people to write to their MPs and urge them to sign early day motion 787 which opposes the closures.
According to a survey carried out for RMT, 71% of Tube passengers would be quite concerned or very concerned if ticket offices were closed down, while 52% of Tube passengers had experienced being unable to buy tickets from a machine because it was broken.
TfL’s “vision for the future of the Tube” can be found here