28/04/2014

Tube Strike Set To Commence

A 48-hour tube strike is set to begin later.

Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union members are due to stage a walk-out from 9pm, and not return to their positions until 8.59pm on Wednesday (30 April).

The London Underground workers are protesting over plans to close ticket offices.

While the protest is expected to begin this evening, it is thought service disruption could start before, and finish after, the official walk-out.

RMT and London Underground are in talks over the plans, which could see 960 jobs being lost.

According to reports, RMT is awaiting a promise from LU to provide it with a station-by-station review of the cuts and their impact on staff, passengers and safety. In response, London Underground has said concessions have already been made, including a promise that a supervisor would work out of every station, rather than one worker overseeing up to five stations, while there would also be no compulsory redundancies.

If the dispute is not resolved on this occasion, members of the RMT are expected to strike again, this time for 72 hours, from 9pm on Monday 5 May.

(JP)

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