Gary Harbord, RMT LU train grades secretary, personal capacity
London Underground station staff in the RMT union are taking two days of strike action on 4 and 6 October against job losses and attacks to our terms and conditions.
The proposals, pushed through by the Tory government and signed off by Labour London mayor Sadiq Khan, will see a wholesale attack on our station members. If allowed to go unchallenged, station grades members would be facing pay cuts, extreme rosters, displacements, the downgrading of jobs, and 600 job losses across the grade.
Already we are have seen unprecedented station closures, with a four-fold increase in the last 12 months. If these proposals were implemented, the whole underground system would become more unsafe, with fatigue and stress levels increasing and passengers put at risk.
The RMT will not stand by and allow our members to bear the brunt of these Tory attacks. The last time station staff took strike action, central London was shut down and a skeleton service could only be run in outlying areas. It is likely to be the same this time around.
Ultimately, this dispute, and the wider dispute with London Underground, will only be won by all grades taking action together in defence of a properly financed, safely run railway.
Fleet, engineering, trains, revenue and stations all face a ripping up of our agreements and job losses. We will use our collective strength to protect our members and protect the travelling public of London.
The RMT will work with any other rail union that wants to join that battle.
