Tube workers in London operating the Piccadilly line are striking for 24 hours on the 23 and 24 March over “bullying, harassment and intimidation”.
The Piccadilly line is the fourth busiest in the city, with 600,000 people using it daily, and the strike of 400 tube drivers is causing massive disruption. 85% of the drivers, members of the RMT union, voted in favour of action with an even larger number voting for action short of a strike.
The ballot for action was called after a prolonged period of industrial problems on the line. The issues have left drivers in a vulnerable position and been used by management as a tool to harass and threaten members through misuse of the disciplinary procedure.
RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said: “The hostile and aggressive attitude by tube bosses has collapsed the normal negotiating process. The wholesale abuse of procedures and agreements by management on the Piccadilly line is rife and amounts to the development of a campaign of bullying, harassment and intimidation that the union will not allow to continue.
The RMT will not sit back and allow individual members to be picked off by a vindictive and aggressive management who are continuing to drag their heels over addressing fundamental safety issues which leave staff in a vulnerable and exposed position.”
Further action is planned on 19-20 and 21-22 April.
