Commenting on RMT leadership's proposed strike action announced today, London Underground (LU) Chief Operating Officer, Howard Collins, said:
"No responsible union should be asking hard-pressed farepayers and taxpayers to fund jobs that are no longer needed"
Howard Collins
London Underground's Chief Operating Officer

No responsible union should be asking hard-pressed farepayers and taxpayers to fund jobs that are no longer needed

'The RMT leadership has failed to engage in any meaningful talks on pay, instead submitting a wildly unrealistic claim - demanding a five per cent pay rise for fewer hours in the middle of a recession. 

'On jobs, the RMT leadership knows full well we are seeking to end the duplication of back office jobs and that no front line staff will be affected.

'No responsible union should be asking hard-pressed farepayers and taxpayers to fund jobs that are no longer needed and vastly inflated pay demands.   

Every effort 

'Our employees have good pay and conditions and we are seeking to negotiate a further fair and affordable pay agreement that provides them with long-term stability in an extremely tough economic climate.

'Our offer guarantees real wage increases for the next five years. Very few Londoners have that level of certainty for the future.
 
'Bringing Metronet under the control of LU, which the unions have been calling for for years, has led to the duplication of many back office roles.

'We are making every effort to avoid compulsory redundancies by releasing temporary staff, removing vacancies, and offering voluntary severance for those who wish to take it.

Start talking

'This review does not impact on front-line staff working on trains, stations or maintenance and there will be no impact on Tube services.

'In fact, with all the investment now going into renewing and upgrading the Tube, we will be running more services in future, not less.  
 
'The RMT leadership should start talking to us rather than threaten strike action that will simply lose their members pay and cause unnecessary frustration and disruption to Londoners.'  
 
The RMT leadership has said that a pay increase of anything less than five per cent would be simply unacceptable.

Affordable deal

Among other things, the RMT has also demanded a reduction in working hours without loss of pay and improved travel facilities.

LU has offered staff a fair and affordable deal of a one per cent pay increase in year one of a new deal, with increases of RPI + 0.5 per cent in years two to five, offering stability for staff during a period of global uncertainty.

Note to editors 

The RMT has announced strike action to commence at 18.59 hours on Tuesday 9 June through to 18.58 hours on Thursday 11 June 2009.  TfL has advised that it will do all it can to keep customers fully informed of the impact of this action but is advising customers to check Live Travel News for updates before travelling, and to use Journey Planner to plan a possible alternative route.