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SECOND
TUBE STRIKE LOOKS SET TO PROCEED
 The
next RMT and Aslef strike on
London Underground is scheduled
for Tuesday 1st October from
8pm for 24 hours. Although the
strike is due to finish at 8pm
on Wednesday (2 October), during
the recent strike the Underground
didn't return to normal until
the day after the strike. This
was caused by striking staff's
shift patterns.
In
practise each strike day will
cause two days of disruption
because Underground staff will
not be able to get to work to
resume services on Wednesday
October 2.
By
making the strikes operate during
two working days the unions
can maximise disruption but
only lose their members one
days pay.
London
Underground have already started
paying a three per cent pay
increase for its staff this
year - taking the average Tube
driver's salary to over £31,000
a year.
This
decision follows a special meeting
held on 5th August between London
Underground and the rail unions
in an attempt to resolve the
ongoing dispute over pay. Unfortunately
agreement was not reached, with
the union leaders continuing
to reject London Underground's
unconditional pay offer.
The
Tube's Human Resources Director,
Bob Mason said: "We have
urged the unions to reconsider
their position. We remain willing
to work with them to settle
this dispute and to discuss
other potential means of improving
terms and conditions for their
members. But their existing
pay claims are unsubstantiated
and we simply do not have the
money to meet them."
He
added "Three per cent is
a fair rate - up there with
the best in terms of public
sector deals this year - and
it maintains the generous pay
deals awarded to staff in recent
years that help make the Underground
such an attractive place to
work."
According
to the RMT in the last ten years,
Tube staff levels have fallen
by a third, while passenger
numbers are up by 30 per cent
and passenger revenue has doubled.
LUL claim they simply do not
have the financial resources
to give a high increase and
therefore mediation would be
pointless.
September
27, 2002
How
to get a strike refund
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