The Tube strike is on?

So this is it. It seems like the negotiations between the RMT and TFL have broken down and we’re in for two days of testing Londoners’ ingenuity as to how to get to work. If you work close enough to the mainline station you come in to then you’ll be laughing but if the tube is your regular poison then I don’t envy you. It’s still not 100% certain that the strike is going to go ahead and there’s always the possibility of a last-minute reprieve but in many senses damage has already been done in unsold tickets for the England v Andorra game, to name but one high-profile victim.

Riddle me this though. The Evening Standard says that the RMT balloted “up to” 10,000 of its members about the proposed action and the RMT web site reports that 2,810 members voted in favour of a strike with 488 opposing. Now to my mind that’s not an overwhelming endorsement of industrial action is it?

So where does that leave us? From what I can see the RMT is run by a vocal minority living in the nostalgic afterglow of the tube strikes of the past while the majority of RMT members don’t care enough about their fellow Londoners to bother to vote. Your average John and Jane Commuter will have to put up with this foolishness for a few days and if your boss puts a black mark against your name for having the bad luck to turn up late, or finds somebody else to do your job, then don’t think that the RMT or its members are going to cry any tears over it.

So what do you think of this whole mess?

Tube Strike again

Ahhh… same old, same old. Just like with Kajagoogoo singles or English World Cup Final wins we haven’t had a tube strike for a while so in honour of the RMT’s plan to highlight the issue of duplication of back-office jobs I thought I’d pose you a question. How are the RMT proposing to advance their cause?

a) Staging a protest outside TFL’s Head Office,
b) Writing a strongly-worded letter to Gordon Brown or,
c) Bringing the tube network to a halt for 48 hours.

Yes folks, it’s ‘c’. The RMT are promising to shut down tube lines for 48 hours starting from 18.59 on the 9th June to 18.58 on the 11th June so forget working late or partying on Tuesday unless you’ve got a backup plan to get home. I remember once hearing the analogy “When all you’ve got is a hammer everything looks like a nail” and the RMT seems to be resorting to form by punishing London’s commuters for their inability to get along with TFL management.

Now before you pelt me with witty, well-meaning and heartfelt observations, Yes, I’m sure there are one hundred and one things going on behind the scenes that I’ve no idea of but being somebody who works on the theory that if you ask the wrong questions you’ll get the wrong answer the RMT seem to have come up with the wrong answer once again and to my mind it will only serve to harden general public resolve to squash the RMT given a decent opportunity. Their actions, particularly given the current downturn, seem ludicrously out-of-touch to me but then if you don’t agree you’re entitled to your opinion… as long as you don’t mind being wrong.

OK, now you can pelt me with witty, well-meaning and heartfelt observations.

TFL Strike News Page
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/media/newscentre/11854.aspx

RMT Strike Statement
http://www.rmt.org.uk/Templates/Internal.asp?NodeID=122870

What do you think about the possibility of tube strikes? Do the workers have a case? Post your comments below…

Thameslink Moorgate Branch Line Closes

The Thameslink branch line between Farringdon and Moorgate is set to close for good today.  Commuters into the City who used this service will now need to walk from Farringdon or use a tube or bus.

First Capital Connect Managing Director Elaine Holt said: “The closure of the Thameslink Moorgate branch line is an unfortunate but necessary part of the Government-funded Thameslink Programme to reduce overcrowding. In commemorating the end of the line we are celebrating the beginning of the transformation of another – the key cross-London Bedford to Brighton Thameslink route.

“Network Rail can now start rebuilding in earnest key stations at Blackfriars and Farringdon for 50% longer 12-carriage trains. It will mean disruption for our customers but we will do our utmost to help them through this.”

Find out more from First Capital Connect.