BORIS JOHNSON is on the warpath over today’s Tube strike. The London Mayor has closed the door on talks with union leaders, labelled the walk-out “nakedly political nonsense” and called for his government allies to bring in more anti-union laws.
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The two unions involved in the strike – the RMT and TSSA – say support among their members has been “rock solid”, though admit managers and temp staff have managed to get some trains running.
What Transport for London call a “special service” i.e. skeleton service is in operation across much of the network, but many Londoners have decided to work from home instead. The fact the Ryder Cup is live on TV has perhaps made this one of the most popular Tube strikes in memory.
In his Daily Telegraph column today, Johnson calls for new laws to make it harder for unions to strike.
“It simply cannot be right that a little over 3,000 people should be able to disrupt the lives and livelihoods of millions of people,” he said.
Then the Mayor repeated his long-running claim that “this strike is irresponsible politically motivated nonsense,” despite the 800 job cuts and safety issues at stake in the dispute.
Johnson also appeared to close the door to top level talks to end the dispute.
“[The unions’] political lackeys now pretend that I should invite [RMT leader] Bob Crow in for beer and sandwiches in City Hall,” he said.
“That is absurd, outrageous and wrong. We cannot reward the bad behaviour of militants.”
The strike ends at 7pm this evening, but normal service is unlikely to be resumed until tomorrow morning.
