TUBE UNION RMT has welcomed the tabling of a motion at tomorrow’s London Mayor’s Question Time, in the names of Labour’s Val Shawcross and the Lib Dem’s Caroline Pidgeon, calling on Boris Johnson to review plans to axe 800 station staff jobs and to close or slash the opening times of 245 ticket offices.

As requested by RMT's campaign committee, I wrote the following letter to Labour Parliamentary candidates in and around London (or at least, the ones I could find email addresses for!):

As you may know, London Underground, under the leadership of Tory Mayor Boris Johnson, plans to cut 800 station staff jobs, and to severely cut ticket office opening hours.

Issue 5 Of the Easthammer Newsletter yes I know I only just sent out Issue 4 but I have a lot on my mind

Regards

Gary

John McDonnell MP has put down the following Early Day Motion in Parliament:

That this House regards the proposals by London Mayor Boris Johnson to shed up to 800 ticket office and gateline jobs on London Underground as a hugely retrograde step in terms of public service; believes that this move will fail to achieve the company's stated objective of improved customer service, and undermines long-term safety operational procedures for stations, trains and signals in order to run trains without available station staff; condemns the actions of the Mayor of London in breaking an election campaign promise that he would protect ticket offices by ensuring that they are always properly staffed; is deeply concerned that if these cuts were to take effect, London Underground would be incapable of responding to a major security alert or function efficiently during the 2012 Olympics; and calls on the Government to urge the Mayor to meet with the trade unions to re-affirm reasonable and safe staffing levels right across the London Underground network.

Navin Shah, Labour GLA member for Brent & Harrow, has tabled some questions to the Mayor about London Underground's plans to cut jobs and close ticket offices, and plans to table more. The questions (and an answer) are copied below.

It's confirmed: Boris Johnson has broken his promise that no London Underground staff would be penalised for being unable to get to work because of the heavy snowfall on 2 February. In answers to questions put to him by Green Party Assembly Member Darren Johnson, the Mayor backs up the unfair actions of London Underground management in every single respect.

Now we know how much a promise from our Tory Mayor is really worth!

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Below are the answers to the follow-up questions that Darren Johnson raised on our behalf at the London Assembly's Mayor's Question Time this month. They are based on information that RMT's London Transport Regional Council provided. After the Mayor ignored our letter, we wrote to all GLA members about this, and both Darren Johnson and Labour's Valerie Shawcross have taken up the issue on our behalf.

Following RMT's lobbying of Greater London Assembly members on the issue of "snow day pay", both Labour's Valerie Shawcross and the Green Party's Darren Johnson have offered to raise the issue with the Mayor.

Darren Johnson asked the following question and got the following reply:

RMT press release, issued today

BRITAIN’S BIGGEST rail and Tube union hailed today’s scheduled tabling in parliament of new fire-safety regulations for sub-surface stations as vindication of a five-year campaign to retain standards imposed in the wake of the 1987 King’s Cross fire, which claimed 31 lives.

Saturday January 10 2009, 11am - 3pm, Friends Meeting House, Euston Road, London NW1

Speakers: Brian Caton POA General Secretary Bob Crow RMT General Secretary Professor Mary Davis John McDonnell MP Mark Serwotka PCS General Secretary Chair John Leach RMT President

Open to all. Please register in advance at info@rmt.org.uk, or write to RMT, Unity House, 39 Chalton Street, London, NW1 1JD

Download a leaflet by clicking on the file name below.

Early Day Motion 1872 Tabled by John McDonnell and signed by 37 MPs so far

CONDITIONS FOR CLEANERS EMPLOYED ON LONDON UNDERGROUND

I was very pleased to propose this resolution at RMT's AGM. I had written it as a response to the collapse in Labour's vote in the May 1 local elections, when Boris Johnson won the London Mayor's job for the Tories and Labour Councillors around the country had to clear their desks in the Town Hall. My branch, Stratford no.1, discussed and agreed it, and thus it found its way to the union's AGM as an emergency resolution.

Delegates to RMT's Annual General Meeting last week unanimously agreed the following resolution, which had been submitted by the union's Stratford no.1 branch.

This union notes the disastrous results for the Labour Party in the May 1st elections. We believe that working class voters have deserted the Labour Party because it has abandoned working class people through its policies of cuts, privatisation, war and lining the pockets of the rich at the expense of the poor and low paid.

We are also appalled at the advances made by the fascist BNP in these elections.

Nicked from Bakerloo line RMT’s newsletter

Buffoon Boris Johnson’s London Mayoral campaign is well and truly underway and guess who BoJo sees as his public enemy number one?

Is it the fat cats like Metronet who cream millions from Londoners then go bust leaving the public to pick up the bill? Nope. Is it the private companies who will rake in trillions from the Olympic contracts while the tax payer foots the bill? Nope.

Unfortunately, BoJo the Buffoon sees himself as some kind of 21st Century Maggie Thatcher and has decided that RMT-bashing is a vote winner for him.