Tube strike: Furious Londoners brand union ‘Marxist traitors’ over alleged job cut walk outs

Furious Londoners have branded the RMT union as “Marxist traitors” as a network wide Tube strike causes commuter chaos today.

A poster reading ‘Rotten Marxist Traitors’ has been pasted on the closed gates at Shepherd’s Bush station.

This comes as 4,000 RMT Union station staff walked out today due to an alleged dispute over job cuts.

General secretary Mick Lynch said members were “taking strike action in defence of their pensions and jobs”.

Ten Tube lines have been affected, and the Victoria, Circle and Waterloo & City lines are completely shut.

Commuters struggling to get around the city have said they are “fed up” with the relentless strike actions over the last few months.

At Tooting Broadway station, 19-year-old student Ollie was trying to get to her classes at Central Saint Martins in Kings Cross.

“I’m meant to be at university but currently the Tube is only running three stops,” she told LondonWorld.

“Obviously I understand why the strikes are happening and I empathise but also there’s been no replacement service put in place.

“I’m going to have to figure out a way to get in today, I’ll maybe travel to Kennington and get a bus into Kings Cross, it’s going to take me over an hour.”

The Northern line is currently running between Morden and Kennington but only stopping at Tooting Broadway, Balham and Clapham Common.

Mike Poynter, 84, who is trying to travel to Kent, is looking for alternative routes.

“I’m trying to get to London Bridge, but there’s only three stops running on the Tube so it’s no good to me, so I’m going to get a bus to Earlsfield Station to get the train.

“We just have to go along with the strikes, we have to.”

Meanwhile, 19-year-old Omana and her family are trying to get to Whitechapel.

“We’re trying to get to Whitechapel, we can go to another line but for the last few months with the strikes we have to plan our journey really accurately,” she said.

“We’re getting a bit fed up.”

And Luca, 34, who is trying to get to north London to visit a friend described the strikes as “frustrating”.

TfL has warned that commuters should “avoid travelling” on the London Underground network if possible, and also avoid travelling before 8am on Tuesday.

It said: “Severe disruption across the network is expected from the start of service until 8am on Tuesday morning, with many stations closed, especially those in central and south London.

“This is due to RMT strike action in London Underground stations.

“Train services will still run but will only be stopping at stations that are open, which could change throughout the day due to staffing levels.

The RMT claims that TfL is trying to cut 600 jobs.

General secretary Mick Lynch said: “I congratulate our station grade and revenue control staff members on London Underground for taking strike action in defence of their pensions and jobs.

“The effectiveness and industrial power of these members cannot be underestimated.

“TfL, London Underground Limited (LUL) and the mayor of London have had ample opportunity to negotiate with the union properly to avert this strike action today.

“Their intransigence and stubbornness have left RMT members no choice but to act decisively.

“We will not rest until we have a just settlement to this dispute and we urge the mayor to stand up to the Tory government who are cutting funding to TfL rather than try to pick a fight with Tube workers.”

A spokesperson for London Mayor Sadiq Khan said TfL and the RMT union met at conciliation service Acas last week.

Over the weekend, the mayor’s office was in touch with RMT, and TfL had offered the RMT a meeting over the weekend, but the union declined to meet until after the strike action had taken place, the spokesperson said.

They added: "No changes to pensions are yet proposed, no station staff will be losing their jobs, let alone the ‘hundreds of thousands’ of jobs.

"Under current cost saving plans required by the government financial deal conditions there will be a reduction in 600 roles once staff leave or retire."

Andy Lord, TfL’s chief operating officer, said: “It is particularly surprising that the RMT has threatened to spoil this moment when the nation is coming together as nobody has or will lose their jobs as a result of the proposals we have set out and there have been no proposals on pension changes.

“The devastating impact of the pandemic on TfL finances has made a programme of change urgently necessary but this change is being delivered in a way that ensures nobody loses their jobs so we’re calling on the RMT to work with us, rather than disrupting London’s recovery and our customers, who deserve better.

“We’ve been in regular talks with the RMT and are hoping to find an urgent resolution to this dispute to ensure they can call off this unnecessary action.”

Which Tube stations are closed?

• Bakerloo line: All stations are closed between Elephant and Castle and Queen’s Park. A service is operating between Queen’s Park and Harrow & Wealdstone every 10 minutes.
• Central line: All central London stations between White City and Liverpool Street are closed, as well as Roding Valley, Chigwell and Grange Hill. A service is running every 20 minutes between West Ruislip/Ealing Broadway and between Liverpool Street to Epping and Hainault every 15 minutes.
• Circle line: All stations are closed.
• District line: All stations between Earl’s Court and Whitechapel through central London are closed. There is a service operating between Whitechapel and Upminster approximately every 10 minutes, between Edgware Road and Wimbledon approximately every 10 minutes and High St Kensington and Ealing Broadway/Richmond approximately every 15 minutes.
• Hammersmith & City line: All stations between Whitechapel and Barking are closed. There is a service running every 10 minutes between Hammersmith and Whitechapel.
• Jubilee line: There is no service between Finchley Road and Canning Town - so almost every station is closed. There is a service every five minutes between Finchley Road and Stanmore and every five minutes between Canning Town and Stratford.
• Northern line: Both Northern line branches are closed from Kennington up to Golders Green and Archway. Battersea Power Station is also closed. There are trains between Golders Green and Edgeware and Archway and High Barnet every seven minutes. Trains south of Kennington are only stopping at Balham, Clapham Common, Tooting Broadway and Morden.
• Piccadilly line: All stations are closed between Earl’s Court and Cockfosters, as well as Heathrow Terminal 5. Stations between Uxbridge and Rayners Lane are also closed. There is a service operating between Earl’s Court and Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 and between Acton Town and Rayners Lane every 20 minutes, however some stations on this route will be closed.
• Victoria line: All stations are closed.
• Waterloo & City line: All stations are closed.