Tube Strike

“A 48-hour strike by thousands of London Underground workers has begun after last-minute talks to try to resolve the row broke down.

Members of the Rail Maritime and Transport union (RMT) walked out at 7pm - at the start of a stoppage which is expected to cause travel chaos across the capital. The union believes the entire network will come to a halt, causing huge problems for millions of commuters and visitors, and costing businesses tens of millions of pounds.”

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Tube-Strike-By-Thousands-Of-London-Underground-Workers-Begins-After-Last-Minute-Talks-Break-

The Tube strike in London is a political strike by the Jurassic Park RMT Union. I hope its members leave in droves as the strike is pointless and shames Trade Unionism.Of course the RMT is affiliated neither to the Labour Party or the TUC. Ordinary Londoner's are aghast at what's happening. RMT members and the travelling public deserve so much better. Don’t take my word for it – there is overwhelming condemnation of the action across the Media, Blogosphere and most tellingly, by ordinary members of the public. Here is a sample of the Vox Pop;


Sky News reports 9th June 2009, London;

London Underground Strike Is On

news.sky.com — In the middle of the deepest and most damaging recession most of us have ever seen, the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union calls a strike. Is this the most out of touch and selfish union left in the UK?

Typical Bob Crowe... the mans a ****. Sack the whole damn lot of them I am sure there are many eastern europeans who would be glad to do their job at half the wages they are getting and for longer hours. A pay rise in the middle of a recession ???? Kinda says it all about Bob Crowe and his cronies.

Posted By: Michelle - I have just taken a 10% pay CUT and my husband a 20% CUT to try and help our respective companies survive this recession, it's not pleasant, we don't want to do it but, however much we would wish for one - a pay RISE in these times is just not going to happen, I just hope we are still in our jobs in a years time. Mind you, we are not in jobs that can hold anyone to ransom like the transport workers.

Posted By: Lorna - I am heading into London today. This strike is all because there are currently school holidays and these guys want a cheap "couple of days off work". It disgusting. I am sure that Londoners and others in the capital alike will find ways to work around this. But it is not needed and very selfish. Fire the lot of them and give these overpaid jobs to people who wants to work. I feel for those who have to get into the capital tomorrow to earn a decent days living and to the sport fans who would like to support England and get to and from the game safely.

Posted By: Gary Thomas - I say just sack them and get new people to replace them, how can they expect a pay rise in the middle of a recession ??, pay cut more like !. They should try living like the rest of us, trying to make ends meet, trying to get to work (no hope of that for the next 48hrs) and trying to cope with a 30% pay decrease. The public will have no sympathy what so ever with this strike, as someone else said, if anyone else decided that they wanted a pay rise and when they didn’t get it they stamped their feet and went on strike they would just be sacked, do the same to the tube drivers and teach them not to be so greedy.

Posted By: Claire - They get paid far too much to drive tubes. Sack them all and install workers who would be happy to have a job in the first place. It's a joke. We will all get by over the 48 hours, but Crow can crow all he like's and will always be unpopular and hated, by Londoners.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Business/London-Underground-Tube-Strike-To-Go-Ahead-As-Talks-Break-Down/Article/200906215298874?f=rss


RMT Says ‘Bring Back Elvis and We’ll Cancel Strike’

Written by: silver

In a last-ditch attempt to ensure the total f#@#@ing up of London’s tube system, the RMT have demanded Elvis in return for cancelling planned strikes.

LUL managers started to suspect the union wanted to strike last week when the RMT sniffily announced to the press that they were perfectly willing to talk but were being ignored by the filthy capitalist pigs.

‘We’ve tried everything from memos in comic sans to demanding reinstatement of all sacked members ever, but the bastards have caved in to our every whim,’ said Bob Crow yesterday from his mansion paid for by the sweat of the workers. ‘Elvis was the only thing left to ask for.’

LUL are currently in emergency talks with London Mayor Boris Johnson and representatives from London’s black cab community, many of whom say they had the King of Rock and Roll in the back of their taxi only last Friday.

Tube travellers have been quick to condemn Crow; ‘He’s a twat,’ said one commuter at Bank station. Others questioned why he was demanding jobs for life and above average pay rises during a recession and why the RMT were always such tossers.

‘I hate Bob Crow, he’s a twat,’ said another tube user later identified as Mrs Crow.

http://www.chew-the-fat.com/satire/rmt-says-bring-back-elvis-and-well-cancel-strike002493




UrbanTick

A major strike on the Tube in London is announced for today. From Today Tuesday 19h00to Thursday 19h00 there will be no Tube services in London if the strike goes ahead as announced. This will mean that thousands of commuters and travellers will be forced to search for alternatives.

We already had this once this year. The heavy (12cm : ) snowfall from February 2nd brought a major disruption to London’s transport network and an extra day of for thousands of Londoners. This event was covered in posts here and here.

And again this disruption will change the rush hour for two days. Maybe everyone will be using the riverboat service, as the Major Boris Johnson has arranged for all of us to travel for free.

We’ll see how London and Londoners will manage the situation. In terms of routines it will definitely be different.

Transport for London promotes cycling and walking; this is the cheapest option for them. Walking maps are available from the tfl.gov.uk site. The maps are not very good and hardly any better as a normal tourist guide. Maybe another project would actually be a bit more successful here. The shortwalk project is aiming at promoting the information about distances between inner London tube stations. While doing some research the people behind the project discovered that sometimes it is actually quicker to walk than squeezing into the tube. A nice map visualizes this.

Other option is to plan your journey as a walk on walkit.com or even Google Maps could help you find the shortest route...

A micro blogger community has formed and collects a variety of suggestions and options to beat the strike. A good collection of them is available on TimesOnline. Unlike with the snowfall in February, people seem to be determined to get in to work tomorrow. We’ll see how it goes and whether or not Londoner can make it again a positive disruption of their weekly rhythms.

http://urbantick.blogspot.com/2009/06/disruption-second-take.html


Beat the Tube strike with Walkit.com!

Are you a walkit.com user in London? Or you’re planning to travel to the capital next week?

Are you prepared for the scheduled tube strike?

The RMT Union has announced strike action to commence at 18.59 hours on Tuesday 9 June through to 18.58 hours on Thursday 11 June 2009. (This Guardian page will keep you up to date with any developments.)



Should the tube strike go ahead it is expected to suspend most underground services as well as increase the use of other forms of public transport in the capital.

Although there is still the possibility that the strike will not go ahead why not use walkit.com to prepare an alternative route for any journeys that are affected by the action. Even if the strike is cancelled you can always enjoy your journey on foot avoiding the hot and crowded journey by tube.



Whether you need to get from a mainline station to the office or to an all important meeting, or you’re in London for the day to see the sights use walkit.com to plan your journey on foot.

Don’t forget to let friends, family and colleagues know too!

http://www.walkit.com/blog/2009/06/05/beat-the-tube-strike-with-walkitcom/


We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to outlaw train and underground strikes.

Trains and London Underground are strategic services. Ensuring that they run is essential. Greedy unions should be banned from holding people to ransom by calling for strikes to achieve their selfish objectives of above inflation pay rise while causing misery to innocent people especially in this recession.

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/No-Tube-Strikes/


Get to Work strategies during the strike.

As Tube workers walk out for a 48-hour strike, Londoners will have to find other ways to make the 3.5 million journeys for which we normally rely on the Underground every day. While it may be tempting to take the day off work, here are some ways you may not have considered to get around.

:: BY BOAT: Believe it or not, London's riverboat services can carry 8,000 people every hour. Plus you get a unique view of the city that you just don't get from a bus, below the ground on a Tube train. Plus, during the strike, Transport for London is laying on a free shuttle-boat service between Tower Bridge and London Bridge.

:: SHARE A TAXI: Black cabs might not be as cost effective as the Underground - but they work out much cheaper if you're splitting the fare. To help you find people who are going your way, taxi drivers have arranged for special marshals to be posted outside Waterloo, Kings Cross, Liverpool Street, Euston, Paddington, Marylebone and London Bridge stations.

:: LIFTSHARE: You're probably not the only person trying to get to the office in the same part of town. There are a number of websites to help you find people driving that way - you just have to chip in for petrol.

Try: www.carshare.com or london.liftshare.com. TfL won't be letting you off the Congestion Charge, but will be suspending roadwork’s in many areas.

:: CYCLE: If you're feeling energetic, why not ride your bike in. Temporary bike-parking's being made available in town - locations include Trafalgar Square, the Mall and Waterloo.

Also, check out www.biketube.org.uk for details of morning commuter-led rides.



:: BUSES AND TRAINS: TfL says there will be 100 extra buses on the roads during the strike to help you get around. Oyster Card pay as you go will be accepted on all National Rail services in Greater London. DLR and London Overground services aren't affected by the strike.

:: HEADING TO WEMBLEY?: England play Andorra in a World Cup Qualifier on Wednesday - so here's the advice on getting there: Get there early. Gates are opening at 5.45pm, so don't leave it until the last minute.

Local buses and National Express coaches are going to the stadium, and there are trains to Wembley Central and Wembley Stadium stations. If you can't make it, the FA will give you your money back.

For all the latest information and advice, check the TfL website at;

www.tfl.gov.uk