A section of the Bakerloo line is suspended as 150 workers stage a 24 hour strike over staffing levels.
Drivers and station staff walked off the job for 24 hours at 10pm last night (Thursday) over management plans to reduce the number of station staff available to remove passengers from trains. This has caused the closure of the Bakerloo line between Queens Park and Harrow and Wealdstone.
Currently the driver is assisted by two station staff in such a situation, while management claim it can be done safely with just one member of station staff, triggering a ballot for strike action. While the strike received a 95% yes vote, the RMT union has not balloted tube workers on other lines or stations.
RMT general secretary Bob Crow said "having a minimum of two station staff involved in de-training passengers is not a luxury, it is a necessity, not least given the levels of crime at the stations concerned." Management claim the strike will "not achieve anything."
