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Transport for London has called on the RMT union to scrap its threatened strike after less than a third of members voted to walkout. Officially, the ballot resulted in 76% calling for strike action and by 88% for action short of a strike. The tube union accuses London Underground of "bulldozing" through plans on cutting 800 staff and closing 140 ticket offices - they are also embroiled in several safety rows after several small station fires and the doubling the time between train inspections. Richard Parry, LU Director of Strategy, said: "The RMT leadership is once again scaremongering." 10,000 members were balloted yet less than a third voted on industrial action". RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said: "RMT members have sent a clear message in this ballot that they will not sit by while the tracks are turned into a death trap and our tube stations and platforms are left unstaffed and at the mercy of muggers, vandals and other criminal elements." LU say the changes are a reflection of the rise of Oyster smartcards, where just one in twenty journeys now involve a ticket office. Parry added: "There will be no compulsory redundancies, our stations will continue to be staffed at all times while trains are operating, and all stations with a ticket office will continue to have one. This vote for strike action is unnecessary; any industrial action will simply lose staff pay. We are therefore seeking to deploy staff more visibly in stations where they can more easily assist passengers. We continue with local consultation and are available at all times to speak with Unions about the details of our proposals." Crime on the tube fell eight per cent last year. Industry insiders are convinced that the union is determined to press ahead with the network wide strike, a broadside to the coalition government seeks to cut costs. According to TfL, around 250 posts are already or are soon to be vacated, 150 come from backroom staff and there will be no compulsory redundancies.
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