Bob Crow and his 'out-dated, bully-boy tactics' - Caroline Pidgeon AM

12.01.00am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 20th Aug 2008

Commenting on the strike which will be hitting the Northern, Jubilee and Piccadilly lines from noon today Caroline Pidgeon AM, Liberal Democrat deputy Chair of the London Assembly's Transport Committee, says: "To inconvenience London's commuters like this is despicable. The strike isn't about wages - it's about Bob Crow and the RMT trying to ruin Tube Lines.

"The RMT has seen Metronet collapse and come back into the public sector and they want the same thing to happen with Tube Lines. Using Londoners as the bargaining tool is totally unacceptable. And if the primary purpose of a strike is political - as it would appear to be - it's illegal."

The RMT announced last week that its Tube Lines workers would be on strike from noon today until midday on Saturday with a second 72-hour strike beginning at the same time on Wednesday September 3rd. The strike was called after the union rejected a pay offer of 4.85%.

Caroline says: "The turn out at the strike ballot was very low and so we have a hard core of around 280 militant RMT members holding London to ransom.

"Mayor Johnson says he wants to get a no-strike deal with the unions but this hardly bodes well for that. The Mayor needs to stand firm with Tube Lines and TfL and not give in to Mr Crow's out-dated, bully-boy tactics."