• War of words: What the parties say...
• MPs in an icy blast for Boris

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The RMT is going the same way as General Motos - year on year demanding more and more money for less and less work - to the extent that Tube Drivers salary are disproporiation high compared to the benefit they give society ( eg compare to teacher / nurse etc ) or their replacement cost ( ie easy to train up - no pun intended ). It will just mean a bankrupt tube system - with more costs to the taxpayer.

Should use Maggy's tactics with the coal miners. - guess we cant stock-pile the trains - but could bring in more automation like the DLR.

- Dave, London

Crowe is a narcissistic bully, using the strike as an excuse for parading his inflated ego around the TV and radio stations of London. Boris can't give in to him. What if next time the 'workers' demand a 10% pay rise ? If LUL can't fire staff who have breached disciplinary rules, then how can they possibly expect to manage the business effectively. What a selfish, nasty, greedy lot they are. If the job was so onerous the 'workers' would have left years ago and have been replaced by Poles.

ps - has anyone been struck by the resemblance Crowe bears to the famous union leader of the sixties, Fred Kite ?

- Neil, London

Now let's not forget these people have a very difficult job! They have to sit there ALL DAY! and those controls are very difficult, almost as many buttons as there are fingers on their hands!

OK sarcasm aside, I believe people need to have a right to strike.. but not like this!! There should ba a clause that limits it to some sort of common bloomin' sense!! Now TFL can't sack them and so WE are forced to pay them Lawyer's fees for unskilled labour!! ..and they STILL STIKE!!!

- Luke Andrews, London

With thousands of hard working londoners loosing jobs for reasons beyond their control, these so called 'workers' should knuckle down and be thankful they have a pay cheque at all - get real, stop acting like petty communist and work to make London the brilliant, fluid city it should be.

- Derek, london

Here's a thought.

Sack the lot of them, advertise every positions for half the pay, and see how long it takes to have a full, safe, reliable tube network running again.

I guarantee it wouldn't take long.

- Dan, Watford

I do sympathise with LUL employees, but they are fast becoming archaic with their seemingly outrageous pay claims. My transport company offered us 1.9%, adding that "it was good enough for the Police, so it's good enough for you!" Some bus companies are instigating pay freezes, with some train operating companies doing similar things. The more the RMT threatens, the more Boris will refute their claims and the more annoyed Londoners will become. As a union member of over a decade, I do value the protection being part of such an organisation can bring, but the world is constantly moving and LUL cannot afford to maintain its rigidity, else it faces becoming a laughing stock.

- Bob Stains, The Smoke

So once again Crow & his cronies hold London to ransom by striking on the tube. Every year there is either the threat of a strike or an actual walkout & this time he has chosen the time of maximum disruption to England fans & concert goers as well as the working public. Can't wait to hear his insincere apology for the inconvenience once more!How long is London going to put up with this dinosaur & his RMT union which is costing the country millions.
The RMT should have it's right to strike taken away with immediate effect. Hard working Londoners who rely on the tube to get to work are once again the innocent victims & no amount of whining from Crow about Tfl not wanting to negotiate will convince me otherwise. Sack every striker, employ the unemployed who WANT to work and maybe we'll get through this recession a little easier.
Anybody would think it was just the RMT goons who are suffering in this economic climate. They are truly pathetic & need to be brought to account for their actions. Get off your backsides, back to work & stop listening to Mr Che Guevara Crow & thinking we all owe you a living!

- Blot, Woodford Green

There is such a simple solution:
We need some covert training of an army of stand-by drivers, ticket kiosk operators and a few guards to stand around at the entrance looking tough but really just getting in everyone’s way.

We need to spend several million pounds building a secret training centre in either Poland or India or both, and disguise it as a munitions factory or something similar to throw the Unions off the scent.

Get the new drivers etc trained up and then keep them on a small retainer.

Then, let’s call their bluff next time these lazy so and sos decide that they deserve to be immune from the recession which is affecting the rest of us.

- St, London

Actually, Melvym Windbag, the VOTERS put Boris in, not the Tories. It's called democracy.

- Paul, London

BORIS IS MAYOR OF LONDON AND CHAIRS TFL - This is reason enough for Boris to meet Bob Crow its meant to be HIS JOB!!! - He wants to walk the walk and yet he cant talk the talk.

The fact is Boris has'nt the faintest idea how to run anything and yet the Tories put him in charge of London which goes to show the contempt they have for London!

As for Tim O'Toole I read that he has now secured a job with First Transport it did not say where. But having run railways that transported cattle he no doubt did not want to be associated with a Mayor who plans to make millions off passengers on the 2 Red Arrow routes use cattle trucks (buses with mainly STANDING) in place of the Mercedes Benz Artics.

As for Ken he NEVER gave into the unions but then at least knew what he was doing being a tube commuter for many years.

Ah well NOGO BOJO STRIKES AGAIN!!

- Melvyn Windebank, Canvey Island, Essex

At least the first posting wasn't from a tube driver trying to justify their position.

As for the the comments from tube drivers, so what about the aviation industry, they've had to lay off pilots, cabin crew, engineers due to the downturn. What makes tube workers any different. Only thing I see is, it's public own, and we the public pay for it.

With due respect, the pilots etc...have far greater training to go through than you lot!!! And what about teachers, nurses, firemen, paramedics, police force etc...? I'm sure if you ask the general public, tube workers would be rated further down the list.

Bob Crow always come out with the same rhetoric, but it's all about getting you lot a bigger pay packet at the end of the day. £38K is a very good salary... Get him on the tube some day, and them maybe the public will take his justifications seriously. How much does he get btw?

PS, don't hide behind the MP's expenses debate, to justify this. You're all the same, just a different shade of greedy...

- Sin, London

I think Boris looks gorgeous on this picture...

- Sylvain M, London

All Leaders today make a bloody mess of everything, then leave there posts with a "GOLDEN HANDSHAKE" and walk away rich into the sunset.
It is the worker who is left picking up the tab, and maybe just maybe we have had enough?.
Go ahead bring the Capital to a standstill .. Boris can't drive the trains, he has problems riding a bike to City Hall.
It looks to me that many workers are getting sick of being ripped off .... BIG TIME, take them on.

- John L., Scarborough North Yorkshire, U.K.

good for you Boris. They must be the only workers who have a guaranteed job, with a no redundancy clause and complete security. It is hardly a four year degree course to learn to drive a train surely.Lets have foreign labour in to sort it out. No more strikes, sorted.


Amber in Mitcham

- Amber In Mitcham, Mitcham Surrey

I am a tube driver and i am in thr RMT first of all lets get one thing clear we are not striking for money we do not want to be dragged into a 5year pay deal and we are solid with each other when it comes to loosing jobs and will not stand for it! you members of the public are forgetting that TFL are a government run business you all complain about the Mp's gettin extra money for 2nd homes but forget where most of that money comes from!!! who would you rather have the money a person who works unsociable hours we hardly get to see our familys working to get you the public to and from work everday!! You all say sack us and replace us with european workers yet you all complain about european workers taking the jobs! the reason we are on the trains is to fix them and not leave you guys alone if something goes wrong which i think you would all agree happens regulary! you all seem to forget 7/7 too london was not designed to deal with 3disasters at the same time it was us the drivers and tube workers that helped you all and we run the risk of people jumping in front of us all the time,you all may be able to drive our trains but none of you can fix them when they go wrong and that is a skill that takes 6months to learn you all need to back off a bit because you have no idea what it takes to do our job!!stop beibng so quick to attack us if you had the backing from a union we do you would be willing to do whatever to get better pay and would not be so under threat by your managers!!!!

- Louise, London Tube Driver

hang on a minute, tube workers are striking for 2 days and everyone is on their case.
Bankers got greedy and messed up the economy for the next 10 years and no one is on their case as much as to TFL...

makes sense I guess

- Josh, London

Glad to see that the good old British public is happy to stab their fellow Brits in the back, and have them fired from their jobs. These people are doing a darn sight more useful days work than the armies of paper-shufflers they ferry to and from their office cubicles every day. And some other people seem concerned that only around 30 percent of the union membership voted in the strike ballot. The union to which I belong just voted for our new contract, and out of 1000 members only around 180 people bother to cast a ballot. Perhaps we should refuse our rise; after all, most of the members didn't vote for it!

- Steven Pyne, Calgary, Canada

All the talk of sacking them just shows how little people actually know. To sack them for taking legal strike action would be illegal. The Tube could not do it without having hundreds of unfair dismissal claims, which would cause literally millions to be paid in compensation. And who would drive the trains in the meantime? It takes months to train a driver, so do you really want months and months without a Tube? And who would train the drivers up if you sack all the instructors as well? Get real. The Mayor has to realise that however you look at it, the RMT and other Tube unions have them around the short and curlies and there's nothing they can do about it. It's a fact of life. The only way to stop it would be to pass an Act of Parliament banning strike action on the Tube(as in New York), something the Labour Party and their friends in Europe won't do because of 'human rights'- people have a right to strike. So you're stuck in effect- you have to keep the unions happy as they simply have all the power in the situation. GIve them broadly what they want, and there'll be no strikes. And don't pick fights with drivers for making the odd careless mistake. People can talk tough all they want, but it's pointless- the unions hold the cards, and they will use them. Best to keep them happy by not stoking up a fight every year, which is the way of the Tube management.

- Richard, London

cowards ? these men and women spend 9 hrs per day undergound in the filthy pit that is the LU, and people then call them cowards when they stand up for better conditions , pay and safety standards ?

disgusting - give me a single tube worker over 1000 bankers , MPS , speculators or internet whingers ....

- J Dilla, london

Let the RMT workers stay out and rot. Lift the emissions tax on going into London. Time to face down the old Crow. We are not in the 70's now but in the s . . . due to Crow and his like in this rotting Government.

- Albert Hall, hove england

If Johnson attempts to break any of the rail unions he will be dead in the water. The arrogant clown couldn't even keep london moving last winter when we had a couple heavy snow showers. Of course BOZO himself, unlike the rest of us doesn't have to worry about money, he can just pop into the daily Telegraph and pick up £250000 a year for writing a weekly column, this on top of his mayor's salary. The old eton school boys can't lose, not even in a recession. Also, I would like to know about Johnsons expenses when he was MP for Henley? Or will his friends at the telegraph continue to protect him?

- James, london

Boris, we do not negotiate with terrorists!! Good on you. You are the mayor who will put a stop to this bullying Crow!

Peter London

- Peter, London. UK

WELL DONE BORIS

Sack the lot of them employ european workers
The job will be on budget and on TIME

JOB SORTED

- Darran, S.LINCS

i picked up a 1968 daily express in an auction room.well done Bob Crow you must have been revived in the Jurassic park. strange how Mr Crow of the 21 century was saying the same message as the 1968 car workers shop steward did in days gone by, word for word,so be warned. the well paid car workers lost their jobs so listen to him as you are his gaffer, let him see what happened to the sheep when they followed the dinosaur

- John Patrick Green, nottingham

Go Boris, about time these guys got smashed.

No surrender to the RMT!!

- Paul, London

Crowe and his members are perhaps the nation s greatest bunch of cowards. They continually pick on the weakest, namely the travelling public men, women, children, pensioners,the old and the sick. Like all cowards they do not care who they hurt.

- Patrick Jordan, Sunbury on Thames

Et tu Brutus? Who's going to be the first to put his boot in and turf out this buffoon. Johnson fluffs while London grinds to halt.

- Dhan Raj, basildon

Yet again the driver forget the real world, pay freezes or cut are the name of today. Plus, yes teh drivers could be got rid of DLR has zero drivers and Victoria line was designed as driver trains, they are only there because of the unions. Get rid of the drivers, slim down the management and cut fares in a strike free new tube service. When did anyone see a tube driver job advertised?

- Tim, London SE14

Sack the lot of them, train the army.

in fact sack them, hire them back, and then sack them again.

once isn't enough.

- Scotty, london

Good for Boris! Everyone is suffering with job losses, pay cuts, pay freezes etc.Who do this lot think they are? I am more than happy to come and work for LU. Drivers get paid far more than I earn and work far less hours than I work. They get almost double the holiday I get and free travel where most of us pay out of our salaries.So fire the lot of them and offer jobs to anyone at the current terms and then London can function without this constant threat.

- Lou, London

We need to break these militant unions. How greedy. They get £40000 and 43 days holiday - and want to strike just to watch the football. Everyone else is losing their jobs and having their salary slashed.

We've had Labour to invest. Now we need the Tories to cut!

Come on Boris. Everyone I know is behind you on this. Give them a choice: a 5% pay CUT and a no strike deal, or they get sacked.

I voted for Blair in 2005 but ended up with Brown the Clown. I think we now need Cameron and Boris to sort this country out again.

- Kate, Harrow, London, UK

Bungling Boris strikes again. Can we re-call this fool.

- Mick, London, England

Read between the lines. This is the first shot in a war, between Bob Crow and the Rail Unions on the one side and Rail Ownership on the other. The reason is the Automated Driverless Train System being implemented on the subway in Nuremberg, Germany.

“The trend in Europe is toward fully automated systems—at least for closed systems like subways. Unlike streetcars or buses, subway trains don’t have immediate contact with street traffic, which means it’s much easier to monitor and secure them.” The “driverless future” is about to become reality in Nuremberg—and the seats with the best view of the tunnel will likely be the most popular ones.

We automation engineers have been eyeing the railways for years, amongst other targets, and all the Bob Crows in the world won’t stop it. Give it up Bob; you’re on a hiding to nothing. Remember what happened to Arthur Scargill. For more information; Google ‘driverless trains in Nuremberg’

- Terence Patrick Hewett, southampton, england

I think you r all missing the point, The RMT Dont care if the public like them or not, that is The Mayors worry he is the one elected by the public.
The real problem here is there is a 2 billion pound black hole in funding for LUL, and this strike is, i feel, is bieng engineered by Boris and Lul deliberatly provoking the RMT into striking, if they break the strike that will send the RMT away with there tail between there legs and LUL will make there redundancies and give there staff an effective pay cut for 5 years going some way to filling the hole, if they lose the Govt will have to step in and fund the black hole ! but what it boils down to is the RMT will support the strike , it will be solid despite the 6500 odd that didnt vote, and the public will be unnecesarily inconvenienced for how ever long this takes.
Mr Darling and Mr Brown just step in and give LUL the funding they need to regenerate the tube and sort a no strike deal and everyone will be happy.
And yes drivers do earn £38,000 / year but that is for shift work covering 24/7,so around the going rate for working in a hole in the ground, that is tough on any one with a familly, and realistically u could not sack the drivers , unfortunatly it takes a lot of money and time to train them, not as easy as sitting on your bum pushing a button or whatever some think all that shows is how ill informed you are, maybe your boss could replace you that easy but not that easy to replace train drivers, unfortunate but true.

- Brian, Wiltshire

Sack the lot of them and start again"
How consideratye and conciliatory of you Mr Michael Thatcher

- Keith Price, Luton, England

Why on earth should members of the RMT be immune to the pay-cuts & redundancies affecting everybody else. Give their members another ballot - Do you want to work, or join the dole queue?! Put plans in place to replace anyone who says no!

- Paul, London

Never thought I'd be backing Boris. Stand firm!

- Goggs, London

I despise Bob Crow and his union cohorts.

The vast majority of tube passengers earn less money for working longer hours under more stressful conditions - and now to add to that, several hours extra travelling a day too.

If Crow thinks anything other than a tiny militant minority have even an ounce of respect or sympathy for him and his union and their greedy, blackmailing demands he is totally deluded.

As others here have said, train up another bunch of drivers and sack the lot we've already got, just completely start again - They can strike all they like then!

Also, I think it's long overdue that we just automated the whole system. Stuff the extra expense, it will be worth it - plus we could have it running 24hrs as well, just like a city such as London deserves.

- John T, London

Actually Bob - Tim O'Toole resigned in Feb 2009 - so definitely on Boris' watch.

The same boris who took over from the Tim the Deputy Mayor who was meant to be heading up on Transport Issues - because he wanted to be directly involved.

Its 50/50 blame on both sides. Boris doesn't have the experience or aptitude to negotiate with the Unions - LU management is beginning to feel the gap left by Tim O'Toole and Bob Crow - well where shall we start.
- Does the RMT actually represent a majority of the 13,000 LU workers - not really. A lot of Tube workers feel disenfranchised by the Unions that represent them. And you know what given how rude and offensive we are becoming - you would have to pay a hell of lot more than what customer service staff get. And the tube drivers of £38k - it seems fair - would you work 8hrs down a tunnel for that.

Its amazing - tourists and visitors are amazed by the scale of the system we have. Yes its knackered but we need to appreciate what we have and put more investment in it.

And regarding this spat - Boris - grow some cojones and Bob - its not the 70's and people expect more from their Unions. Especially now when a lot of us aren't allowed to join a union by our employers.

- Jc, SE1

Sack the lot of them and start again - Grow up Bob Crowe - the world has changed and dinosaurs are no longer welcome - bully boy industrial relations are the last resort of a total failure.

- Michael, Wimbledon

Mr Crowe is typical of Trade Unions today,yes,in many ways they are good for the employee,but,and here is the rub Bob,out of approx 10/12 thousand members,only approx. 3000 voted.What happened to the remainder of the so called membership.I suggest Mr Crowe that before you take strike action you get the feeling of the General Public,otherwise,you and your so called strike members will have a riot on your hands and it will be lead by the People.You should be living in the present and future of this country,not in the past..I challenge Mr Crowe to an OPEN BALLOT held independantly so as he and his so called cronies can see for themselves what the London People think.This country is in a state of turmoil at present,and you Mr Crowe will make it even worse by your ''dictatorship'' to London.There are always 2 sides to negotiations,one golden rule is never hold a gun to the opposing party,because you are not only harming your members,but also the economy of London.

- European, Hong Kong China

I'm sorry but why should tube workers have the threat of pay cuts and redundancies "lifted from their heads" when the rest of the country has to put up with that threat. What makes tube workers so special? This is a recession Bob Crow, your workers are no more important than anyone else.

- Fq, London, UK

Don't meet with them or their stupid, pathetic demands. Let them strike and replace them! Its about time a stand was taken against them.

- Jk, London

Crowe and his cronies act like a bunch of 19th century Luddites. They, and their sort, need to be resisted as they have blackmailed London too often and for too long.

- Roger, Winchester, Hampshire, England

Boris is doing the right thing. Bob Crowe only acts in his own best interest and stuff the rest of London. What is the bet that this strike coincides with an England football game?

Sack them all and let then reapply for their jobs in a competitive tendor.

- Bruce, London

Has Boris ever stopped cycling on London's pavements long enough to venture on to a tune train ?

- Keith Price, Luton, England

Go Boris!!! Tell them to go home... Londoners will make do without them... I am sure we can find some unemployed, qualified and willing people in mainland europe to do the job, better!!!
Tell them to get lost!!!

- Greg, London

What a load of bull!!! Do not give in!! Fire them and start over again... Londoners would understand the inconvenience in that case...

- Greg, London

Funny that there's not been a squeak from the government about this outrage. Oh of course, Bob Crowe pays them squillions of pounds a year to allow him to hold us to ransom. It' time for a change.

- Ian, London

I think Bob Crowe is the best weather man in the world, I for one will be taking the 9th and 10th off, not because of the inconvenience but because of the guaranteed sunshine for the tube staff to wallow in!

- Not Exactly A Looney Lefty!, The real world

I'm afraid this is the price you pay for having Red Ken for eight years - unions who think they can get away with anything and everything.

- Sarah, Wesminster, London

The Mayor will sort all this mess out. Unlike his predecessor who pandered to lazy strikers Boris knows what is best.

- Kimberley, London

The problem is Bob Crowe. He used to blackmail the public just as much when Livingstone was mayor. The man is a tyrant and has to be faced down. I agree with “ST’s” suggestion it is time to start recruiting an alternative set of train drivers and in the meantime put the army in to run the tube, as happens when the firemen try to blackmail the country, but this needs to be put in place and followed through with.
Tube drivers are not skilled workers and are massively overpaid. Put the army in to run the tubes short term and re-advertise all the tube driver’s jobs at £25,000 a year without the gold plated final salary pension scheme. There are supposed to be 2,000,000 unemployed in this country. How many weeks does it take to train a tube driver? It cannot be that many. The long terms benefits to London of breaking the RMT would be massive and have the potential to deliver significant reductions in fares if the drivers and all the other underground staff were not so massively overpaid. This is a real opportunity for Boris to show he is a true leader although I suspect just advertising for an alternative set of drivers would have the bully Crowe quaking in his boots. Like all bullies you can bet you bet your life he can dish it out, but what chance can’t take it?

- Ian, London

Bob (Cheam), I think you might be re-writing history there!

Tim O'Toole resigned on 25 Feb 2009, and left at the end of April - both dates well in to the Boris Johnston administration.

- Mark Lee, Vauxhall

Bob, Cheam, I think you'll find you are completely wrong about that.

Boris, so far, has been a complete failure on all transport issues. Despite threatening many strikes, the RMT hadn't actually called one for a long time under Tim O' Toole's management because the staff liked and respected him. Now, Boris loses O' Toole and here we go again. Is Boris up to the challenge of managing the RMT (and, as they know to act well within the law, that's exactly what he'll have to do)? Not a chance.

- Ian, Chesham, UK

So Mr Crow, while the rest of the UK (& world) suffers job losses, pay freezes or pay cuts, you want guaranteed job security and pay rises ? Please join the real world and stop being not only an idiot but an insult to all those who work.

- London Commuter, London

Worrying messages..I find it strange that Bob Crowe, and other members of the No2EU-Yes to Democracy campaign, who are taking part in the EU elections are advocating a 48hour strike of RMT members on London Underground some four days later. London's population (recorded as 7172000 on Census Day in April 2001) is a lot of people to upset. But Bob Crowe is the only name I recognise on the EU ballot material

- Donald Smith, London

+St, London+ has a good point, it is coomon practice in many industries to bring in cheaper (often better) labour from Poland or India. We also we need to phase out the ridulously generous (upo there with MPs!) Final Salary Pension scheme.

- Richy London, London

Ian, I think you'll find that Mr O'Toole "resigned" whilst Ken was still in power, it had nothing to do with Boris. This is simply Bob Crowe trying to hold London to ransom again, funny how it always happens when the sun comes out isn't it? They never want to strike in winter. How about removing the strike days from their yearly holiday quota?

- Bob, Cheam

I've just done a quick search, to see how much tube drivers get paid. The answer is a little over £38,000 according to yahoo.

That's a lot more than what many professionals get paid!

Talk about blackmail!! I say, catch a bus, bike or walk to your destination....enjoy the sun shine.

And if it carries on, fire whoever doesn't turn up to work. In this current economic climate, I'm sure there will be plenty of others who will be happy to fill their position!

- S Richards, Surrey, Surrey

With only 2,810 out of 10,000 voting to strike how can this possibly represent the RMT membership. Why not change the law to make any strike illegal unless it has more than 50% of members in favour of it.

- Steve, London

I still find it amazing that the likes of Bob Crow and the RMT leadership don't work harder to engage the people most effect by poor service on London public transport, namely the customers who are packed into trains like sardines in a can, day in and day out.

It isn't rocket science to work out that passengers are the biggest ally the RMT have, yet Crow and Co. go to great lengths to alienate them it seems

- John Bloomfield, Twickenham

I wonder if Bob Crow will strike if he's not elected in the upcoming European elections. He seems to do whatever he likes with his union. If he cared about workers as much as he liked wielding his power I'm sure there would be much less friction between the 2 parties. But you only need to look at the arrogant swagger with which he carries himself to understand that it is the power that drives and to hell with all those he inconveniences.

- Steve, london

“the RMT would never agree to pay cuts and compulsory redundancies”

Why do the RMT think anyone cares what the RMT would or would not agree to?

Sack each and every worker who doesn’t turn up for work on the days of the strike. Driving and working the tubes is hardly a skilled job so let’s just ship in loads of Polish men and women who will do it twice as well for half the money.

Start training them up now in secret, that’s what I say!

- St, London

Do I detect the inept hand of Boris Johnson here..? Only a year in the job and he's lost Tim O'Toole, one of the best managers London Underground have ever had, and now he's got the RMT out on a 48 hour strike. Could these these occurences be related I wonder...

- Ian, Chesham, UK

Boris should under no circumstances meet with that bunch of blackmailers purporting to represent the interests of the RMT union. There is a clearly defined management negotiating system in place which the RMT needs to abide by. They only want direct talks with Boris so as to sideline and avoid LTs management, who are in a far better position than Boris to negotiate future pay deals. The only reason the RMT want direct talks with the Mayor is because they believe they can, like that waste of space Livingstone before him, brow beat him into submission with threats of prolonged strikes and walkouts. Boris be a good Conservative refuse to meet them and insist that the LT management be allowed to manage, and then stand up to the RMT whilst their demands on pay and conditions are clearly ridiculous and unsustainable. At some point the rail unions, and in particular the RMT, need to be forcibly dealt with and treated in exactly the same way as were the miners of the 1980s.

- Pat, South of England

Why should we complain about the strike?This is what you should expect when living in London,especially the summer.I detest the city now but I've nowhere to go so instead I'll look forward to making alternative travel arrangements and be thankful I won't have my hooter next to someones stinking armpit on a packed train for two days.

- Steve, London

Hope Boris makes them wait 48 hours outside his office, then apologies profusely for the inconvenience.

- Paul B, London

So whatever happened to Boris's promised no-strike deal then? Surely it can't possibly have been a piece of posturing manifesto puff?

Boris has set a bad precedent by personally signing off an 12% rise for the GLA Chief Exec; he is quite right to say that the RMT's demands are unreasonable, but he needs to keep city hall pay in check too to avoid being accused of hypocrisy.

- Mark Lee, Vauxhall

"Out of 10,000 Tube staff eligible to vote, 2,810 supported the strike action with 488 against."

So 6702 didn't vote? Hardly a mandate for strike action.

Isn't really about time that someone actual grasped the nettle and took on Bob Crow and his gravy train (excuse the pun). With so many people loosing their jobs or taking pay cuts the RMT's demands are unrealistic and will gain absolutely no public support.

Really looking forward to trying to get into work next week during the strike to earn considerably less than greedy Tube drivers!!

- John David, London

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