president LT District Council "In reply to a recent question in the House of Commons, Mrs Thatcher said that London Transport's fares were too high and she Select Committee on would look at proposals to separate London Transport from the Greater London Council.
The Transport Secretary Howell told a meeting vative party year in office the Labour-controlled vireater London Council had failed to produce a workable policy. Instead, he said, it had pro duced record high fares and general confusion.
LT News 7 May 1982 For sheer these twc beat. The Law Lords ruled against the Labour GLC's policy, and the Tories Douglas Jay's bill in Parliament to reverse that ruling But they set the alarm bells ringpassengers and workers. The Tories aim to achieve a reduction in fares by slashing services and decimating workforce, and prepared to take direct control London Transport from the GLC ir order to do it.
The stage has already been set by the announcement engineering staff redundancies, plus 65 apprentices who will have no jobs hoped the Transport (David of Conserthat after transport Lords' ludgment result guards and so establishment unbridled hypocrisy operating by, unspecificied number nara to Cuts already cheap fares schedules mean opposed staff taken off rosters 'spare redirected bv management to Transport ILLICSS drastic cutback they London Transport of miles a year. bus would be leaving when they finish training in August. vacemen soweo recruncul lu a trickle immediately after the Law Hence ant shortage due to natural wastage will not redundancies trains operating side (drivers, conductors, FUSE on). But the total estabissment bly heby ape rail 2707 yet, an leaders has made bus large numbers of and put or lists, to be used as a pool, fill gaps left by retirement, holidays and The were All these job losses will mean a in an already run down public service. On the buses, to take 860 of its 5000 buses oft the roac The scheduled level of service would organised, fall from 201 million to 172 million LUsi A number of routes withdrawn or shortened more miles road without any bus service at all. A Tur. ther 16 routes would become oneDenson oocralcu On the underground, there is a •roposee recucuon mm peak hour on most lines This means • how frequencies increasing from 8 to 10 minutes. 6 branch lines and 13 stations are under threat of complete closure.
The response of the trade union been encouraging They plan to link the campaign with pay claim, believing workers will not otherwise take ac tion. Already a 5 per cent offer has been rejected.
dangers of this approach well illustrated in steel tial victory on the pay claim and los ing the jobs/ closures battle The one-hour strike organised on the buses on 10 May was DOor uneven in effect and important, ordinated with the underground.
The unions will have to do better than this if we are to defeat the attack on jobs and services.