Despite our best efforts, we were unable to make real progress at ACAS talks on the Central line dispute today. Strike action will start at 00.01 tonight.

Management still refuse to move on the key 

issues in this dispute. Bizarrely, they are refusing to hold a review into the dismissal of a driver until Friday afternoon, fourteen hours after the strike will have started !

ASLEF asked that this case be reviewed at Director level on August 2nd and repeatedly requested that this review be brought forward . Management have repeatedly refused to do so.  Instead of trying to resolve this dispute, management are engaged in macho posturing that does a real disservice to all those who will be inconvenienced by the strike on Friday.

The issues at the heart of this dispute are about people being treated fairly and with dignity at work. It is simply wrong that a driver with 25 years of excellent service should be summarily dismissed for one error of judgement when dealing with a defective train or permanently removed from driving duties because they have time off sick after a traumatic incident.

Those responsible for the delay to the Crosrail project, which  punched a massive hole in TfL’s budget, walk away with massive bonuses while front line staff who make a mistake, are kicked out and left with their lives in ruins.

Management on the Central line treat their staff as dispensable units to be thrown away at will. Instead of supporting those unlucky enough to be unwell, the attendance management policy is being used to bully and intimidate them.

Drivers are continually  forced into overtime  and unsafe new working practices are pushed through without agreement.

It would be a dereliction of our duty as Trade Unionists if we did not take action to stop our members being treated like this.

Senior figures at TfL need to take a long hard look at what is going wrong with industrial relations on London Underground and start to act to fix problems  if more strikes are to be avoided.