SIR Jacob Rees-Mogg has said Sadiq Khan has the power to insist on minimum service levels on TfL thanks to a law passed by Liz Truss’s government.
Speaking on GB News, he said: “The metropolis has ground to a halt today, as Transport for London shirkers begin a five-day walkout. Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union are striking over pay and conditions.
“The union has raised concerns over fatigue management, citing the health impact of early and late shifts on its members and are demanding a 32 hour working week.
“Tens of thousands of commuters and families have been disrupted by this walkout and will continue to be affected in the coming days.
“Number 10 has said that people are rightly fed up with the strikes and have called for more talks to end the walkout – but it won’t tell the Mayor to use his powers to stop it.
“In 2023, a law introduced by Liz Truss’s government, called the Strikes Act, was passed which allows the government to set minimum service levels during strikes in key public services such as health, transport and education, permitting employers to issue a work notice mandating minimum staffing levels during strikes, with unions potentially liable if they do not ensure compliance.
“Although Labour has stated its intention to repeal this act, it is currently the law of the land and could be used to stop these strikes.
“By failing to use the powers available to him, Sadiq Khan is conniving in bringing London to a standstill.
“The Mayor of London has allowed himself to be at the beck and call of Labour’s trade union paymasters, unwilling to defy them in favour of standing up for the people who elected him.
“This strike did not need to happen. Not least as Tube drivers are supernumerary. Most of these trains operate automatically with a cab observer, then the observer serves little useful purpose.
“Bogus safety standards set by unions keep them in post but this has been shown to be ineffective. On Boxing Day 2023 we learned of the tragic story of a 72 year old pensioner called Brian Mitchell, who stumbled onto the tracks at Stratford station and was fatally struck by a terminating train five minutes later.
“After Mr Mitchell’s death, three more trains drove over the track where he was lying, in spite of having observers in them, before being noticed by a fourth.
“So why are they there? It’s sheer union obduracy: it’s like when Aslef used to keep firemen on board diesel trains. It’s the same type of Spanish practice, and it’s time to move towards driverless trains on the Transport for London network – not least as they are not drivers, but observers who don’t observe.
“The Docklands Light Railway, which has no drivers, will remain operative for all but two of the five-day strike period.
“The capital cannot, must, not, should not be held ransom by greedy and idle union bosses any longer, particularly when such action is prevented if we adopt technology and we can advance in a way that other cities across the world have done.
“The Mayor of London has failed to prevent this mass walkout on two levels: He failed to use powers at his disposal to prevent disruptive action and by failing to adopt technology that would spare working people from being at the mercy of those demanding better standards than those who pay for them.
“This is Sadiq Khan’s personal strike and the people should hold him accountable.”
